…I took a random book off my shelves and started reading it. It was Spires of Spirit, a short story collection by fantasy author Gael Baudino. I read the first story, called Charity and was enchanted. The MC, a carpenter called Andrew tries to offer charity to a down at heels old woman, who refuses it and tries to hex him with magic. The depth of characterisation and theme here is astounding, reminding me of Ursula Le Guin. But unlike Le Guin, there’s a definite strand of Christianity about Boudino’s writing, but it’s well-integrated and not heavy-handed. I think her elves are angels. The climax, or solution, to the story was wholly satisfying. I’m looking forward to reading more of the stories in the collection.
Read another Gael Baudino short story, called Lady of Light. This one was set in the same Isakei village as the first one but this time featuring David, a wood carver tasked with making a large crucifix for the village priest, an evil inquisition-loving guy called Alban. When he refuses because he only wants to carve ‘life’ subjects, Alban threatens to accuse his sister of witchcraft so that she will burned at the stake. Bastard. As in the first story, it’s the elf/angel Varden who comes to the rescue. I’m getting strong ‘Catholicism fucks you up’ vibes from this author.
Read another story from Gael Baudino’s book. The story was A Touch of Distant Hands, another one set in the same old-time fantasy village as the other two stories I read in this collection. It was about a witch called Roxanne who is called upon by the elf Varden to help cure the girl Charity of her nightmares. This is the girl who was once the Leatherwoman of the earlier story, Charity. It seems her old identity, which she knows nothing about, is pushing itself into her subconscious giving her bad dreams. And it is up to Roxanne, with her witchy cures, to help her – aided by Varden. There’s a strong element of paganism about Roxanne that clashes with the Christian beliefs generally held by the townsfolk (and, I presume, Baudino). And there’s some psychology in Charity’s nightmares and their origins. It all makes for a tasty combination.
I read another Gael Baudino short story, this one called Elvenhome. This is the first of the stories from the second half of the book that are set in contemporary times. Joan lives in Denver, Colorado, and is the boss at an employment agency. But she’s been having ‘odd’ days where she’s been feeling super-sensitive about nature, a sense of oneness and contentment about the world. It’s affecting her normally cutthroat attitude at work. Turns out, she’s turning into an elf. I’m beginning to develop a theory about all this that’s based on the ideas in that book I read recently called Capitalism: A Horror Story. My theory is that, where horror makes a good explanation for the evils of Capitalism, fantasy works well to offer a type of antidote or alternative to that evil. The classic example of course is Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, but it’s also here in Baudino’s work too.
Read another story in Gael Baudino’s book Spires of Spirit. This one was called Please Come To Denver (in the Spring). It was about Lauri, a woman moving to Denver and having trouble letting go of her former girlfriend, Carrie, who she has left back in LA. And, like Ash in the previous story, she is also becoming an elf. It is this development that seems to help her come to terms with the separation. Elves, as Baudino draws them, are wise and completely in touch, not only with nature and animals, but with their own emotions. They are a better, more mature people. They are the people we need to be if we are to escape from or get rid of the Trumps from our world.
Read the final story in the Gael Baudino Spires of Spirit book, called The Shadow of the Starlight. A young woman named Amy is working for the elves Hadden and Lauri’s surveying company and is another elf in-waiting. But she has demons, especially a partner called Ron who has been abusing her. It’s up to Lauri to help her with the transition and ultimately to help Amy free herself from Ron’s clutches. This requires her to discover her hidden talent (it seems all elves have special healing talents) and hers is to access what I’m gonna call ‘black hole energy’ to help, and in Ron’s case, to control people. This brings up an interesting issue for her: should she use this potentially destructive talent to help her people in their dealings with hostile ‘normals’? And why didn’t the first elves of the past use these powers to protect themselves? Or did they? Baudino’s descriptions of Lauri’s powers fighting amongst her inner stars to free Amy from the darkness of the black hole are dynamic and very cinematic. This was an amazing book. Baudino is a real discovery for me.