story: “Catskin”

author: Kelly Link

year: 2005

where: Blacksmith Coffee

note: In a review for this short story by Matt Hilliard, he writes, “The cat who in a fairy tale would have turned into a princess for him to marry was lost, though of course Small is too young to be disappointed, he wants a mother, not a wife. The fact that his mother is still with him, sort of, just makes this worse.” I could not have said this better myself.

a line: “Cats went in and out of the witch’s house all day long.’”

theme(s): Parental loss, Grief, Identity, Transformations limitations