It’s impossible to choose a favorite here as the selection is so varied and the stories so unique. The contributors cover a wide range of Asian experience and take on their chosen retellings using a variety of genres and settings, with interstellar science fiction, robotics, contemporary American fantasy, and fairytale adventures all making an appearance. The anthology they have created does a fabulous job of addressing their youthful frustrations and I ardently hope it is one of many such anthologies to come. “We longed for nuance and subtlety and layers, the embedded truths about culture that – more often than not – can only come from within.” Those stories “felt superficial at best and at worst, quite hurtful,” write the editors. The most famous shared myths, it seemed, were rarely Asian, and when they were, they did not come from Asian writers. However, for Chapman and Oh, immersion in tales of Greek and Norse gods, while exciting, was always a bit disappointing. In the introduction to A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, editors Elsie Chapman & Ellen Oh write of their deep love for myth and legend, something many readers will likely identify with. A Thousand Beginnings and Endings, Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman, eds.
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