download the djinn in the nightingale's eye

The other two titles are charming but less memorable. 'Dragon's Breath' has a brilliantly imaginative description of a volcanic eruption. (In her acknowledgments, Byatt confesses: 'I have always worried about being the eldest of three sisters.'). The other standout here is the gently ironic 'The Story of the Eldest Princess,'' in which the clever woman, who realizes that the first person to be sent on a quest is always unsuccessful, subverts the conventions and outwits her fate.

As with all of Byatt's work, there is a fierce intelligence at play, and beautifully nuanced prose. This complex, sometimes prolix, oddly upbeat tale also demonstrates other Byatt preoccupations: protagonists who are academics stories within stories philosophic digressions the theme of the inevitability of destiny.

The djinn she later releases not only grants her three wishes but also teaches her how to avoid the classic folk-tale irony by which the wisher lives to regret the fulfillment of his or her desires. Middle-aged British narratologist Gillian Perholt acquires a beautiful bottle when she attends a convention in Turkey. The title piece, a novella, is the most surprising and appealing. And as might be expected from a writer of Byatt's talent and interests, several of them deal with the magic of storytelling itself. All of the five 'fairy stories' in Byatt's new collection adopt the conventions of folk or fairy tales: magic enchantments the granting of three wishes adventures that involve danger.

Download the djinn in the nightingale's eye