Ola G's Reviews > The Essential Peter S. Beagle, Volume I: Lila the Werewolf and Other Stories

8.5/10 stars

My full review on my blog.

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I present to you Peter S. Beagle’s first volume of collected short stories, a book well worth a read even if you’re not a fan of the short form. If you are, however, it’s a required reading. The stories are varied, in length, themes, style, age, what have you – but Beagle’s skill shines in all of them (even the ones I didn’t like ;)). His prose is evocative, poetic, sometimes transcendent, and generally surprisingly gentle – but with a bite. You’ll never know what hit you with Beagle’s stories, but you’ll feel it anyway. Some of them will stay with you for a while, their mythopoetic quality making you look for the uncanny in the mundane around you.

Beagle’s storytelling techniques bring to my mind Isaac Bashevis Singer much more than any of the names listed in the blurb, but I guess Singer might not be as catchy a name these days as Tolkien or L’Engle. These stories might be set in modern New York, not a stetl from the past century, but nevertheless my other strongest association of Beagle’s prose is with the paintings of Marc Chagall. Yes, blue angels might have something to do with it 😉

Maybe because some of the hardest hitting stories were at their core personal memories, with the weight of emotions and rememberance making them somehow more solid in my mind, I felt there was a nostalgic quality to Beagle’s narrative: a realization of the time that has passed; a gentle form of pining for the past that might have been if not easier, then maybe a bit brighter; a delicate appreciative laughter at one’s own expense, at how we had been before. Beagle excels in stories that could be called magical realism if the term wasn’t so bound to the South American literature of the mid-20th century: the inexplicable is simply an accepted and unquestioned part of everyday life.

As usual, I’ll give a short review and rating on each story before I sum it all up.

Profesor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros (10/10)
One of my favorites in the collection, a whimsical, nostalgic tale slightly reminiscent of Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, full of compassion, forebearance, and a little ironic smile at the little idiosyncracies filling our lives. I absolutely loved this one.

Come Lady Death (5/10)
Glittering and seemingly sharp, but not as cutting as it aspires to be, Come Lady Death comes close to the lofty levels of satire but lacks the final resolve to achieve them – in the end, it’s its high ambition that lays it low.

Lila the Werewolf (3/10)
Ouch. Didn’t like this one at all, reminded me of a Seinfield episode – and that’s not a compliment. The whiny, well-meaning but put-upon narrator describing his girlfriend problems to his supportive but not very bright friend, the problematic girlfriend herself, together with her obnoxious mother… And the final twist, that makes the entire piece really distasteful. Surprisingly sexist, in a seemingly unaware way, which doesn’t make it any better.

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Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel (10/10)
My second favourite, a wonderful story almost long enought to be called a novellette, very Chagallian in themes and mood. Utterly captivating, poetic and moving, this intimate portrait of the creative process, guilt and compulsion and fear will stay with me for a long time. An absolute gem.

We Never Talk About My Brother (9/10)
Ooh, another great, absolutely fascinating story, quite dark and punchy, with a perfect narrative style that lures you in and then exposes you to the double twist. I don’t want to say too much, but this is how UF should look like.

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All in all, while there were some duds, the great stories more than made up for the weaker ones. I very much enjoyed this collection of Beagle’s short pieces and would happily recommend it to all interested in thoughtful, well-written literature. While the fantasy aspect is slight, it nevertheless forms the core of all those stories. Beagle’s true skill lies in his ability to merge the uncanny with the real in a seamless, seemingly perfectly natural way – there’s no room for doubt, only appreciation of the unknowable around us. Hence my rating for the entire collection, higher than just a simple average.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.