Kelly Link is such a master of the short story, it’s almost impossible to go wrong picking up any of her works. White Cat, Black Dog is no exception - 7 delightful, weird, profane, absurd retellings of Western fairy tales, some fairly recognizable, some just a passing nod of respect at its antecedents, all immensely enjoyable. I love Link’s ability to write super weird slipstream fiction while keeping it (mostly) approachable, and I appreciate this collection’s return to a more fantasy-like genre (in comparison to Get in Trouble).

I really enjoyed this interesting and entertaining collection of short stories.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Rating a short story collection is often a difficult task. This one has two phenomenal stories - the first and last - which are alluded to in the title. The first made me feel childlike wonder while the last gave me the heebie jeebies. Like hardcore heebie jeebies. Like "I am so happy I don't live alone" heebie jeebies.

I'm not sure why the other stories didn't really hit the mark for me. I had a lot of trouble engaging with them and something about the pacing didn't seem quite right. It's difficult to put my finger on what didn't work, but I will say this: the writing itself was stellar and the vibes were immaculate. These were my bedtime stories for several days, because reading them often felt like being a young child who is told a fairytale they're too young to understand. While I think some of the intentions of the middle stories went over my head, the experience of reading them was ultimately pleasant.

A 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I recommend this collection to anyone who loves modern retellings of fairytales, doesn't mind reading a few forgettable stories before bed, and loves gorgeous evocative writing.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Kelly Link has done it again. The short stories in White Cat, Black Dog feel like atmospheric, surreally magical, deeply passionate love songs. This just might be my favorite collection from her yet. I still can't stop thinking about these stories!

These seven stories are retellings of existing fairy tales, only two of which I had heard of before. I love fairy tales and I love it when they get weird, but I found each story to be lacking. I was hoping this would scratch my itch for the bizarre, the grim, but, they were either not weird enough or way too confusing. I enjoyed the writing in some stories more than in others.
If you are a huge fan of fairy tale retellings and short fiction, then I definitely think this is worth the read because it might just be the perfect kind of strange for you!

Here are my ratings for each story:

1. The White Cats Divorce – 3/5
2. Prince Hat Underground – 3/5
3. The White Road – 1/5
4. The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear – 1/5
5. The Game of Smash and Discovery – 2/5
6. The Lady and the Fox
7. Skinder's Veil – 4/5

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I very much enjoyed the seven reimagined fairy tales in this collection. Each short story was a retelling with a twist, and while I liked some more than others, I did like them all. The first story was especially great. I’d describe it as folklore-ish, too. They’re set in the modern (or future) world, but some have a dreamlike quality.

The author really knows how to tell a story, and I’d definitely like to read more by her. Her prose is outstanding, descriptive, and draws you in. As for genre…Literary fiction, scifi, fantasy, folklore? There’s a mix of them all. I highly recommend this collection. It comes out March 28. Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for my copy.

Kelly Link is f**king bonkers, and I mean that as the highest compliment. I've been a fan of her work for many years but given the gap in releases, I forgot just how her brilliant mind works and some of the strange, wonderful, ridiculous things it comes up with.

This collection pretty much has it all. Some gruesome details she manages to make hilarious, some food for thought, some bizarre elements that make you think, "Wait, what the hell did I just read?" and so much more.

While no story here was out of place, my favorites were the first two, The White Cat’s Divorce and Prince Hat Underground. The first especially was such a brilliant start to the collection that set the tone for the rest of the book in the most perfect way. The final story, Skinner's Veil, was perhaps the most thought-provoking without being heavy-handed, which is something Link does so well.

A total pleasure to read!

Thank You to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Kelly Link’s reimagined fairy tales mixed with modern elements kept my attention in every story, all of which were so unique from the next! My favorites were The White Cat’s Divorce, Prince Hat Underground, The Lady and The Fox, and Skinder’s Veil. These stories, even with taking place in modern day, felt timeless. From talking cats that run a cannabis company, rescuing your significant other from the Queen of Hell, breaking curses in the name of love, to denying Death on their own doorstep, this book was one where I was left feeling bewitched under the magic woven into the pages.

I do hope the author writes more of these; they were unique, brilliant, engaging, and enchanting.

I have a new favorite short fiction writer, and her name is Kelly Link. I don't think I've ever read a collection of short stories and been able to say with confidence that I loved every single one. Link leverage her brilliant mind and cunning wit to breathe new life into some of my favorite folktales. Her style is bold and atmospheric and her stories expertly toy with genre convention, skipping between contemporary fantasy, magical realism, and sci-fi horror from one page to the next. After reading this collection, I firmly believe that Kelly Link is one of the best short fiction writers in the business today, and I will anxiously await her next dazzling collection. Read on for a brief summary the stories and my thoughts on each.

The White Cat follows the son of a cruel corporate patriarch discovering an anthropomorphic society of marijuana farming cats. Prince Hat Undergound, tied for my favorite, is a heart-wrenching, surprisingly humorous retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon which follows a middle-aged man on a quest to rescue his husband from the Queen of Hell. The White Road reworks the Musicians of Bremen into an utterly chilling post-apoalyptic horror story involving a troupe of traveling actors. The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear is a uniquely unmagical tale of family and flight cancellations and the comically small world of the queer women dating scene. The Game of Smash and Recovery was the only story that didn't quite land for me; an inventive but slightly too abstract science fiction take on Hansel and Gretel. Similarly, the Lady and the Fox is a charming coming-of-age Tam Lin adaption that nonetheless sucked some of the venom out of the original tale. However, all was forgiven in the final story, Skinner's Veil, a fabulous and freaky take on Snow-White and Rose-Red about a procrastinating PhD student housesitting for an absent homeowner with an unsettling set of instructions.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been a huge fan of Kelly Link’s short fiction for a long time, so I was eager to read her latest collection, White Cat, Black Dog. This book is different from her previous work in that the stories follow a theme: all are inspired by fairy tales. The stories vary in how closely they hew to the original subject matter, but all of them contain the trademark weirdness Link is known for.

My favorite story, “Skinder’s Veil,” was one I had previously read in anthology of stories in tribute to Shirley Jackson. This is probably the most complex story in the volume, with multiple character arcs intersecting and not all questions answered at the end.

One quality most stories in White Cat share is the mixing of practicality with a dreamlike atmosphere. Link’s characters deal with ordinary family and workplace dilemmas. The protagonist in “Skinder’s Veil” doesn’t get along with his roommate and is behind on his dissertation. The three sons in “The White Cat’s Divorce” have a father who treats them more as accessories than as real people. The protagonist of “The Game of Smash and Recovery” discovers that her beloved brother has been keeping secrets from her. But they’re also faced with supernatural perils. When the main character of “Prince Hat Underground” discovers that his lover isn’t who he thought he was, it doesn’t just mean that the lover has an unsavory past. His lover, in fact, may not even be human. As for the grad student in “Skinder’s Veil,” the person he house-sits for is much more than just an eccentric rich person.

The stories collected in White Cat span most of Link’s career to date. “The Game of Smash and Recovery” was first published in Strange Horizons way back in 2015, while When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson came out in the fall of 2021. Despite their common theme, the stories are varied enough in tone and style that, combined with the long period over which they were written, they’ll give a new reader a good introduction to the breath of Link’s work. For someone who was already a fan, they contain a lot of what we already loved about Link’s writing. So, this is a book I’d recommend for Link fans old and new.

An absolutely beautiful collection and so inspiring. Some particularly memorable stories include "Skinder's Veil," "The White Cat's Divorce," "Prince Hat Underground," The Lady and the Fox," and "The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear."

Kelly Link's White Cat, Black Dog is like having seven fever dreams, but in a good way, without the fever. Usually, in a collection of short stories, there are always a few that don't seem as good as the others. Not in this book. I enjoyed all of them. Reading this made me yearn for a tiny live dog inside a pistachio shell. What's this all about? Well, you'll have to read it and see how tiny dogs arrive in nut shells.

In one, a science fiction tale, there are Handmaids with probing snouts, furred bellies, and sleek and whiplike limbs. Even though they were apparently not dressed, I kept picturing them in red capes and white bonnets.

Some stories were sad, some happy, but all were magical reads.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read and revue White Cat, Black Dog.

So, here’s the publisher’s elevator pitch for White Cat, Black Dog, Kelly Link’s forthcoming collection of short stories: “Seven ingeniously reinvented fairy tales that play out with astonishing consequences in the modern world, from one of today’s finest short story writers.”

This is an absolutely accurate description as far as it goes, but the thing is, it doesn’t go nearly far enough. With each new collection of short stories, including and especially this one, Link proves that she is one of the finest writers working today. Where does her work fall? It’s genre, sure, but is it new weird, slipstream, horror, fantasy, even magic realism? Yes to all of those, and maybe a few more besides that are unique to her. Link’s stories are genre-defying and genre-smashing, constantly keeping the reader deliriously off balance and questioning reality in the best way.

There are seven pieces here, each a masterclass in tone, style, and bravura storytelling. Link is utterly original. I tried to think of other writers playing in a similar sandbox—Margo Lanagan comes to mind, and Paul Tremblay (his short stories, which I think are much more experimental than his novels), but really, Link is a truly unique talent.

Every story in White Cat, Black Dog is strong, but I want to call out one in particular, “Skinder’s Veil”, in which what starts as a simple house-sitting job becomes a journey that defies description. It’s one helluva ride.

White Cat, Black Dog will be released March 28, 2023, and is available for pre-order now. This is a must read.

Stoned fairy tales
I didn't really enjoy the book, and quit reading after finishing the first story. It is a fairy tale retelling, but it is more of the fairy tale for when you are stoned. The story was absurd, but not in a fun or original way other absurdist stories come, and I simply did not enjoy it. I understand that this is kind of new to be able to use weed legally, but I think adding weed as the main plot element is not as fun as it sounds when you didn't ingest some. The writing itself was good. The characters, nor the plot line didn't feel relatable to me, maybe because I wasn't stoned myself. My bad.

I received a digital copy of the book from NetGalley

Very good. I haven't read another work by this author, so I guess I'm out of the loop since she's written a lot, and is obviously very talented. Recommended.

Thanks very much for the free ARC for review!!

This is a collection of surreal fairytale retellings based in present day. Kelly Link drew inspiration from stories from different Western backgrounds (these aren’t all based on Grimm), some more obscure than others.

I had a hard time rating this one. The premise of all of the stories were excellent and the writing was beautiful, but I found some easier to get into than others. I thought the book started out strong with “The White Cat’s Divorce” then lost its way a bit and picked up with the later stories. The five star stories for me were the aforementioned “White Cat’s Divorce”, “The Game of Smash and Recovery”, “The Lady and the Fox”, and “Skinder’s Veil”. Honorable mention to “The Game of Smash and Recovery” which by all rights should have been my favorite given its premise and themes, but I don’t find myself thinking about it the way I do with some of the others.

I love speculative short stories, so this won’t be my last Kelly Link collection.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House!

This collection of short stories was my introduction to Kelly Link, and I can honestly say I can't wait to read more of her work in the future! This anthology of folklore-inspired stories brought familiar tales into contemporary society. And I especially loved the dream-like quality of Link's writing style. If you're a fan of fairytales, this book is written just for you. You'll be able to recall the stories you're familiar with (and love), while also deriving a more profound meaning from each tale.

For me, a new Kelly Link collection is an event. When White Cat, Black Dog hit my inbox, I gasped so loud that my husband thought we’d won the lottery. Which I kinda did (thanks, Random House!).

White Cat, Black Dog is a flawless collection. Link is a master of the form, and has once again displayed her talents across seven gorgeous stories. Among the perfectly-formed characters, we meet talking animals, a traveling acting troupe, a Christmas ghost, and the Queen of Hell.

Despite the often disturbing nature of the stories, there is an undeniable warmth to Link’s writing. These tales have a timeless, fairy-tale quality to them, especially The White Cat’s Divorce, an unconventional tale of three brothers competing for their aging father’s estate.

Prince Hat Underground is one of the most wonderful stories I’ve ever read, displaying the lengths we will go to for the people we love; literally to hell and back. A similar theme runs through The Lady and the Fox, a gorgeous Christmas story.

The White Road is a dystopian story of a traveling acting troupe, and the strange rituals they have to obey in order to survive. The ending to this was especially unsettling; I loved it. The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear is a disturbing, disorientating story of a woman unable to get home from a conference.

I first read Skinder’s Veil as part of the collection, When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson, and I’m so glad I revisited it here, as there was more to discover on the second reading of this tale of an unconventional house-sitting job.

This is one of the best collections I’ve ever read. Every story absolutely transported me. Kelly Link is an outstanding writer, and I cannot wait for her debut novel in 2024.

I liked a lot of these tales, some of which I've encountered before, and was honestly kind of bored by others. I enjoyed The White Cat’s Divorce--which I also read as an alternate King Lear set-up--, Prince Hat Underground, and Skinder’s Veil, which I've now read in at least two other anthologies and which is a trip. The White Road was a nice take on a supernaturally-charged post-apocalypse world, and also perhaps a take-off of Station Eleven, the Tam Lin retelling--the Lady and the Fox--was atmospheric and pretty, but not very compelling, and The Game of Smash and Recovery was a complete miss for me. But I think anyone with a penchant for SFF, fairy tales, and unexpected twists will find something enjoyable here.

Thank you to both #NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Random House for providing me an advance copy of Kelly Link’s literary fiction novel, White Cat, Black Dog, in exchange for an honest review.

#WhiteCatBlackDog is a collection of seven #shortstories set in the modern world with a #fairytale twist—emphasis on the twist as these tales are more #BrothersGrimm, less #Disney cartoon; save for the mostly positive endings. I envy the reader discovering Kelly Link for the very first time. Her writing is magical, with or without the fairy tale theme.

• Standout stories: The White Cat’s Divorce, Prince Hat Underground, Skinder’s Veil.
• Middle ground: The White Road, The Lady and The Fox. I debated whether to place the latter in this category or in standout stories, but ultimately decided there were a few loose ends. Regardless, I really enjoyed reading it and found it to be the better of the two in this section.
• Skip/Subjective Opinion: The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear, The Game of Smash and Recovery. These two were the weakest of the bunch for me, but I suggest you read them and provide your own opinion since the ratings for short stories tend to vary wildly.

As always, I look forward to reading what Ms. Link dreams up next!