The Folktale/Fairytale Shelf

The Anchored World: Flash Fairy Tales and Folklore
Jasmine Sawers
Rose Metal Press
https://rosemetalpress.com
9781941628270, $15.95, PB, 88pp

https://www.amazon.com/Anchored-World-Flash-Fairy-Folklore/dp/1941628273

Synopsis: A goat begins to grow inside a human heart. The rightful king is = born a hard, smooth seashell. Supernovas burst across skin like ink in wate=
r. Heartbreak transforms maidens into witches, girls into goblins, mothers = into monsters. Hunger drives lovers and daughters, soldiers and ghosts, to = unhinge their jaws and swallow the world.

Drawing inspiration from a mixed heritage and from history ranging from the=
fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen to the ancient legends of Thailand,=
from the suburbs of Buffalo, New York to the endless horizon of the Americ=
an Midwest, in the pages of "The Anchored World: Flash Fairy Tales and Folk= lore", author Jasmine Sawers invents a hybrid folklore for liminal characte=
rs who live between the lines and within the creases of race and language, = culture and gender, sexuality and ability.

Equal parts love letter to the old tales and indictment of their shortcomin= gs, "The Anchored World" creates a new mythology reflecting the many faces = and voices of the twenty-first century.

Critique: Original, fascinating, memorable, "The Anchored World: Flash Fair=
y Tales and Folklore" is a unique compendium of modern era folklore/fairyta=
le stories by Jasmine Sawers, an author with a genuine flair for the kind o=
f inventive, narrative driven, emersive storytelling style that will fully = engage the reader from cover to cover. While highly recommended for communi=
ty and academic library folklore and short story anthology collections, it = should be noted for personal reading lists that "The Anchored World: Flash = Fairy Tales and Folklore" is also available in a digital book format (Kindl=
e, $8.95).

Editorial Note: Jasmine Sawers (https://www.jasminesawers.com) is a Kundima=
n fellow and Indiana University MFA alum whose work has appeared in such jo= urnals as Foglifter, AAWW's The Margins, SmokeLong Quarterly, and more. Her=
fiction has won the Ploughshares Emerging Writer's Contest and the NANO Pr= ize, and has been nominated for Best of the Net, Best Small Fictions, and t=
he Pushcart Prize. Sawers is proud to serve as an associate fiction editor = for Fairy Tale Review. Originally from Buffalo, Sawers now teaches creative=
writing outside of St. Louis.

Into the Fairy Hill
Michael S. Newton
McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476690025, $39.95, PB, 276pp

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Fairy-Hill-Folktales-Highlands/dp/1476690022

Synopsis: Headstrong heroines and hot-tempered chieftains, loch monsters an=
d hill fairies, cattle raids and clan feuds, wise animals and foolish saint=
s: the Scottish Highlands' folktales date back centuries and preserve the h= istory and beliefs of a people deeply rooted in their land and culture.

Oral traditions connect the modern world with the hearts and minds of Scott= ish Highlanders across the ages, bringing their world to life in vivid deta= il. With the publication of "Into the Fairy Hill: Classic Folktales of the = Scottish Highlands", Professor Michael S. Newton anthology makes available = new and approachable translations of folktales from the Scottish Highlands = and Nova Scotia, providing extensive commentary on this rich storytelling t= radition.

Each story is annotated with information about its origins and any insights=
into its meaning. The original Scottish Gaelic texts, collected from a wid=
e variety of rare and obscure sources, are provided in an appendix.

Critique: An impressively work of seminal scholarship that further document=
s Professor Michael S. Newton as North America's premier expert on Scottish=
folklore and mythology, "Into the Fairy Hill: Classic Folktales of the Sco= ttish Highlands" also includes four pages of Notes, a four page Bibliograph=
y, and a two page Index. A seminal contribution to Scottish Folklore/Mythol= ogy literary studies, "Into the Fairy Hill: Classic Folktales of the Scotti=
sh Highlands" is unreservedly recommended for professional, community, coll= ege, and university library collections. It should be noted for the persona=
l reading lists of students, academia, and non-specialist general readers w= ith an interest in the subject that "Into the Fairy Hill: Classic Folktales=
of the Scottish Highlands" is also available in a digital book format (Kin= dle, $23.99).

Editorial Note: Michael S. Newton (https://independent.academia.edu/Michael= Newton) was an assistant professor in the Celtic Studies department of St F= rancis Xavier University in Nova Scotia from 2008 to 2013. He has written a=
multitude of books and articles about Gaelic culture and history and is a = leading authority on Scottish Gaelic heritage in North America.

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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
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Midwest Book Review

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