'White Cat, Black Dog'

I didn't want to bring the Macbook on this trip. I wanted to just take the Kindle along, but it's highly impractical. The iPad would be a much better companion since I could do more things on it, like... fill up the requisite Singapore arrival card (more like a health declaration; SG residents must submit it too) and... blog. Heh. The Kindle app on the iPad works fine.

The short flight to Hong Kong meant that I could easily finish Kelly Link's 'White Cat, Black Dog' (March 2023). The macabre little stories are such delicious nuggets. Seven short stories in the fantastical and quietly touching on morality and life's values. 

These aren't fairy tales though. Apparently these stories have all been published prior, except for 'Prince Hat'. I have not read any, so they're all new to me. The illustrations that prefaced every story are quite beautiful. The charcoal illustrations are done by Shaun Tan. 

'The White Cat's Divorce' seems to be inspired from an old French tale 'La Chatte Blanche' (1698) written by Madame d'Aulnoy. I love this first story best. Narcissistic billionaire patriarch, odd sons, weird worlds and an expected obsession with youth and immortality. It's awesome little tale with people's heads being chopped off. Hurhurhur.

The second story 'Prince Hat' explores the relationship between staid and dependable Gary, and his husband, the whimsical Prince Hat. Yup, that's his name. We were taken through a journey of Gary searching for a missing Prince Hat, finding him in the other world and getting him back into this world. All because of love. 

All the excitement in 'The Lady and the Fox' pretty much happens every Christmas. The Honeywells are a family full of idiosyncrasies, an adopted relative, a centuries-old fox, a Lady of the mansion, and a happily-ever-after. Okaaaay. 

"We all lose," says an acerbic voice. "We all love and we all lose and that's just the way it goes."

'The White Road', 'The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear' and 'The Game of Smash and Recovery' kinda flew over my head. 'Skinner's Veil' was a bit difficult to finish. What on earth was that thing about ghosts and house sitting and strange smooth happenings in life for Andy?