Monstrous Alterations

In this new collection from Shirley Jackson Award-winning author Christopher Barzak, discover stories where fairy tales, gothic narratives, and classic monster stories are transformed into new wonders. A princess who yearns only for freedom dances her nights away at clubs in defiance of tradition. A young man plots revenge on his murderer from the underworld. Two friends discover a goblin market where they are offered the fruit of forbidden love. On the streets of London, a man destroys a little girl's life in an instant. The caretaker for a woman confined to her room frees her from the circumstances that have bound her. A maid at an inn discovers the powerlessness and power of invisibility. A teenager, locked into Kensington Gardens after closing time, is brought face to face with the reality of a childhood icon. A man is born, grows up, and dies, all within the span of a day. A bank clerk determines to save himself and his friend from the destinies their overbearing fathers have made for them. From the Brothers Grimm to Kafka, Barzak imaginatively traverses the history of the dark and the fantastic and returns with new tales for an ever-changing world.

About the Author

Christopher Barzak is the author of the Crawford Fantasy Award-winning novel One for Sorrow, which was made into the Sundance feature film Jamie Marks is Dead. His second novel, The Love We Share Without Knowing, was a finalist for the Nebula and James Tiptree Jr. awards. His third novel, Wonders of the Invisible World, received the Stonewall Honor from the American Library Association and most recently was selected for inclusion on the Human Rights Campaign's list of books for libraries in LGBTQ-welcoming schools. He is also the author of three short story collections: Birds and Birthdays (surrealist fantasy stories), Before and Afterlives, (supernatural fantasies, which won the Shirley Jackson Awards), and the new Monstrous Alterations. His most recent novel, The Gone Away Place, received the inaugural Whippoorwill Award and selected for the Choose to Read Ohio program by the State Library of Ohio, the Ohioana Library Association, and the Ohio Center for the Book.

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