This book is an oddity with me. I rarely buy books that are not a part of a series, but this one was recommended to me by a book dealer at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair earlier this year. I had been talking with this dealer, explaining my love of children's mystery series and, in particular, the character of Nancy Drew. She told me about this book she had read that featured a unique take on the character and that I HAD TO check it out! She showed me the cover to the book, and that was enough to sell me. A blond-haired female detective shining a flashlight into the dark woods - such a spooky, haunted scene, how could I possibly pass it up? I mean, I have plenty of other one-off books that celebrate, parody, or in some way utilize the world's most famous teen detective, so why not this one? Well, nothing in the world could have prepared me for the ride I was in for, that's for sure!
stranger things happen is a collection of short stories by author Kelly Link. And, yes, the lack of capitalization in the title is not a mistake - that is how the title is actually written on the book. Nine of the eleven short stories in this collection have been previously published, between 1995 and 2000. And the blurb on that front cover is so perfectly accurate - there is no way anyone could possibly label this genre-bending set of stories, as they do not fit any one particular form. They definitely deal with romance - except when they don't. They feature supernatural elements - except when they don't. They have a certain amount of horror in them - except when they don't. And they definitely have a sense of mystery to them - except when they don't. The stories are blunt - they are moving - they are horrifying - they are sad - they are shocking - they are subtle - they are subverting - they are over-the-top - they are unbelievable - they are reality. Link has a most unique style of writing that, well, quite frankly, does not fit any other style I've ever read. Which is why it is so extremely difficult to pin down a simple description to her stories and her writing.
That being said, I did rather like "Vanishing Act." This was a different kind of tale about a young girl who is basically invisible and another young girl who wishes she could disappear like her. I think, to a degree, there are a lot of us who wish we could wish ourselves away, to go be with ones that we love that have gone away in one fashion or another. For the characters in this story, that wish became a reality - but it took a lot to get there. I also enjoyed "Shoe and Marriage," which was a re-imagining of sorts of some very familiar fairy tale stories. You will probably recognize some, but perhaps not all, of the characters in this short tale. And "Survivor's Party, or The Donner Party" is a strange story that leads you (the reader) in some different directions, and when you think you understand it, you realize you really don't, and so you go back and read it again. This one would definitely make for a great horror film!
The others I'll just pass over, as none of them was the story for which I bought the book. "The Girl Detective, that final story that begins on page 245, is the one I was dying to read. It is not quite what I expected, but based on the rest of Link's stories, it's pretty par for the course. The story is told from an observer's point of view - who is the observer? Who knows. It could be the author. It could be a fan. It could be a neighbor. There's not clear definition. And maybe that's the point. The girl detective is not given a name, but it is clear who she is supposed to be (uhm, Nancy Drew, anyone - or maybe Kay Tracey - or perhaps Penny Parker - or possibly any of the other plethora of girl sleuths that have filled children's mystery stories for so many years....). Her mother disappeared (died) years ago. She lives with her father and her housekeeper. As so perfectly described on page 251, she is courteous, brave, and well-groomed. She loathes injustice, and is good at finding things. On page 258, we read about Fred or Nat, you know - that boy that was in love with the girl detective, but somehow always ended up on the sidelines. As fans of children's mysteries, it is often easy to spot a villain based solely on superficial factors. For the girl detective in this story, it is the same - only she sizes people up by their names. And in-between the glimpses back and forth into the past, present, and future of the girl detective, we are treated to an off-beat mystery involving an overweight father and his twelve dancing daughters. The observer (the reader?) follows along with the girl detective as she searches for her mother (solves the mystery of the twelve dancing daughters), and he/she (we?) are there when the girl detective disappears in the end ....and then reappears - or does she?
To say it is a very odd story is truly putting it mildly. But it definitely pays homage to Nancy Drew and all of her sister sleuths down through the decades. The mystery certainly isn't any less crazy than some of the children's mystery stories I've read (Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion, anyone?). I give Link credit for taking a shot at the girl detective genre and writing a story that looks beneath the surface and makes the reader really think about what he or she is reading.
The title to this book is definitely fitting - Stranger things happen in this book than any other that I've read (although The Prescient Wisdom of Nancy Drew certainly comes a close second to this one). Would I recommend it? Well, if you can handle out-of-the-norm, truly off-beat stories, then yes, this is for you. If you prefer the more straight-forward, linear tales in third person only, you might find this a difficult read. But if you are a Nancy Drew completist that must have anything and everything even tangentially Nancy Drew-related, then you need to pick this up.
RATING: 7 aisles of breakfast cereal and canned tomatoes out of 10 for viewing the girl detective genre through an entirely different kind of lens with no apologies or explanations!
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