I knew nothing about Kij Johnson before reading At the Mouth of the River of Bees, but this incredible short story collection is enough to make me a fan for life. Johnson's stories are hard to pigeonhole easily; some feel like fantasy or science-fiction, but with such craft and literary finesse that they don't feel like simple pulp exercises. Others feel more like historical works, but are filled with such whimsy and creativity that they don't fit there either. And yet, that ability to transcend genres and expectations is half of the pleasure of River of Bees; the other is the way Johnson treats her themes, often forcing her characters to confront enigmas without obvious meaning and grapple with their own place in the world, or upending a way of life and watching as they attempt to rebuild. Sometimes, those enigmas take the form of magic tricks that baffle even the magician performing them; other times, they occur as natural phenomena as beautiful as they are utterly incomprehensible. Sometimes, the world being destroyed is that of a tribe whose isolation is shattered by a tribe of barbarians; other times, it's a cat who is forced to undertake a great journey after her house is destroyed. Whatever Johnson creates, she fills with life, depth, and richness, allowing her characters to experience both the wonder of their lives and the uncertainty that comes with being forced to confront things they never expected. But more than that, she does it all with humor and genuine emotion that makes every story resonate. There's the confused magician of "26 Monkeys, Also the Abyss" who is haunted by her inability to understand where her vanishing monkeys go every night during her show. There's the confused john of "Schrodinger's Cathouse," where a silly pun turns into something both entertaining and bewildering. There's "The Man Who Bridged the Mist," who upends an entire way of life and has to come to terms with how he's shaping the world without ever meaning to. And then there's the woman tracking the source of a literal river of bees in the title story, who undergoes a truly remarkable journey in a way that left me in awe. There's not a truly bad story in At the Mouth of the River of Bees; yes, there are a couple that didn't work as well for me ("Spar" feels more like a short piece of something much bigger and a little provocative and edgy for its own sake, while "The Horse Raiders" feels like it's only just coming together when it ends), but even the weakest are filled with great writing, wonderful moments, beautiful images, and astonishing bits of wonder that are hard to forget. And at its best - the title story, "The Man Who Bridged the Mist," "The Empress Jingu Fishes" - River of Bees transports you to whole new worlds and places you with characters who soar, even in their brief pages. It's a wonderful collection, and it's enough to guarantee that I'll be checking out more Johnson after this.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe