I’m a fan of revisiting quality books from days gone by. Sometimes I do it just because I loved the story so much that I want to reconnect with the characters again and other times I revisit to see if the story holds up. This week I was reminded of the Borderland Series by Terri Windling, a friend of mine had stumbled upon Life on the Border and wouldn’t stop talking about it. This of course prompted me to go dig it out and read it again.
Now I could write volumes about Life on the Border but it’s not necessary. If you look it up on the Internet you will find so much information out there that you’ll need water wings to stay afloat – tons of people have written about this book and the series it hails from. At one time it was so fresh and bright that it literally blinded everyone that cracked its covers and well, I guess it still does judging by my friends reaction. That’s a good thing because as far as I can see no one else has even come close to penning such an incredible world.
Urban Fantasy is a hell of a genre, it encompasses many things and usually puts a very fresh spin on whatever it touches. Life on the Border is maybe one of the very best examples of this idea, its billed as a Borderland Anthology and I think American Fantasy magazine aptly described it in their review way back in 1991“Bordertown is a fast moving post holocaust city located in the middle of no-mans land between the mysterious Elflands and the magicless World…..”
This anthology has everything a fantasy lover could ever want and it packs such an emotional punch with its characters that when you turn the final page its like being cognizant of stepping from childhood into adulthood, complete with the knowledge of lost innocence. The collection of authors here reads like a who’s who list of cult fantasy writers, Charles De Lint, Ellen Kushner,Kara Dalkey, Midori Snyder, Emma Bull, Bellamy Bach, Will Shetterly,Shaw Gardner and Michael Korolenko .That’s a Fantasy ‘A’ list if ever there was one. And though each author produces individual snapshot stories of characters and events, they all remain firmly rooted in the Borderland World. The common thread that links them all together is each authors gentle understanding of Kushner’s narrative.
Ellen Kushner’s ‘Lost in the Mail’ is a letter/story that flows throughout the entire book and it is the tie that binds. These are small short letters written by the main character and addressed to her sister,they chronicle the search for Bordertown – the land between our world and the land of Magic. These letters are simply magnificent. Each one sits neatly between the short stories that actually take place in Bordertown and though their purpose is to map the journey ahead, they do far more- they create the magic. I’m far along in life and have forgotten what it feels like to be stuck in a go nowhere town with the social life of a dung beetle but Kushner helps me remember and she reminds me of my long forgotten dreams of escape. Every time I read this book a reverse bridge stretches out behind me, beckoning me to walk backwards into the dreams of my youth. I go, always. Because within Kushner’s words are things forgotten and things that could never be remembered. She writes the combination to our long forgotten high school locker in permanent marker upon our heart and wills us to twirl the dial…..spilling forth will be our letters, just like the ones she has penned here. And I promise if you let your mind wander you will find yourself back again in your own Borderland – complete with Magic, Elves and Rock n Roll Werewolves.
If you’re a fantasy lover but not of the the Hokey Wizardry and Neo Victorian Elven fashion set this is a book you will cherish. It’s a bit hard to find and the asking price is usually steep but part with the money…..no regrets I promise you. Oh, and you better dig out your electric guitar and that beat up amp and while you’re at it go ahead and put on that purple velvet jacket and polish up your Docs - you’ll be needing those things for this Oak & Ash trip.
Life on the Border, edited by Terri Windling (1991) Tor paperbacks
- Will Shetterly: “Nevernever”
- Ellen Kushner: “Lost in the Mail” (II)
- Kara Dalkey: “Nightwail”
- Ellen Kushner: “Lost in the Mail” (III)
- Midori Snyder: “Alison Gross”
- Ellen Kushner: “Lost in the Mail” (IV)
- Charles de Lint: “Berlin”
- Ellen Kushner: “Lost in the Mail” (V)
- Michael Korolenko: “Reynardine”
- Ellen Kushner: “Lost in the Mail” (VI)
- Craig Shaw Gardner: “Light and Shadow”
- Ellen Kushner: “Lost in the Mail” (VII)
- Bellamy Bach: “Rain and Thunder”
- Emma Bull: “For It All” (lyrics)
- Ellen Kushner: “Lost in the Mail” (VIII-IX)
