We Never Talk About My Brother

"At his best, Peter S. Beagle outshines the moon, the sun, the stars, the entire galaxy," —Seattle Times

The nine extraordinary stories in this Peter S. Beagle fantasy collection are profound explorations of love, death, transformation, and the choices that define just who and what we are. Ranging from an artist's loft in 1950s New York to the lacquered hallways of a feudal Japanese castle, each is a singular world of the imagination, told with wit and timeless wisdom.

In the title story, a modern-day angel of death moonlights as an anchorman on the network news. In "King Pelles the Sure," we meet the shortsighted ruler of a gentle realm, who betrays his kingdom by dreaming of a manageable war. In "The Last and Only," an American librarian named George Moscowitz discovers—much to his surprise, and to his wife's sadness—that he has transformed into the last living Frenchman. In "Spook," two bitter rivals in a supernatural battle over love and real estate forego pistols at dawn in favor of dramatic recitations of dreadful poetry.

Combining new work written specially for this volume with recently released classics, as well as a rediscovered poem cycle, "The Unicorn Tapestries," WE NEVER TALK ABOUT MY BROTHER is a haunting, wholly-satisfying collection of fiction from one of America's finest authors.

CONTENTS

Uncle Chaim and Aunt Rifke and the Angel
We Never Talk About My Brother
The Tale of Junko and Sayuri
King Pelles the Sure
The Last and Only, or, Mr. Moscowitz Becomes French
Spook
The Stickball Witch
By Moonlight
The Unicorn Tapestries
Chandail (an Innkeeper's World story)

—Peter S. Beagle was born in 1939 and raised in the Bronx, just a few blocks from Woodlawn Cemetery, the inspiration for his first novel, A FINE AND PRIVATE PLACE. Today, thanks to classic works such as THE LAST UNICORN, TAMSIN, and THE INNKEEPER'S SONG, he is acknowledged as America's greatest living fantasy author; and his dazzling abilities with language, characters, and magical storytelling have earned him many millions of fans around the world. In addition to stories and novels Beagle has written numerous teleplays and screenplays, including the animated versions of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE LAST UNICORN, plus the fan-favorite “Sarek” episode of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. His nonfiction book I SEE BY MY OUTFIT, which recounts a 1963 journey across America on motor scooter, is considered a classic of American travel writing; and he is also a gifted poet, lyricist, and singer-songwriter. He has won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Mythopoeic Awards, along with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the World Fantasy Association, and also France's prestigious Grand Prix de l'Imaginaire.