Eugie Foster (1971–2014)

I had intended to ration Eugie Foster's stories to make them last longer. Instead, I found myself bingeing on them this weekend, finishing two collections and her Nebula Award-winning novella. On one hand, I have no regrets; the stories were amazing. On the other hand, this means my ability to read all of Eugie's stories for the first time is that much closer to its end.

This series of short stories are all influenced by, based on, or retellings of Chinese or Japanese folktales, mythologies, show more and history. I much prefer novels to short stories, and it is the odd short story that I end up enjoying. Most short story collections or anthologies contain a handful of pieces I enjoy, with the majority feeling a bit ho-hum. It is the rare collection where I enjoy almost every story. It is nearly unheard of where I loved each one.

So it is very high praise that I give this collection five stars, because each story was a lovely, nuanced gem. These are stories which reminded me of the tales I read when I was a child, comforting in their familiarity, but with an added edge of darkness and sensuality that held adult-me enthralled. Without really meaning to, I sped through each story because I wanted more. And when I finished, I fell into a post-book depression that only hits after finishing a really good book. show less

I would have never discovered Eugie Foster if it weren't for K. Tempest Bradford's call to read more diversely. I would have never discovered Eugie Foster if I hadn't taken a look at my own reading and realized it was 99% white women, and vowing to change that. I would have never discovered Eugie Foster if I hadn't started following SF fandom more closely. I would have never discovered Eugie Foster...
... and my life would have been the poorer for it.

Reading her stories is a bittersweet show more feeling. They are all amazing. Her talent shines through each one, and she completely reinvents the vampire mythos in several different ways in this collection, and tells each story in a compelling fashion. Each story is different; the voice of each story is different. But each is wonderful. But it's hard to read anything she's written without experiencing incredible sadness, knowing that she's gone and there will be no more.

These stories are dark. They're gritty. They're hopeful. They're inspiring. Several of the stories play around with Eugie's own relationship with her own muse, which she admittedly calls a "crack whore", and vampires are depicted as both the source and destroyer of inspiration. I admit, I loved those stories the best. There's also a story that was oddly different from the others, in which there is a war between vampires and humans, in a fascinating world I wanted to see more of. And one incredible story that re-envisions the Sleeping Beauty story. show less

Eugie Foster has a talent for spinning a tale that leaves one hungry for more, while at the same time leaving the reader relieved at being released from the cage of emotion formed by her words. Each story in this set weaves the same cage as her tales for adults, but the door is wide open and the invitation to return not as fraught with danger. An excellent show of good form.

http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2185027.html

Returning My Sister’s Face is a collection retelling various Chinese, Japanese and Korean folk stories - legends, ghost stories, what you will - in contemporary idiom and often with a slightly different take, at least according to the (very helpful) afterwords for each story. This isn't a part of the world whose cultures I know much about, but there is a certain universality of narratives of love, family, betrayal and the blurred boundary between show more human, animal and spirit. I was particularly struck by her two different takes on the Yuki-onna legend, bringing some agency to this enigmatic figure. In one or two cases I did feel a chime of familiarity - "The Raven's Brocade" (from the Japanese original about a crane) is not far from European animal wives, though with some unfamiliar twists. But mostly these were insights into a new legendarium for me, lucidly and passionately told. show less