★★★★☆ Neither Witch Nor Fairy, by Nghi Vo
A Changeling? in 19th-century Belfast
Neither Witch Nor Fairy
Nghi Vo
A Changeling? in 19th-century Belfast
Nghi Vo's Neither Witch nor Fairy is a short story, published in the anthology Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History. I'm puzzled why it's listed as a book on Goodreads. We denizens know that GR has (often annoying) rules about what can be listed as a book. Typically a short story that appears in an anthology doesn't qualify. Neither Witch nor Fairy was honored on the James Tiptree Jr. Award Honor List in 2014 -- perhaps that is why the GR librarians granted it a listing.
It's a good story. It's set in 1895 Belfast. Everyone who lives there knows that Belfast is haunted by the fae. As usual, when there are stories of the fae, there are stories of changelings: fae things that have been substituted for a human child and who never fit in.
Ned Graham is an orphan who lives with his brother Paul. Ned has never felt right -- he is sure that he is not the real Ned Graham. He goes to the fae forts to find out what or who he is. He finds them, and they give him an answer, and that's all I'll say about that.
Nghi Vo writes like an angel, or perhaps with the magic of the fae. I don't know if she knows Belfast at all. It is not her usual Asian stamping ground. I'm pretty sure she has never experienced 19th-century Belfast. Yet she evokes the dark fae-infested city so vividly I can't help but believe.
It was not easy to get a copy of this story. I didn't manage to find a downloadable copy anywhere. In the end I bought the book Long Hidden, used, in paperback. I haven't read any more of the stories in it, but I probably will. There are a lot of well-known authors in the contributor list. (If you find it somewhere on the net, send me the link and I'll add it to this review.)
Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History on Amazon