![]() Here’s the opening, because it’s too good not to share with you: Unlike the stories, this one is set in our everyday world, although you don’t realise it at first. I’m going to skip over the so-so story, “Dragon’s Breath,” and jump right into my favourite part of the book: “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye.” Because as wonderful as the first three stories were, this novella is something far beyond that. “I always believe stories whilst they are being told,” said the Cockroach. ![]() It’s just wonderful to watch her make her own way! And, I absolutely loved this line: She thought that of course she could be vigilant, and very courteous to all passers-by – most elder princesses’ failings were failings of courtesy or over-confidence. Throughout the story, she uses what she’s learned from reading to help decide what to do. So, she begins to wonder, can she change that fate? She steps off the road of her quest, and into a dark forest with only animal companions. ![]() And since she’s read fairy tales, she knows that as the eldest, she’s doomed to fail. But that’s when things get interesting because the eldest princess is a great reader. Once upon a time, in a kingdom between the sea and the mountains, between the forest and the desert, there lived a King and Queen with three daughters.Įventually, the eldest daughter is sent on a quest for the good of her kingdom. Next comes my favourite of the short stories: “The Story of the Eldest Princess”. How can you not want to know what happens next? There was once a young sailor who had nothing but his courage and his bright eyes-but those were very bright-and the stregnth the gods gave him, which was sufficient. I don’t want to say much more, but it’s rather as if Edgar Allen Poe decided to write a fairy tale. It hits the perfect fairy tale note! “Gode’s Story” has more of a macabre, ghost feel to it Gode is a sailor who falls in love with a village girl. “The Glass Coffin” is a quest story, with a tailor setting off in search of work, but when he can’t find that he settles for adventure. If you’ve read Possession, you’ve already encountered the first two stories: “The Glass Coffin” and “Gode’s Story”. The short stories are written in a traditional, fairy tale style, and I loved three of the four. I’m a big fan of Byatt, and this is the third short story collection of hers I’ve read, so I was prepared for some top-notch writing. Byatt’s The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye, which has four short stories and the title novella, as part of the Mythopoeic Challenge. Look! It’s Sunday and I’ve read a short story collection! This week, I read A.S.
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