First edition. Tall 8vo. Pp. [x], 162. Mauve linen boards, lettered in gilt to spine; illustrated end papers.
Some of these tales originally appeared – often in earlier form – in the author's previous publications: From the Star Chamber (Fiddlehead, 1974), The Butcher's Tales (Aya Press, 1980), Haddock's Eyes (Les Éditions du Fourneau, 1987), The Volatilized Ceiling of Baron Munodi (La Compagnie des Indes Oniriques, 1991), and The Butcher's Tales (Atlas Press, 1992).
A collection of nearly 60 stories in the fantastic tradition of Borges, Bruno Schulz, Angela Carter, and H.P. Lovecraft, that resemble a vitrine stuffed with curiosities, grotesqueries, and erotic paraphernalia. A chance meeting at a party between Steely Dan's singer, Donald Fagen, and the author, while both attending Bard College inspired the band's 1974 hit song "Rikki Don't Lose That Number". "Ducornet's newest is an astonishing accomplishment, the work of an artist who can, in the course of a paragraph, convey the impact of a much longer story; given a few pages, she packs the wallop of a novel." –Booklist