Reviews: Karen Joy Fowler

Fiction

Novels:
Sarah Canary (1991)
The Sweetheart Season (1996)

Collections:
Artificial Things (1986)
Letters from Home (1989)
Peripheral Vision: Author's Choice Monthly #6 (1990)
Black Glass (1998)

Chronological:

"The Brew"

in Peter Beagle's The Immortal Unicorn;
collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Duplicity"

anthologized in Letters from Home (1989);
collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Black Glass"

collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Shimabara"

collected in Black Glass (1998)

"The Elizabeth Complex"

collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Go Back"

collected in Black Glass (1998)

"The Travails"

collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Letters from Home"

anthologized in Letters from Home (1989);
collected in Black Glass (1998)

"The Black Fairy's Curse"

collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Game Night at the Fox and Goose"

collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Praxis" (1985)

first published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, March 1985;
collected in Artificial Things (1986)

"The Poplar Street Study" (1985)

first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction); collected in Artificial Things (1986)

"The War of the Roses" (1985)

first published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Dec. 1985;
collected in Artificial Things (1986);
Pulphouse Publishing, Eugene, OR: 1991 (ISBN 1-56146-528-3): "Short Story Paperback #28"

"The Lake Was Full of Artificial Things" (1985)

first published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Oct. 1985;
collected in Artificial Things (1986);
anthologized in The Norton Book of Science Fiction

"Face Value" (1986)

first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction;
collected in Artificial Things (1986);

"Wild Boys: Variations on a Theme" (1986)

first appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction;
collected in Artificial Things (1986);

"The Dragon's Head" (1986)

first published in Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, Aug. 1986;
collected in Artificial Things (1986);

"Recalling Cinderella" (1985)

first appeared in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume I;
collected in Artificial Things (1986);

"Contention" (1986)

first appeared in Artificial Things (1986);
anthologized in Letters from Home (1989);
collected in Peripheral Vision (Author's Choice Monthly, #6; 1990);
collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Other Planes" (1986)

first appeared in Artificial Things (1986)

"The Gate of Ghosts" (1986)

first appeared in Artificial Things (1986)

"The Bog People" (1986)

first appeared in Artificial Things (1986)

"The View from Venus" (1986) aka "The View from Venus: A Case Study"

first appeared in Artificial Things (1986); collected in Peripheral Vision (Author's Choice Monthly, #6; 1990);
collected in Black Glass (1998)

Artificial Things (1986)

Bantam: 1986 (ISBN 0-553-26219-X)

Includes:
"The Lake Was Full of Artificial Things" (1985)
"The Poplar Street Study" (1985)
"Face Value" (1986)
"The Dragon's Head" (1986)
"The War of the Roses" (1985)
"Contention" (1986)
"Recalling Cinderella" (1985)
"Other Planes" (1986)
"The Gate of Ghosts" (1986)
"The Bog People" (1986)
"Wild Boys: Variations on a Theme" (1986)
"The View from Venus" (1986)
"Praxis" (1985)

"The Faithful Companion at Forty" (1987)

anthologized in Letters from Home (1989);
collected in Peripheral Vision (Author's Choice Monthly, #6; 1990);
collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Lily Red" (1988)

anthologized in Letters from Home (1989);
collected in Peripheral Vision (Author's Choice Monthly, #6; 1990);
collected in Black Glass (1998)

"Lieserl" (1989)

anthologized in Letters from Home (1989);
collected in Peripheral Vision (Author's Choice Monthly, #6; 1990);
collected in Black Glass (1998)

Letters from Home: Stories by Pat Cadigan, Karen Joy Fowler, and Pat Murphy (1989) (Lefanu, editor).

Fowler stories included:
"Letters from Home"
"Lily Red"
"Contention"
"The Faithful Companion of Forty"
"Duplicity"
"Lieserl"

Peripheral Vision (1990)

Pulphouse Publishing, Eugene, OR: "Author's Choice Monthly", Issue 6, March, 1990.
Includes:
"Introduction" (1990)
"The Faithful Companion at Forty" (1987)
"Lily Red" (1988)
"Contention" (1986)
"Lieserl" (1990)
"The View from Venus" (1986)

Sarah Carany (1991)

Zebra Books: New York, 1991;
Holt, 1991
Shortlisted for the 1991 Tiptree Award.

The Sweetheart Season (1996)

Ballantine, New York: 1996 (ISBN 0-345-41642-2)
a women's baseball team in rural America

Black Glass: Short Fiction (1998)

Henry Holt, New York: 1998 (ISBN 0-8050-5557-6)

Includes:
"Black Glass"
"Contention"
"Shimabara"
"The Elizabeth Complex"
"Go Back"
"The Travails"
"Lieserl"
"Letters from Home"
"Duplicity"
"The Faithful Companion at Forty"
"The Brew"
"Lily Red"
"The Black Fairy's Curse"
"The View from Venus: A Case Study"
"Game Night at the Fox and Goose"

Reviews & Synopses

One of the co-founders of the James Tiptree, Jr., Memorial Award for science fiction that "explores or expandes gender," Fowler is consistently thoughtful, delightful in conversation, and a wonderful writer. More later. -- lq, 7/16/97.

Sarah Canary, Karen Joy Fowler's impressive first novel, set in the late 1800s, begins when an unidentified woman, dressed in black, appears suddenly in a section of forest cleared by Chinese railway workers in the Pacific Northwest. She speaks no intelligible language, and the workers decide to return her to the "white world," specifically a mental institution in the village of Steilacoom. The story follows this woman, called Sarah Canary because of her bird-like language, through the Pacific Northwest, merging historical facts, humor, and fantastic fiction. Fowler seamlessly switches the point-of-view between those who follow her, including Chin, the railroad worker who first encounters Sarah; BJ, a fellow escapee from the mental institution; Harold, the man who captures Sarah and takes her on tour as the "Alaskan Wild Woman"; and Adelaide, a scandalous lecturer addressing the sexual needs and rights of women. These characters tell Sarah's story from their positions as misfits in 19th century society; it becomes less a story about the enigma that is Sarah Canary, and more an examination of the attitudes of society, historically and today. -- clw, 8/19/97
Similarly themed: Patricia Anthony's God's Fires