Ordinary Wonder Tales, Emily Urquhart
Ordinary Wonder Tales, Emily Urquhart
List: $16.99 | Sale: $11.89
Club: $8.49

Ordinary Wonder Tales

Author: Emily Urquhart

Narrator: Anne Wessel

Unabridged: 7 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: ECW Press

Published: 04/15/2023


Synopsis

A journalist and folklorist explores the truths that underlie the stories we imagine—and reveals the magic in the everyday.“I’ve always felt that the term fairy tale doesn’t quite capture the essence of these stories,” writes Emily Urquhart. “I prefer the term wonder tale, which is Irish in origin, for its suggestion of awe coupled with narrative. In a way, this is most of our stories.” In this startlingly original essay collection, Urquhart reveals the truths that underlie our imaginings: what we see in our heads when we read, how the sight of a ghost can heal, how the entrance to the underworld can be glimpsed in an oil painting or a winter storm—or the onset of a loved one’s dementia. In essays on death and dying, pregnancy and prenatal genetics, radioactivity, chimeras, cottagers, and plague, Ordinary Wonder Tales reveals the essential truth: if you let yourself look closely, there is magic in the everyday.

Reviews

Goodreads review by lau on February 18, 2023

The beginning was a crawl, but by the end of the book I appreciated the world building that the beginning was. Some of the pregnancy chapters made me so uncomfortable and I think that’s a testament to her writing. The last half was so beautiful ahhh. I tried to start it at Christmas but didn’t and a......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on May 20, 2023

I really wanted to love this collection of personal essays more than I actually did. As a huge fan of her mother, my expectations were set very high but aside from the first chapter about childhood and the belief in wonders, this collection fell a little flat for me. Sadly I found myself often bored......more

Goodreads review by Amy on December 20, 2022

Probably my favorite book of the year.......more

Goodreads review by Marian on December 12, 2023

This book completes my reading goal for 2023 and was a nice way to finish. This set of essays focuses on the author's life while combining what she knows about her area of expertise, a doctorate in folklore. I enjoyed her stories which highlight Canadian events and also learned more about the histor......more

Goodreads review by Harold on October 10, 2022

Once upon a time — which is often how magical tales begin — in a previous century when I was a reluctant young scholar, on many a Friday afternoon my English teacher uttered words that drove an icicle into my chest and froze my bay-boy heart: “For weekend homework, write an essay …” Write an essay!......more