Magic for Beginners

These stories are weird, I find it hard to come out with intent or meaning, and normally I'd say I didn't like it except:

I've read the short story "magic for beginners" repeatedly since I first read it in one of the nebula anthologies. I thought it was "post modern" but it may be surrealest? In anycase I'm pretty sure I'll keep coming back to this story.

The fairy handbag is also pretty great.

Phew this was a fight. I liked some of the stories (Faery Hanbag, Hortlak, Catskin, Magic for Beginners) but others were just too painful to go through (mostly Stone Animals). It's quite likely just my inability to grasp and submerge in the world of magic that Kelly Link tries to create. The stories which got my attention and at least partial understanding were excellent - surreal, funny, magical and in some ways walking the edge of familiar well enough that it kept me intrigued. All in all a nice collection even though it took me longer to get through it than I hoped

Interesting premise and well written but just too weird for me.

To say I finished this is misstating the facts; I stopped reading after finishing "The Cannon," as the stories are just not what I'm interested in. I felt the endings left a lot to be desired and were incongruent with the rest of the story, and that overall the stories weren't satisfying to me.

So I've put it aside and moved on.