White Cat, Black Dog

Stories

By: Kelly Link

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman, Dan Stevens, Dominic Hoffman, Kristen Sieh, Ish Klein, Tanya Cubric, Patton Oswalt

Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Seven ingeniously reinvented fairy tales that play out with astonishing consequences in the modern world, from one of today's finest short story writers—MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow Kelly Link, bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Get in Trouble

Finding seeds of inspiration in the Brothers Grimm, seventeenth-century French lore, and Scottish ballads, Kelly Link spins classic fairy tales into utterly original stories of seekers—characters on the hunt for love, connection, revenge, or their own sense of purpose.

In “The White Cat’s Divorce,” an aging billionaire sends his three sons on a series of absurd goose chases to decide which child will become his heir. In “The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear,” a professor with a delicate health condition becomes stranded for days in an airport hotel after a conference, desperate to get home to her wife and young daughter, and in acute danger of being late for an appointment that cannot be missed. In “Skinder’s Veil,” a young man agrees to take over a remote house-sitting gig for a friend. But what should be a chance to focus on his long-avoided dissertation instead becomes a wildly unexpected journey, as the house seems to be a portal for otherworldly travelers—or perhaps a door into his own mysterious psyche.

Twisting and winding in astonishing ways, expertly blending realism and the speculative, witty, empathetic, and never predictable—these stories remind us once again of why Kelly Link is incomparable in the realm of short fiction.

©2023 Kelly Link (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Kelly Link is the master of the modern fairy tale.” —Today

“White Cat, Black Dog [is] the perfect opportunity to get to know one of America’s most inventive, evocative writers.” —Slate

“Kelly Link is something of a short story sorceress.” —The Washington Post

Good Weird

Every story had a bit of weird to it, but left me happier than before I started it

Another terrific collection of stories

Kelly Link has once again presented a fantastic collection of stories that all seem to work together to elevate whatever fantastical genre one would like to call her writing.

Loved the stories and enjoyed listening to the readers.

First time listening to Kelly Link short stories. I usually read, but I had already read a couple of the stories in anthologies so thought it would be fun to experience differently. Enjoyed the various narrators’ styles and as always loved the stories by this author.

Innovative Fairy Tales!

Nobody writes short stories like Kelly Link!! She is a genius!! She crafts such brilliant retellings of these old favorites, and all the readers are absolutely incredible!!

First but certainly not last

My ex-girlfriend preordered this book and was very excited for it. She is quite the bibliophile so I figured I'd give it a go. Now I see why. I will definitely be picking up the other books by this author.

Weird stories that seem to have no point

I’d like all of my time back. The only positive is that it was high quality narration. The stories themselves were pretty boring.

Each narrator was perfect for the story

Thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking. I had to really analyze each story, but somehow that didn’t take away the fun. The chosen narrators were perfect for their stories

Interesting…

Interesting…is all I can say. The first, second, and final stories were my favorites, though no story in the book really gave satisfying endings. Still, a unique read.

Great fun - eerie, well performed

I love fairy tales and fantasy inspired by them. This includes some lesser known tales (that I knew from childhood books), which made it even better. I’m going to give this one a listen again & will likely purchase the book to give as a gift. Well written and evocative.

Hmmm

Well, these interpretations of a number of fairy tales are quite…odd. As with most short story collections, some are good and some, not so much. Every story, though, was elevated by excellent narration.