The essential Peter S. Beagle Volume 1, Lila the Werewolf and other stories Volume 1, Lila the Werewolf and other stories /

Beagle (The Overneath) showcases his versatility and ability to entertain even as he challenges expectations in 13 fantasy shorts from throughout his career. While several offerings, including "Lila the Werewolf" (1969) and "Come Lady Death" (1963), stem from Beagle's early years, the majority represent his post-2000 output, demonstrating that his skills have only been refined over the decades. With a tendency toward gentle thoughtfulness and philosophical rumination, tales such as "Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" and "Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel" prove timeless in their quiet yet profound exploration of Jewish faith, friendship, family, and fellowship. Others, like "The Stickball Witch" and "Four Fables," drift into absurdity or everyday uneasiness, while "We Never Talk About My Brother" looks at the balance between good and evil in a new light. Jane Yolen's introduction helps place Beagle and his work into further context. The result is both an ideal entry point for newcomers, and a lovely way for existing fans to revisit or rediscover old favorites. Agent: Howard Morhaim, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Apr.)

The first part of a two-volume retrospective from the author of The Last Unicorn (1968). Volume 1, introduced by Jane Yolen, contains some of Beagle's most classic stories, including "Come Lady Death," in which a jaded British woman meets her match when she invites Death to her ball, and "Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros," about a socially awkward academic's relationship with a somewhat unusually presented and philosophically minded unicorn. "Lila the Werewolf" features the first appearance of Joe Farrell, the protagonist of Beagle's novel The Folk of the Air (1986); fans of that book will be delighted to encounter Farrell in an additional story that takes place after the novel and features some interesting character growth on his part. The collection also contains the absolutely chilling "We Never Talk About My Brother," the story of a news anchor with a secret and impossibly powerful control over the stories he reports, and the sweetly melancholy "Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel," concerning a painter's divinely compelling model. There are also whimsical works like "Gordon, the Self-Made Cat," starring a mouse who refuses to accept that biology is destiny. Whether set in a fantastical landscape, the New York City of Beagle's youth, or the invented northern California town of Avicenna, these are fables that explore how a brush with the uncanny can either change a life or simply spotlight what is already present. Magic is the lens through which the author shows us how fraught a mother-daughter relationship can be, how difficult it can be to let go of a dead friend or lover, and how a greater threat can unite two squabbling siblings. Delicate line drawings by artist Stephanie Law add a charming coda to each tale. Brimming with magic, lyrical prose, and deeply felt emotion, this is, indeed, essential reading. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Excerpt from Introduction: "Peter Beagle: Bottling Talent" by Jane Yolen Peter Beagle and I are almost the same age. Born in the same place--New York City. Okay, confession--I am two months older, a hard admission because I have always prided myself on hitting the professional writing stage early. But, lest you think this is a simple older sister/baby brother contest, let me tell you that he was miles ahead of me, miles ahead of most American writers of that time, getting his BA a year before I did and winning major Fellowships along the way--Stanford Creative Writing fellowship in 1960 and the Guggenheim (1970) among them--while the rest of us had only barely tried authoring a book. And what a first book his was . . . when he had turned barely 21 the month before. His novel A Fine and Private Place was published in 1960 by Viking, a top literary publisher of the day. The book--urban fantasy before there was any such designation. It was a calling card thrown down into the middle of the Major Players' game by a mere boy. The novel is about the journey between life and death and a man not ready to die, who nevertheless has died. He is trapped between life and death, searching for an escape, his only companions in the graveyard in which he finds himself an accommodating raven and an eccentric man who lives in the mortuary and talks to the dead. He stays there until love enters the equation. I was working in publishing then, a young editor, and read the book with great delight. I became a major fan of his, although far too shy to write and say so.I guess this introduction changes all that. But Beagle turned the world of fairy--unicorns and wish granters and angels both of life and death--into literary masterpieces that ring with authentic voices, stretching the definition of urban and rural fantasy in novels, novellas, and short stories. His work is a weird combination of Isaac Bashevis Singer, William Butler Yeats, a Borscht Belt comedian, and a wise-ass New York Jewish kid. His stories simply ring out with magic, tragicomedy, and the lyric line. NO one else even comes close! Excerpted from The Essental Peter S. Beagle, Volume 1: Lila the Werewolf and Other Stories by Peter S. Beagle All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.