A truly hilarious collection of Beagle's work awaits! This compilation really had me in stitches for the most part. He has included some real world essays that he penned many years ago. They were just okay, and I couldn't help but wonder why he included them along with the collection of stories. Maybe it was to temper the emotions within the stories?
"Professor Gottesman and the Indian Rhinoceros" is by far the top pick among the voters when it comes to favorites, and I too fall into that category. "Julie's Unicorn" was a very odd piece. It had a certain flavor similar to that of Charles de Lint's works, perhaps that's why it was such a surreal read. But despite its oddness, it was still a satisfying story.
Here's a fun bit of trivia for you: did you know that Neil Gaiman's character Death from his Sandman series was inspired by Peter Beagle's "Come Lady Death"? You can ask Neil himself! He made this comment at Balticon 40. It's always interesting to discover these connections between different works and authors.