Magic for Beginners

A collection of short stories that feature the weird and wonderful, mixing fantasy and magical realism with a touch of horror and the supernatural, Magic for Beginners is a good mix of humour and dread that at times made me regret my commute wasn't longer (something that doesn't happen very often at all).

From the turns of phrase to the worldbuilding, the stories in the book are at times, incredibly sad, very humorous, and full of a deep longing for normality. The stand outs for me, by far, were Stone Animals, Magic for Beginners and Lull, but I figure I could provide a few words about each. It's not a long collection, and some stories are shorter than others, so it makes for some fairly quick reading.

The Faery Handbag -- The first story starts off with a handbag in which faeries and a dispossessed group of Eastern Europeans live, and the guardian of the bag. It's a nice little story of the dangers of the fae folk, but also one of family ties and the importance of remembering where you're from.

The Hortlak -- This is a little bit like Clerks meets the zombie apocalypse, as it follows life in a convenience store on the edge of an abyss where zombies dwell. The title is the Turkish word for phantom, and it's almost tempting to see the characters as dead already, especially if you unify the sentences interspersed with the main story. It almost feels as if Charley is trying, with all her might, to avoid slipping away from reality, while Batu becomes more and more interested in death. Eric is trapped in the middle, on the one hand hopelessly in love with Charley, and on the other hand unable to leave the store and find his own way, even enjoying Batu's comments about being in an Enterprise-like ship exploring the unknown. Ultimately, this I enjoyed, particularly because it had a new way of presenting zombies.

The Cannon -- I honestly wasn't bowled away by this, although it was nice to see a line by a zombie in the previous story echoed in this. I can't remember much about it, which would show how much of an impact it had on me.

Stone Animals -- Probably the strongest story of the bunch, this one follows a family moving out into the suburbs, in what is ostensibly a haunted house. Except instead of slime dripping off the walls, and shapes in the mirrors, it just a sense of things being a little bit out of place. It is also the story of marriage, and careers, and family, and finding not only the right home, but the right place for your life. I liked it, and I can't quite put into words what I liked about it.

Catskin -- Another weird one, but also didn't feel much towards it.

Some Zombie Contingency Plans -- I... don't have strong feelings towards this. It was short, snappy and very tight, but I can't say it moved me very much.

The Great Divorce-- What would happen if you could marry the dead and have dead children? What kind of issues would you face? And what if mediums became the new relationship therapists? It's a nice little story, that stayed with me for longer than I thought it would.

Magic for Beginners -- The titular story is a wonderful tale of growing up, finding love and acceptance, but also one of fandoms and the feeling of coming together out of love for a shared thing. It was melancholic for me (I spent the greater part of my teens in the Harry Potter fandom), and it was touching, the idea of being part of something you love so much. It also has teenage angst and love, a mystery and lots and lots of library love!

Lull -- The final story in the book is a sad tale of love and loss, but also one of the transformative power of stories. It's a beautifully poignant piece, and one that made me connect with the characters in a myriad of ways. I would stop and savour sentences every now and again, and I truly feel that it comes within a hair breadth of Stone Animals for best story of the bunch.

Overall, a good collection with moments of pure brilliance, and I'm really excited to read more of Link's work.