The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories (review)

In 2008, Stiefvater, Gratton, and Yovanoff agreed to start a blog wherein they'd take turns posting short fiction that would enable them to experiment with their craft and critique one another's work. This book includes some of the pieces from the blog as well as other original short stories that highlight the process of a writing group. Most of the stories are preceded by comments from both the story's author and one of the co-bloggers, highlighting some feature of the story that sets it in that writer's oeuvre. For instance, Yovanoff comments on Stiefvater's ability to create viable ensemble casts, and Stiefvater playfully teases Gratton about her infatuation with angst and brutality. Handwritten comments also pepper each story, with a handwriting key in the beginning helping readers figure out who wrote what. These techniques allow the writers to engage in an ongoing conversation about their processes, their obsessions, and their strengths. Also included are hand-drawn doodles and cartoons, as well as charts that list recurring themes in their work. The three provide insight on what they start with when they begin a story or novel—a name, a first line, an idea they want to play with—and reflect on recurring themes and motifs. Although they encourage one another to break boundaries, and each tries out territories that the others have previously mapped, their approaches to the paranormal are distinctive enough that fans of each individual author will find the book satisfying. The end result of the combination of stories and formal and informal commentary is that readers will feel a stronger, more intimate connection with these writers as people, as well as gain insight into the kinds of support and critique that are useful in story-making and story-sharing. Oh, and since these three are rapidly becoming masters of their craft, the stories themselves are good, too, some even bordering on exquisite.