A Knot in the Grain

And Other Stories

By: Robin McKinley

Narrated by: Laura Knight Keating, Liz Pearce

Stories from the world of The Hero and the Crown and other magical places by a New York Times-best-selling Newbery Medal winner.

Robin McKinley returns to the mythical setting of The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword in this “thrilling, satisfying, and thought-provoking collection” featuring two stories set in the world of Damar, plus three other fantasy tales featuring adventurous, pragmatic, and heroic young women (Publishers Weekly).

There’s mute Lily, in “The Healer”, who has the power to help others, and receives a startling opportunity to find her voice when a mysterious mage stumbles into town. And Queen Ruen, who is at the mercy of a power-hungry uncle until she encounters a shape-changer in “The Stagman”, In “Touk’s House”, a maiden who has grown up with a witch and a troll, has a chance to become a princess, but she must decide whether she would really live happily ever after. When a curse follows Coral to her new husband’s farm in “Buttercups”, the pair has a choice: Succumb to defeat, or find a way to turn a disastrous enchantment into a fruitful new venture.

Finally, travel to upstate New York with Annabelle. In the title story, her family moves shortly after her 16th birthday, and just as she starts to adjust to her new life in a small town, a plan to build a superhighway threatens her new home. But a strange box hidden in a secret attic in the new house may be the answer. This is a delightful assortment of tales from an author with “a remarkable talent for melding the real and the magical into a single, believable whole” (Booklist).

©1982, 1984, 1985, 1994 Robin McKinley (P)2021 Recorded Books

Skip the last story

I often feel that Robin McKinley’s talent is thwarted by editorial or marketing decisions. Case in point, this book and its title, which it shares with the last and weakest of the collected stories.

Super well read. Majority of stories are delightful and original. Loved the ties back to Damar.

I was mildly disappointed in the ending of final story. It had so much amazing build up, but then it just petered out. In contrast to the other stories, it left me disappointed Matthew end of a good collection.

Loved the story - The narrator change not so much

The story: You never know what you'll get with Robin McKinley - if you've read "Dearskin" you know what I'm talking about. But then there's "The Blue Sword" and "Sunshine" and I own both of those and happily recommend them so there you have it. I really enjoyed this collection - Some original works, and a retelling, all very well done. Most have some kind of love story, but they don't suffer from "mutual hottness = immediate attraction". There's also no contrived drama, instead it makes perfect sense why everyone ends up where they end up. A relief in today's era of "well let's just have her decide she's just not going to tell him that bit".

The narration: The first narrator who does most of the stories is fabulous. Kate Reading level of work, I just settled in for the ride and enjoyed every second of it. She did almost as much for the world building as McKinley did seems like. Unfortunately the same can't quite be said of the second narrator. It was a hard act to follow I'll admit, but it lost me enough that I didn't finish it. I listened to this for free, and plan to buy the book and finish it. May also buy the audiobook eventually just because I do love how the first 90% or so was done.

Listen while you putter

A good listen for those hours puttering in the flower garden. Lily's speech problem normally would take months with a speech pathologist; mages know no such constraint. The ending felt satisfying, even for the older cast members. In “Touk’s House” I appreciated the lack of both anger (for mischief in the herbs) and a cycle of retaliation (for the witch's retribution). Better to just accept things. And thanks to the pure-hearted maiden, even an ugly cast member can find happiness. In “Buttercups”, we learn that flowers may not be what they seem; nor is Coral [note: just as coral is not a sea flower]. She is no gold digger, and again, the older cast member is truly blessed. And finally, as the garden theme continues (think vegetables), the young lady is truly lucky to have escaped her shallow-rooted friends, finding better things in her new garden and attic. What's knot to like in this story? Well, vapid teens. At least she escapes the old aspersions against "escapist" fantasy. Hopefully her emotions and intellect will eventually bloom as well.

Light on magic, action, or interesting stories

The lack of a Table of Contents to identify each story was my first issue. The bigger issue was the blandness. There wasn’t a single character, plot, or kind of magic that I’ll remember next week.