2011 Reading #28: A Brood of Foxes by Kristin Livdahl
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
21. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin.
22. Rebellion at Christiana by Margaret Hope Bacon.
23. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.
24. This Sweet Sickness by Patricia Highsmith.
25. Sandstorm: A Forgotten Realms Novel by Christopher Rowe.
26. The St. Paul Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, edited by Patricia Hampl and Dave Page.
27. Thor: The Mighty Avenger Volume 2 by Roger Langridge, Chris Samnee, and Matt Wilson.
28. A Brood of Foxes by Kristin Livdahl. Kristin's first book comes from Aqueduct Press's "Conversation Pieces" series. What I love most about this novella is that it has absolutely no anxiety about defining itself. It's a story about identity where some of the characters have both animal and human identities which shift without warning; it has elements of a fable or fairy tale, but the coming-of-age here is more subtle and less symbolic, and is sprinkled with sf-nal elements; it's sort of an environmental story, but even in that aspect it's more about how we hurt each other in backhanded, unintentional ways. I've known Kristin for a while, now, and I've been in a critique group with her for a few years, so I've read a lot of her stuff; and I feel like this novella and the stuff I've seen from her recently signals an exciting new stage in her writing. A Brood of Foxes is really excellent stuff, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
Books 11-20.
21. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin.
22. Rebellion at Christiana by Margaret Hope Bacon.
23. American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang.
24. This Sweet Sickness by Patricia Highsmith.
25. Sandstorm: A Forgotten Realms Novel by Christopher Rowe.
26. The St. Paul Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald, edited by Patricia Hampl and Dave Page.
27. Thor: The Mighty Avenger Volume 2 by Roger Langridge, Chris Samnee, and Matt Wilson.
28. A Brood of Foxes by Kristin Livdahl. Kristin's first book comes from Aqueduct Press's "Conversation Pieces" series. What I love most about this novella is that it has absolutely no anxiety about defining itself. It's a story about identity where some of the characters have both animal and human identities which shift without warning; it has elements of a fable or fairy tale, but the coming-of-age here is more subtle and less symbolic, and is sprinkled with sf-nal elements; it's sort of an environmental story, but even in that aspect it's more about how we hurt each other in backhanded, unintentional ways. I've known Kristin for a while, now, and I've been in a critique group with her for a few years, so I've read a lot of her stuff; and I feel like this novella and the stuff I've seen from her recently signals an exciting new stage in her writing. A Brood of Foxes is really excellent stuff, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.