Goss, Theodora - In the Forest of Forgetting

[oyceter]

I vaguely remember rushthatspeaks mentioning Theodora Goss at Wiscon last year, but other than that, I don't know much about her.

This is a gorgeous collection of short stories. Two are original to this collection, but all the others have been published elsewhere. Goss writes a lot about Hungary and east Europe as opposed to west Europe, probably because she used to live there (according to the book flap). It was a really interesting addition to the already lovely stories, as I'm much less familiar with the eastern European than with the usual western European fairy tales. Goss also takes on a lot of fairy tales and myths and folktales, but she weaves them into contemporary settings, or transforms today's cold hospitals into magical forests.

On the surface, the language doesn't seem spectacular, but I love the different voices the stories are told in, as well as the structures of them. Goss often has two narratives sandwiched between each other: an old woman dying in bed, and the same woman, dancing ballet. Even more, I love the images in the stories, the contrast between the old and the new, poetry and prose.

My favorites are:
"The Rapid Advance of Sorrow," which would be my favorite just for this: "Sorrow: a feeling of grief or melancholy. A mythical city generally located in northern Siberia, said to have been visited by Marco Polo. From Sorrow, he took back to Italy the secret of making ice." It's a small story, but a fascinating look at a city.

"In the Forest of Forgetting," which takes sterile hospital rooms and breast cancer and transforms them into a delicate and strange fairy tale.

"The Rose in Twelve Petals," because I am a traditionalist and still love all the fairy tale retellings, particularly ones that contain the POV of the spinning wheel.

All the others are gorgeous as well, and some have continuing characters, despite being published in different times and places.