Travellers in Magic

Fifteen stories of ordinary lives that take fantastic turns

Robert never quite feels at home with Cassie’s family, a gang of eccentrics including a reptile smuggler, a worshipper of Osiris, and an old woman who believes her photographs can see into the future. When he breaks up with Cassie, she is so upset that she gives him the most terrible thing she can offer: an envelope of her grandmother’s photos, which show in detail the path that Robert’s life will take. At first, this vision of the future gives him strength—but soon it becomes a prison on glossy paper.

Nominated for several major awards, “Cassandra’s Photographs” demonstrates all the power of Lisa Goldstein’s imagination. Whether she is writing about shape-shifting aliens or kind-hearted ghosts, Goldstein’s fantasies remain grounded in reality, supported by the kind of crystalline prose that takes a lifetime to master.