3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

Robin McKinley has a distinctive style to her work -- slow and dreamlike, nearly mythic in its quality. Given that many of her works are based on fairy tales, this actually works in her favor. And the stories in this collection continue in that vein, each with an almost dreamlike quality to it that wouldn't be out of place in a collection of fairy tales. Some of the stories are more memorable than others, but they all have a timeless quality to them.

The first two stories in this collection are set in the same world as The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown -- "Healer," the story of a girl with the skill of a healer but no voice who develops a friendship with a wandering mage; and "The Stagman," the tale of a princess left as a sacrifice for the titular monster by her scheming uncle. In both of these stories, the mysterious Luthe of "The Blue Sword" and "The Hero and the Crown" ends up playing a key role. "Touk's House" feels like a loose adaptation of "Rapunzel," where a witch demands a woodcutter's daughter in exchange for healing herbs, and raises said daughter alongside her troll son. "Buttercups" tells the story of a farmer and the young woman he loves, and the yellow flowers that threaten to bring about disaster... or new hope. And finally, the title story takes place in the modern day, with a teenage girl discovering a secret in the attic of her family's new house...

Most of these stories are similar in tone, with even the one set in the modern day feeling like a fairy tale in its tone. There's little in the way of action or high-stakes drama... or at least, even when the stakes are high the tone never really varies. This does mean that the stories feel more like intimate character studies than anything epic in scope, and while that isn't all bad, it does mean that some of the stories that feel like they should have been more high-stakes, such as "The Stagman," feel curiously drained of their tension.

Of the stories in this collection, "Buttercups" and "A Knot in the Grain" felt like the strongest and the best. The slower pace of the story works well with each one, and I felt that each one told a complete story rather than just a fragment of one. "Healer" and "The Stagman" do stand well on their own -- you needn't be familiar with "The Blue Sword" or its prequel to understand what's going on -- while "Touk's House" just kind of felt... there, without leaving a huge impression.

While not McKinley's best work, "A Knot in the Grain" is still a decent collection of her stories, one that should enchant lovers of her work. And seeing the title story makes me feel a bit more confident about reading her other work set in the modern day, Sunshine.

Feels like outlines for novels rather than short stories proper.

3.5 stars

a lovely collection of short stories (fairytales). my favourites were The Stagman and The Healer. it’s the first book I read from this author and its made me curious about other works. I liked the writing style and the way McKinley makes you feel very close to the main characters.

This didn't feel like any of them related to Damar, but I still enjoyed the short stories. Lots of types, but all delightful, which is unusual in a collection of short stories.

The title story, a contemporary fantasy where the heroine effectively decides Narnia is a bit too much for her, is intriguing I liked it a lot. A lot of people reviewing it here are baffled that an avid fantasy reader, as Annabelle remains throughout, would turn down that opportunity, but I think it was a nice touch of realism - we aren't all made to be heroes and more people like dreaming of adventure than going on adventures. I also thought McKinley was quite good at writing about the social anxieties and approaches of teenagers at a certain age, with a kind of observation and characterisation which is less obvious in her straight fantasies.

The other stories, all high fantasies and some in a shared world, were less successful and I don't think were served well by all appearing in the one anthology. The repetitiveness of good-hearted innocent young woman ending up with weary middle aged man finding joy in the world again through her love was, well, to me, completely icky. I can cope with a May-December relationship here and there when it makes sense for the characters, but I dislike it as a model. The pattern is temporarily deflected, with the story of Ruen, who temporarily marries someone her own age before fleeing to her immortal world-weary hoary looking love, but her description of her relationship with her children and husband was just... tragically awful. I couldn't believe that was meant to be a happy ending, but I think it was.. Otherwise, nothing stood out or stuck in my head.

I think McKinley was going with a theme of quiet resistance in the stories, ie. a knot in the grain rather than outright splitting, and each of the stories can be read as people rebelling against the obvious destiny in unflashy, not outwardly heroic ways. I really like the idea, I think that is a theme worth the exploration, but I don't think it worked here.

Discovering a old collection of stories, especially ones loosely related to a beloved fantasy setting, when you think you've read everything by a favorite author...that's some real magic there. These flow in the old Blue Sword style of her fantasy writing, making them exactly what I wished for. (do I have a magic box in a secret attic??)

My rating says it all - I'm pretty sure this is my first two-star rating I've ever given a book on Goodreads.

Healer is my favorite story in this collection. Buttercups wasn't terrible, but not a favorite. A Knot in the Grain was okay, though there was somewhat of a plot hole - where on earth did the box come from? Touk's House and The Stagman tied for last place, as I didn't enjoy either at all.

I love Robin McKinley's style and prose, but sometimes the content, thematic elements, or certain unbiblical aspects force a lower rating, which was the case with this one. Besides, I didn't enjoy it, and I prefer to read books I enjoy.

Out of the four stories collected here, the one I liked best was "The Stagman," which gives off Erlkönig vibes and has an old fairy tale-like mood and storyline, plus genuinely likable characters.

Loosely tied together, these 4 stories are well crafted and enjoyable to read.

While I enjoyed the stories somewhat, and how different they were, overall I was more frustrated than happy with this book. The theme seemed to be "no closure." so be ready for that if you read it.

This was a delight. I loved every single one of these stories. Typical Robin McKinley writing, but I also thought the characters in these particular stories were SO interesting. The marriage between the old farmer and the young woman, the mute girl and the mage, Ruen and the stag man, and the 15 year old girl from modern times - they were all such specific and different people and I cared a lot about their individual stories. What a pleasure of a book!!