A review by atomic_tourist
Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
Veronica Shanoes' BURNING GIRLS is a collection full of original fantasy stories, plus dark retellings of classic fairytales and Jewish folklore-- often, all 3 are mixed together.
The collection touts some eye-catching stories, most notably (to me, at least), the aptly titled "Emma Goldman Takes Tea with the Baba Yaga" (in which Emma Goldman takes tea with, yup, the Baba Yaga, haha). But stories like "Emma Goldman" or "Phosphorus" (about a 'phossy jaw' victim taking unnatural means to stay alive through the London matchgirl strike in 1888) fall short of recreating the thrill of both horror and fairytale; Schanoes ties up the ends of her stories with neat little feminisms, detracting from the potential of her creative ideas by turning complex narratives into feel-good stories (or at least, stories with feel-good endings).
However, I thoroughly enjoyed the title story-- I can see why it won Schanoes a Shirley Jackson Award for best novella. It's a twisted, Jewish retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, set in both the 'Old country' and New York. Schanoes leans into the dark nature of fairytales in "Burning Girls", and it pays off.
The collection touts some eye-catching stories, most notably (to me, at least), the aptly titled "Emma Goldman Takes Tea with the Baba Yaga" (in which Emma Goldman takes tea with, yup, the Baba Yaga, haha). But stories like "Emma Goldman" or "Phosphorus" (about a 'phossy jaw' victim taking unnatural means to stay alive through the London matchgirl strike in 1888) fall short of recreating the thrill of both horror and fairytale; Schanoes ties up the ends of her stories with neat little feminisms, detracting from the potential of her creative ideas by turning complex narratives into feel-good stories (or at least, stories with feel-good endings).
However, I thoroughly enjoyed the title story-- I can see why it won Schanoes a Shirley Jackson Award for best novella. It's a twisted, Jewish retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, set in both the 'Old country' and New York. Schanoes leans into the dark nature of fairytales in "Burning Girls", and it pays off.