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Sourdough and Other Stories

by Angela Slatter (Goodreads Author)

4.56 of 5 stars 4.56 · rating details · 32 ratings · 6 reviews

Sewn signatures, printed on 130gsm acid-free paper, and bound by Biddles in black wibalin cloth stamped in gilt, silver and copper, with a silk ribbon marker and head and tailbands.
300 copies.
(Out of print).

Contains:
'Introduction' by Robert Shearman,
'The Shadow Tree', 'Gallowberries', 'Little Radish', 'Dibblespin', 'The Navigator', 'The Angel Wood', 'Ash', 'The Story o...more

Hardcover, 1st edition, 238 pages

Published August 12th 2010 by Tartarus Press

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May 22, 2011 Alan Baxter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: dark-fantasy

I’m a sucker for a good fairy story. And I mean a proper fairy story, where nasty things happen, even to the good people. It makes my teeth flex to see these sanitised Disney fairy tales, where it’s all rainbows and unicorns and bollocks like that, with a final message that all you have to do is believe in yourself. Fuck off. That’s not a fairy tale. A real fairy story is where the witch does eat the children, not when the children outsmart the mean old witch with their goodness and wholesomenes...more I’m a sucker for a good fairy story. And I mean a proper fairy story, where nasty things happen, even to the good people. It makes my teeth flex to see these sanitised Disney fairy tales, where it’s all rainbows and unicorns and bollocks like that, with a final message that all you have to do is believe in yourself. Fuck off. That’s not a fairy tale. A real fairy story is where the witch does eat the children, not when the children outsmart the mean old witch with their goodness and wholesomeness.

So yeah, I like a proper fairy tale and I knew that Slatter’s book was a collection of such things. I also knew that it was a collection of interconnected stories, with the whole book becoming something of a novel-of-short-stories rather than a whole bunch of standalone yarns. And I knew that most of the stories were dealing primarily with women protagonists. I didn’t know anything more about it than that. I’ve read some of Slatter’s work before and knew what an awesome writer she was, so I had high hopes. I bought this book the moment it became available and it leapt straight to the top of my reading pile.

I consumed this thing whole and it consumed me. Slatter’s writing is exquisite, she really is a master storyteller. Her turns of phrase are often beautiful and haunting. It’s not that her prose is full of literary swirl or flowery excess. She just uses language like a virtuoso pianist uses a keyboard. She delights in the short form of the delivery and these tales are tight, incredibly crafted things. She builds a world and a set of characters and makes us care about both of them in the space of a few paragraphs. She creates a story that hooks us and takes along. And because I knew there was interconnectedness in this book, getting to the end of one story just made me desperate to read the next. I wanted to see whose baby would be the powerful witch later on, or whose actions would cause ripples in future generations. And I was distraught when the book ended and there were no more stories to read.

Terrible things happen in Slatter’s stories, to good guys and bad guys. Good guys do horrible things to bad people and vice versa. Often it’s not entirely clear who the good and bad people are. There’s realism in the desperate struggles of the characters. Often the women around whom all these tales revolve are subjugated and oppressed, yet they shine in the end as the ones with real power, real lasting effect on their world. There are beautiful moments of redemption and bittersweet justice and occasional moments of genuine joy for the characters.

There is constant genuine joy for the reader. This book is a fantastic achievement on every level. Tartarus Press are to be congratulated for creating a beautiful object and Angela Slatter is to be congratulated for crafting a reading experience that is truly sublime. If this doesn’t get up for the Best Collected Work at the Aurealis Awards or something similar I’ll be sorely disappointed. Get it. Now.(less)

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Nov 03, 2010 Sarah L. Covert rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who likes dark fiction, fairytales, strange tales and elegant horror

Shelves: she-never-slept

I opened the package from Tartarus Press the moment it arrived. I knew that I would be compelled to read this little gem right away. So, I took off the dust cover – a habit I picked up after the scary incident of the water spill this Summer – and gasped with awe. Stephen J. Clark‘s stunning image is etched into the hard cover in glorious silver, gold, and brass tones (see picture above). I didn’t think Tartarus could outdo themselves, but they did! I know, I know, you can’t judge a book by its c...more I opened the package from Tartarus Press the moment it arrived. I knew that I would be compelled to read this little gem right away. So, I took off the dust cover – a habit I picked up after the scary incident of the water spill this Summer – and gasped with awe. Stephen J. Clark‘s stunning image is etched into the hard cover in glorious silver, gold, and brass tones (see picture above). I didn’t think Tartarus could outdo themselves, but they did! I know, I know, you can’t judge a book by its cover… but it was quite stunning.

I immediately dove in and was instantly spellbound by Angela’s poetic and haunting prose. In the introduction Robert Shearman notes that Angela has “…given us a set of fairy tales that are at once both new and fresh, and yet feel as old as storytelling itself.” He really hits the nail on the head with this statement. As I read each of these wonderfully woven stories I was stricken with a feeling of familiarity, yet somehow I also felt as if I was walking down an untrodden mystical path.

Because of the nature of short stories and my non-spoiler stance on reviews, I will not talk in depth about each of the stories but mainly speak of the piece as a whole. Angela Slatter has a way of drawing you into a story with ease and grace. Her characterization and eye for detail and imagery is on par with the great classic authors. It is easy to draw a comparison the Brothers Grimm when you first begin reading this book, but when you read further you come to the understanding that there is no other work like this. Sourdough and Other Stories may pull on the same strings as the other masters of dark fairytales did, but she puts her own unique spin on things.

I will talk briefly about two stories that struck me – but fear not, they will be spoiler free!

The first tale that would haunt me long after I put the book down was “The Shadow Tree“. This is the story that opens the book. A mysterious woman who takes care of the royal children (as well as providing potions to those who needed them and taking care of the King in other ways) is the protagonist of this story. The royal children were spoiled and quite nasty to their caretaker. The only way she could get them to pay her mind was by telling them stories. Her tales had a way of charming them. Then one night they took her stories to heart and their fate was sealed. Though this story was one of the shorter ones it did a wonderful job of setting the tone for the book.

My favorite tale (and it was quite difficult to chose one) was “Little Radish“. This is the story of Rapunzel (which means little radish, she is named so for her mother’s love for the root vegetable) and her tower. I know what you must be thinking, but this is no way the same tale. Rapunzel loved silence and solitude. She sought out a way to be alone. All of her life she dreamt of a tower where she could find this peace. Then one day, when she was old enough, she set out to find the tower from her dreams. She meets a “wise woman” who tells her of a secret invisible tower and how to uncloak it. Rapunzel was very happy there for a long while, until the day she met a handsome young man and then did not desire the silence any longer. The story takes some interesting dark turns thereafter and the ending had a haunting beauty that led to tear drops wetting my cheecks.

Witchcraft is one of the central themes in this interconnected book. We see both the bright and dark sides of the Wise Women of old. As a modern eclectic witch, I enjoyed Angela’s witchy stories a good deal. Unlike most dark fiction where one assumes the witch is evil, her stories often beg the question “What is evil?”. She explores the idea that the world is not black and white. Her playground is very often in the gray areas.

Final Thoughts:
Angela’s dark folk tales shine a light on the paths we do not dare travel and let’s us safely glimpse the strange, horrific, and often beautiful otherworld. This cohesive collection bleeds together and each story weaves in and out of each other creating a vivid time and place for us to explore. This well-crafted book is much more than a mere collection of stories. Together these stories makeup an enchanted world – one that you feel a part of. I have already read this book twice, and I do not doubt that I will read it again. Someday, when I have a child, I shall read it to them on dark and stormy nights. I look forward to reading more from this stunning writer. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes dark fiction, fairytales, strange tales, elegant horror, or anyone who likes stories with strong women protagonists and good characterization.

For the full review with links, visit: http://sheneverslept.com/newsandrevie...(less)

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Jun 07, 2012 Kory Callaway rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was one of the best short story collections I've read in quiet some time. One thing that can sometimes be a pain for me with reading a collection of short stories by the same author is that there winds up being too many similarities between the stories and i become bored and restless (or it might just be bad mythos fiction.) That wasn't the case with these stories at all. The one time I started to feel that way with this collection the next story completely turned me around and had me devou...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Sean rated it 4 of 5 stars

Darkly inventive stories that start in fantasy and fairy tale territory, but imbue that material with an element of realist psychological depth and complexity. Gripping and enchanting reading, although I couldn't entirely shake a slight element of semi-goth romance predictability in some of the language and trappings. More than compensated for by the imaginative and original take on the subject matter however.

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Jun 09, 2012 Bluecityladyy rated it 5 of 5 stars

An excellent Australian writer.

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Mar 27, 2011 Liz rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: anthology, australasian, fantasy

Review is here: http://ticon4.com/2011/03/review-sour...

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May 24, 2013 Stephanie marked it as to-read

Shelves: greedy2read

May 13, 2013 Ticonderoga Publications rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Shelves: tartarus-press

Apr 10, 2013 Ana Luisa marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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Mar 27, 2013 Laura rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Feb 28, 2013 Inga rated it 4 of 5 stars

Feb 28, 2013 Nicole Sulway rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: spec-fic, australian-fiction, short-stories

Jan 18, 2013 Randolph Carter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction, strange-stories

Jan 07, 2013 Eric Reitz marked it as to-read

Jan 04, 2013 Egaeus rated it 5 of 5 stars

Dec 31, 2012 Jenny Barber rated it 5 of 5 stars

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Shelves: 2013davanas, wian

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Aug 16, 2012 Thana Niveau rated it 4 of 5 stars

Aug 15, 2012 Rose de Fer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror

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About Angela Slatter

Angela Slatter is a Brisbane-based writer of speculative fiction (that’s in Australia, by the way). Over the years she’s done many things in order to avoid being a writer, including administering an MBA program and studying law – it’s hard to say which was worse. But now she’s given all that up and embraced the writerly and all it entails (poverty, depression, rejection, talking to herself, living...more Angela Slatter is a Brisbane-based writer of speculative fiction (that’s in Australia, by the way). Over the years she’s done many things in order to avoid being a writer, including administering an MBA program and studying law – it’s hard to say which was worse. But now she’s given all that up and embraced the writerly and all it entails (poverty, depression, rejection, talking to herself, living on two-minute noodles and generally being an inveterate liar).

For some reason, she has a Masters (Research) in Creative Writing, which produced Black-Winged Angels, a short story collection of reloaded fairytales. In order to further avoid reality, she is now studying (very slowly) for a PhD in Creative Writing. During her daylight hours, she works at a writers’ centre. She has been known to occasionally teach creative writing at Queensland University of Technology. At night, she stalks the darker recesses of her (and other people’s) minds, flensing knives in hand. Except, you know, when she’s not.

Her short stories have appeared in anthologies such as Jack Dann’s Dreaming Again, Tartarus Press’ Strange Tales II, Twelfth Planet Press’ 2012, Dirk Flinthart’s Canterbury 2100, and in journals such as Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Shimmer, ONSPEC and Doorways Magazine. Her work has had several Honourable Mentions in the Datlow, Link, Grant Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies #20 and #21; and three of her stories have been shortlisted for the Aurealis Awards in the Best Fantasy Short Story category.

She is working on various short stories and two novels at the moment. Novel the First: an historical fantasy set in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. Novel the Second: Finbar’s Mother, a mix of Irish and Norse mythology. She is also working on ways to find more time to write and is trying to stop referring to herself in the third person because it’s just weird. She is also a graduate of Clarion South 2009 http://www.clarionsouth.org/ and the Tin House Summer Writers Workshop 2006 http://www.tinhouse.com/workshop/inde.... In 2010, she will have two short story collections published, Sourdough & Other Stories with Tartarus Press (UK) and The Girl with No Hands & Other Tales (Ticonderoga Publications). This makes her happy.(less)

More about Angela Slatter...

Books by Angela Slatter

The Girl with No Hands (and Other Tales)

The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 Edition

Dreaming Again: Thirty-five New Stories Celebrating the Wild Side of Australian Fiction

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