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Daniel M. Lavery, Mallory Ortberg: The Merry Spinster (2018) 4 stars

"A collection of darkly mischievous stories based on classic fairy tales."--Front flap.

Review of 'The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I enjoyed the reimagination of well known and long-told myths. I particularly enjoyed the ones where the thread that became the main theme was gaslighting — it was satisfying (rather than frustrating) to read the words and deeds of someone manipulating, because myths are cautionary tales and grim already.

I didn’t enjoy the degree of piecemeal unveiling the rules and worlds of the stories. That style has never been my strong suit, and for a couple of the stories it was obtuse enough that I never really understood enough to find the story satisfying.