A set of beautiful, intertwined stories about myth and legend, love and cruelty. The language is beautiful, the concept is startling, and the characters are memorable. Right now, I'm 61 of 62 on the waiting list--- but I don't mind. This book is worth any wait.

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Really, really beautiful. The language is rather fraught with simile, especially in the beginning, but the tales are wondrous, and the structure of tale within tale within tale ad infinitum is endlessly engaging, as Valente moves confidently between layers every few pages. I would strongly recommend you read this book rapidly -- it would be difficult to track the various layers of story over too many days or with breaks to read other novels, and characters reappear without warning a hundred pages after you thought they were done with, so it's good to have their stories still fresh in your mind. But Valente keeps everything clear, demonstrating a very impressive mastery of her story. If I have one quibble it's that she is not kind to her male characters, and I'm not entirely sure why this book won the Tiptree Award, but it is definitely a book I will cherish, and one I am already planning to someday inflict on my children at bedtime. It made me laugh and it brought me to tears; I have magical images dancing behind my eyes; and I will definitely, definitely be reading the next volume the instant I can get my grubby little hands on it. (Do I sound like a frantic fangirl? I am, I am. . .)

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The Orphan's Tales is one story broken into two volumes ('In the Night Garden' and 'In the Cities of Coin and Spice') and it is absolutely brilliant! The language Valente uses is lush and vivid and the structure of this story is utterly unique. Stories are nestled inside stories like those Russian nesting dolls. Such a structure could easily become twisted and confusing, but in Valente's deft hand these intertwining stories stay clear and easy to follow. All of these storylines weave together to form a beautiful, complex tapestry that illuminates a whole new world.

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Oh! I can't hardly recall the last time a book has entranced me so! Absolutely mesmerizing!! Intricately plotted (so much so that it is hard for me to not start reading the sequel this very instant!) and lushly written, I am in awe of this book that truly was, as the back cover promoted it, a wondrous collection of fairy tales for adults. Not that there was much "adult" content - no more lewd or violent activities than appear in Grimm's or Andersen's fairy tales, but the deft use of vocabulary and references simply make this more appropriate for adults. They layering and connective layers of the stories may be more than a bit complex for young readers. I do wish that there was an audiobook available for these tales... I think that would be a real treat to listen to! And a film version would be really fantastic! Some of the drawings reminded me a bit of the artistic vision of Guillermo Del Toro... And really, the illustrations were an added bonus (though I am a little worried that they won't translate as well into the Kindle version of the sequel, since I couldn't wait for the physical copy to start reading!). I just adored this book!

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