Scan barcode
proffy's review against another edition
4.0
Lee channels Esther and Judas Garber, siblings and writers, to create this collection of short stories. While the Garbers, along with their sister Anne, are Lee's own creations, she claims they are as real to her as anything, and so this collection reads as a mix of fiction and memoir. Each story, despite the finale, is written from a first person perspective by either Esther or Judas and recounts an event from his/her life. Typically this event is of the romantic or sexual variety; although it should be noted that this is not erotica. The sex bows down before the story, is a tool for the story, not the reason for its existence.
There are nine stories in this 200+ page collection ranging from tales with chapters to one-page portraits. Esther's stories are Black Eyed Susan, The Kiss, The X's are not Kisses, Death and the Maiden, and Disturbed by Her Song. Judas's stories are Ne Que V'on Desir, Alexandrians, Fleurs en Hiver, and The Crow. Despite the fact that all stories were indeed written by the same person, Esther and Judas have very different voices, the distinction obvious. Of course, the difference is also noted in that Esther is a lesbian and Judas a gay man.
The entire collection is book-ended by the tale of the Princess and the Nightingale, the story which also gave the collection its title:
Once upon a time there was a princess, outside whose high bedroom window a nightingale sang every night from a pomegranate tree. While the nightingale sang, the princess slept deeply and well, dreaming of wondrous and beautiful things. However there came a night when the nightingale, for reasons of her own, did not sing but flew far away.
In the morning, the princess summoned a gardener and told him to cut down the pomegranate tree. The man protested; the tree was a fine one, young, healthy and fruitful. But the princess would not relent. For as she said, all that one previous night a nightingale had perched in the branches, and the princess's sleep had been very much disturbed by her song.
This passage begins the book, but the significance is not revealed until the final tale, and it's overall import is moving and melancholy, ending the book on the same sort of poetic and dreamy tone which has permeated all of the tales. These are not happy every after stories, nor are they darkly depressing tales; they are snippets of life which reflect on those deeply felt, somber but not lacking hope, type moments.
I think what most intrigued me by this collection is the creation of a universe in which these two siblings - and their never-there-but-always-present sister Anne - inhabit. Each story is separate from the others with minimal character duplication outside of the siblings, and yet they all come together to paint a portrait of this unique universe, a world of dreams, surreal and poignant. Alternating gothic, surreal, realistic, erotic, sad, hopeful, and deep, the collection is one I would definitely recommend.
With all this in mind, you may be wondering why I haven't marked it as a Buy, instead choosing to select Borrow for my rating. Simply put, short stories just do not capture me as much as full length novels: certain stories would be a Buy, others would be an Accept, so I'm splitting the difference.
There are nine stories in this 200+ page collection ranging from tales with chapters to one-page portraits. Esther's stories are Black Eyed Susan, The Kiss, The X's are not Kisses, Death and the Maiden, and Disturbed by Her Song. Judas's stories are Ne Que V'on Desir, Alexandrians, Fleurs en Hiver, and The Crow. Despite the fact that all stories were indeed written by the same person, Esther and Judas have very different voices, the distinction obvious. Of course, the difference is also noted in that Esther is a lesbian and Judas a gay man.
The entire collection is book-ended by the tale of the Princess and the Nightingale, the story which also gave the collection its title:
Once upon a time there was a princess, outside whose high bedroom window a nightingale sang every night from a pomegranate tree. While the nightingale sang, the princess slept deeply and well, dreaming of wondrous and beautiful things. However there came a night when the nightingale, for reasons of her own, did not sing but flew far away.
In the morning, the princess summoned a gardener and told him to cut down the pomegranate tree. The man protested; the tree was a fine one, young, healthy and fruitful. But the princess would not relent. For as she said, all that one previous night a nightingale had perched in the branches, and the princess's sleep had been very much disturbed by her song.
This passage begins the book, but the significance is not revealed until the final tale, and it's overall import is moving and melancholy, ending the book on the same sort of poetic and dreamy tone which has permeated all of the tales. These are not happy every after stories, nor are they darkly depressing tales; they are snippets of life which reflect on those deeply felt, somber but not lacking hope, type moments.
I think what most intrigued me by this collection is the creation of a universe in which these two siblings - and their never-there-but-always-present sister Anne - inhabit. Each story is separate from the others with minimal character duplication outside of the siblings, and yet they all come together to paint a portrait of this unique universe, a world of dreams, surreal and poignant. Alternating gothic, surreal, realistic, erotic, sad, hopeful, and deep, the collection is one I would definitely recommend.
With all this in mind, you may be wondering why I haven't marked it as a Buy, instead choosing to select Borrow for my rating. Simply put, short stories just do not capture me as much as full length novels: certain stories would be a Buy, others would be an Accept, so I'm splitting the difference.
cindywho's review against another edition
4.0
Lee usually writes high fantasy with cranky heroines (in my experience so far). This small press offering of short stories finds her channeling two characters who write queer erotica with a touch of magical realism. The stories are emotionally intense. Esther writes a great love story while Judas tends to write memoir-like shorter pieces. They are both a little cranky too.
magneticcrow's review
4.0
So good, so my cup of tea. Beautiful, surreal little stories with gothic touches pleasing to this fan of Dinesen and Hoffman. My only turn-off was that the metaphor in one story fell out as feeling transphobic to me. If only Lee could have ended that one differently...
corrie's review
5.0
The more I read Tanith Lee, the more I fall in love with her writing. Disturbed by Her Song is a linked collection of stories by Tanith Lee, writing as herself and with her alter egos Esther Garber and Judas Garbah. In the introduction Lee explains how this curious relationship works and it provides an intriguing opening for the anthology.
There are nine stories in total, set in various times and places (Rome, England, Egypt). All of them are evocative, moving, darkly surreal, lush and deliciously erotic. Tanith Lee is at the top of her game, it does not get better than this.
If I have to give my preference, I would say the stories written as Esther Garber resonate with me the most. In particular:
Black Eyed Susan (read before in the Heiresses of Russ anthology) - a hotel chambermaid obsesses over a woman she’s seen wandering the halls of the hotel. Is she a ghost?
Death and the Maiden is a fascinating story about a woman who falls in love with the wife of a famous and scandalous Pre-Raphaelite painter. The wife, however, has an unusual request pertaining to her sickly, troubled daughter.
And lastly Disturbed by her Song - where an actress is secretly in love with a colleague her whole life but her feelings are never reciprocated nor noticed.
f/f, m/m – nothing graphic
Themes: obsession, unrequited love, Paris, Egypt, seduction, Tanith Lee’s writing is eccentric as hell and I love that.
5 stars
There are nine stories in total, set in various times and places (Rome, England, Egypt). All of them are evocative, moving, darkly surreal, lush and deliciously erotic. Tanith Lee is at the top of her game, it does not get better than this.
If I have to give my preference, I would say the stories written as Esther Garber resonate with me the most. In particular:
Black Eyed Susan (read before in the Heiresses of Russ anthology) - a hotel chambermaid obsesses over a woman she’s seen wandering the halls of the hotel. Is she a ghost?
Death and the Maiden is a fascinating story about a woman who falls in love with the wife of a famous and scandalous Pre-Raphaelite painter. The wife, however, has an unusual request pertaining to her sickly, troubled daughter.
And lastly Disturbed by her Song - where an actress is secretly in love with a colleague her whole life but her feelings are never reciprocated nor noticed.
f/f, m/m – nothing graphic
Themes: obsession, unrequited love, Paris, Egypt, seduction, Tanith Lee’s writing is eccentric as hell and I love that.
5 stars
More...