Review | Dreadful Young Ladies by Kelly Barnhill

Oh. Ohhhhh … These are sad.

That pit-of-your-stomach, bone-aching, breath-halting sorrow. But also bewitching, captivating, and totally encapsulating. Why did I let this sit on my shelf for so long?

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What’s it about?

Dreadful Young Ladies is a collection of eight supernatural-infused short stories by Kelly Barnhill — author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon. The first four stories are:

Mrs. Sorensen and the Sasquatch – A recently widowed women — with an uncanny knowledge of animals — starts a relationship with a sasquatch.

The Dead Boy’s Last Poem – A young girl is haunted by her boyfriend’s poetry.

Open the Door and the Light Pours Through – A young man struggles with grief, his sexuality, and the death of his wife.

Dreadful Young Ladies – A collection of vignettes documenting young women with … strange abilities. Strange abilities that aren’t always put to good.

The overall collection is whimsical yet profound. Most of the stories offer feminist themes / critiques — probably not surprising, given the title — though, the treatment is pretty subtle.

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Things I liked:

The bog shout-out. Yay!

The writing. In a word? Effervescence. 

The tone. Wonderful. Weird. Mystical. This is what I was looking for when I read Fen earlier this year.

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What I didn’t like:

The thinking. The stories are so lovely and intense … and they really deserve your full attention to be properly appreciated. In short: not a good choice if you’re multi-tasking.

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Final thoughts:

If you’re a fan of Strange the Dreamer, then this is the short story collection for you. Maybe not in terms of plot — but, in the writing; in the mystical; in the sorrow; and in the wonder. Would 10/10 recommend.

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The Details:

• The Book: Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill
• Published: 2018, Algonquin Books 
• My Copy: Personal copy / VIRL
• Read date: May 19-22, 2020
• Rating/5: 🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️🧙🏻‍♀️