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greglhoward's review against another edition
3.0
This was a great book for spending a few hours in an out-of-town library. And it was good enough that I found a copy back in Cambridge and finished it. The storytelling is good, but the stories are a bit boring and predictable.
blairconrad's review against another edition
4.0
A strong collection. Each story was good on its own (and I'd never read The Inkeeper's Song). The framing device of a story being told was interesting. I feared it'd get old, but it did not—possibly because I read the book over a large period of time. As with The Last Unicorn, Beagle's prose is beautiful and evocative.
adru's review against another edition
Beagle'i "The innkeeper's song" meeldis mulle osalt nii väga sellepärast, et lugu jutustavad eri tegelased - mitte eri vaatepunktid, vaid et tegelased räägivadki tagantjärele kordamööda seda lugu eri kuulajatele (mu teine selle aasta lemmik, "The last days of Jack Sparks", kasutab ka erinevat loojutustamist - folkloristi rõõm) ja see jutukogumik on ka täis eri olukordades jutustatud lugusid, mis on suuremal või vähemal määral väga head. Ainult yks lugu, kus seiklevad "Innkeeper's" tegelased vanuripõlves ja mis pani ette "hohohoo!" ytlema, oli autori jutustatud, ja seega hoopis tavalisem.
alexandraidonea's review against another edition
4.0
So many feels. It's not perfect, but the Lal and Soukyan story was what my soul needed. The others all have a wonderful spark to them in their own ways. Definitely suggest to fans of Beagles "Inkeeper's Song".
valjeanval's review against another edition
4.0
Peter S. Beagle is someone I turn to time and again when I just need comfort. This collection of short stories (set in the world of the Innkeeper's Song but with only 1 story involving its characters) is no exception. It's a showcase for the voice that made Beagle the legend that he is. The stories feel older than they are probably because they are mostly framed as stories being told to you by some character who has need of passing the information on. Much of the collection is about aging, and it's a stories that I think is more valuable to me now than ten years ago and will be more valuable still ten, twenty years in my future. My one issue with this collection is the same as my issue with IS, and that is some weirdly phrased elements around race that just make it very obvious that this is written by a white male. Not necessarily offensive (at least not to this very white girl), but definitely doesn't feel contemporary. Here though, it only crops up in Lal and Soukyan's story. If you like Innkeeper's Song, you should read this to get a little more into the adventures of Lal and Soukyan, and if you didn't read IS, you can definitely enjoy this collection with no problem.
alfuhs's review against another edition
2.0
It was interesting, but hard to really get into or enjoy. The last story is probably my favorite. It meanders, but then comes full circle in a way that you find yourself saying suddenly, "Oh! I had forgotten what was really happening..."
actsofcarla's review against another edition
5.0
I could read the first story in this book, The Last Song of Sirit Byar, again and again and again.
torts's review against another edition
3.0
It lacked the familiar nostalgia it would've had had I read The Innkeeper's Song...but I could still sense the allusions to an already-fleshed-out world in a way that was almost comforting, even without being familiar with that world. The skaz-like oral storytelling affectation vacillated between being interesting and tiresomely overwrought. But Beagle is pretty great at what he does, so I guess I can forgive him for making me roll my eyes a few times.
sgalerosen's review
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0