The People in the Castle: Selected Strange Stories

Magical realism is not usually my go-to genre, but Aiken wrote the occasional ghost story and references to those led me to this collection which I enjoyed much. No spooky ghost stories here, but no matter, wildly imaginative stories all the same. A lycanthropic Shakespearean actor who has to quit because his passion for acting turns him -- a witch's familiar who goes after a boy's math teacher. A castle and its inhabitants only visible after dark. I am now a devout fan hoping to meet Joan Aiken in the great beyond where we might have coffee and scones at the base of the castle that only appears during certain moons while fairy-folk giggle in the potted plants around us.

I know it's only June, but I'm gonna go ahead and call it: Favorite Book of 2016 right here. Of course the short stories in this collection were all written between 1955 and 1990, but they're entirely new to me, and I mean that in every sense of the word. Aiken, in what seems to me almost a miracle, brings fairy tales solidly into the contemporary world (or at least the mid to late 20th-century world when Aiken was writing). So kings, countesses, princesses, enchanted forests and castles and animals exist side by side with telephone booths and cars and toaster ovens. Aiken reminded me that magic is always possible.

Full disclosure: I'm pretty sure I requested this book to review because I thought it was written by Jenny Jaeckel, which is sort of similar sounding to Joan Aiken, but not really. Oh brain, the tricks you play on me. But it turns out I have read Joan Aiken; I've read The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and was not particularly enthused about the whole thing. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is of a very specific English style. I remember thinking it was dry. Maybe gin martini dry. Maybe dead leaf dry. And now I had a whole other Joan Aiken book to read. Okay. Crack her open.

So The People in the Castle isn't dry. It's still that very specific English style. Most of the stories seem to be in that odd space of Englishness where there are still show more empires and vicars and sooty London lanes and rattling old cars along idyllic country lanes. Yes, all that stuff (minus maybe the empire) still exists, but I never seem to come across books about those things. This is a whole book about those things. I can't tell whether I'm sort of charmed by this sort of British world or unnerved by it. It can get to be a bit much to have story after story there. They start to blend together, the magic, the ghosts, the Idea of What England Once Was.

Magic in this world is present, never odd, never questioned. Like a world just slightly out of sync with ours. Sure there's an alien picking flowers that shouldn't be picked. Why not have a ghost dog? Or two. A tree hiding in a room in a mansion, all righty then. Again with the whimsy. In small doses, it's fine. But a whole lot -- it's like I've eaten a full tin of Quality Street. I like each candy right enough, but afterwards my stomach feels sick.

Small doses only. Maybe don't read all the stories in one day, like I did.

The People in the Castle by Joan Aiken goes on sale April 26, 2016.

I received a copy free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. show less

"The People in the Castle" is a collection of previously published short stories by Joan Aiken, dating between 1955 and 1990. The stories range from fantasy to horror to science fiction, from whimsical (“A Room Full of Leaves,” “Humblepuppy”) to scary (“The Cold Flame”) to mythology-based (“The Lame King”) to very funny indeed (“A Portable Elephant”) - in short, an absolutely delightful collection of imaginative and inventive tales from a woman primarily known today as the author of the children’s novel "The Wolves of Willoughby Chase." Small Beer Press, in its wisdom, put together this collection and one hopes that this volume will introduce new generations to this author and her beautiful writing; I know I feel show more like I’ve been introduced to a new friend in reading these gems. Very highly recommended! show less

This is a wonderful collection of stories, full of atmosphere, invention, and wit. Joan Aiken was a fabulous prose stylist, both evocative and economical. No wasted words, here!

A collection of Joan Aiken's short stories. This book is a great mix of sad, strange, and engaging stories that I enjoyed reading. They are thought-provoking and heart breaking.

It's a curious thing to revisit a favorite childhood author. Midnight is a Place and The Whispering Mountain were hugely powerful reads to me as a tween, but they were the only two Aiken books I ever read -- they were the only ones the library had and it had never occurred to me, then or now, that I could seek out others.

Dang. Bad me. This collection is beautiful and, if nothing else, a kick to my motivation -- I need to go through her backlist like whoa.