Seasons Of Glass And Iron: Stories by Amal El-Mohtar (book review).
People read collections of short stories for various reasons. Often it is because they have read novels by the author and don’t want to miss out on more of what they enjoy. Short stories are useful in that they can be read in snatched moments, whereas a novel needs more dedicated time. When a collection such as this contains a high proportion of stories and poems that have won or been nominated for awards, it is worth looking at to find out what is considered a good piece of work, or simply to enjoy what others think deserves attention. This collection contains fourteen stories and four poems.
As Amal El-Mohtar is an award-winning poet, it is unsurprising that her prose has a lyrical quality. The first and title story of the book, Seasons Of Glass And Iron, is a multiple award-winner and very much a feminist fairy tale, blending two fairy-tale themes. It tells of two women and two challenges. Tabitha has angered her husband while trying to lift what she believes is a curse from him. To earn forgiveness, she has to wear out seven pairs of iron shoes. Amira sits on top of a glass hill while her suitors camp at the bottom, believing she will marry whichever one manages to climb to the top. The two women become friends when Tabitha climbs the glass hill. This is a story with so much entangled within it that each re-reading reveals more.
El-Mohtar has a passion for both birds and books, both of which appear in many of these stories. A Tale Of Ash In Seven Birds describes the way a nation can react to an aggressor by comparing its people to the behaviour and lifestyles of birds.
In The Truth About Owls, Anisa is a refugee who is not settling into her new home well. On a school trip to an owl sanctuary, she meets an owl that is also having problems settling. The bond that forms between girl and owl helps them both.
A Hollow Play also features characters who do not fit into the places where they find themselves. Emily is far from home and writes letters to her friend Paige that she will never send. A work colleague introduces her to Lynette and Kel. Lynette has the feet of a bird and Kel has feathers down his back. They are from another dimension that they can only return to if someone is prepared to sacrifice something precious. Emily offers to do that. She gives up the book in which she has poured out her heart to Paige.
Wing is a fable combining books with the imagery of birds. A girl with a book around her neck can be found reading, but when asked what is in the book she wears, she says it is a secret. By the sea, she meets a boy wearing a similar book and they share the secret.
The Green Book is a fantasy and is mostly a transcript of the book of the title. Written by several different hands, it appears to be a correspondence between a librarian and a dead woman.
A magical book is part of John Hollowback And The Witch. Here, John visits the witch because a large hollow has appeared in his back and he wants her to cure it. Initially, the book is blank. He describes what has happened up to this point, but a different version appears in the book, revealing the truth of events.
In Madeleine, the protagonist has gone to a therapist because she is experiencing flashbacks, which she attributes to a drug trial she took part in. The therapist thinks this is a coincidence, but a girl she doesn’t know begins appearing in the flashbacks. It is one of those stories that teeters on the edge between SF and gentle horror.
More obviously SF is The Lonely Sea In The Sky. A diamond sea has been discovered beneath the cloud layers of Neptune. Fragments of it display quantum entanglement and it is employed in an instantaneous transport system. The story is told from the point of view of a woman who believes the sea is alive.
And Their Lips Rang With The Sun can best be described as a magical fantasy fable. Every morning, fourteen girls dance on the temple rooftop to welcome the sun. When one sees a stranger watching her, she pursues him and discovers that he is part of the cult that sings the moon into the sky. The night she spends with him, she fails to return in time to dance and the sun does not rise.
Magic features in a number of the stories. In To Follow The Waves, Hessa has the skill to sculpt dreams into gems. She puts her longing for a woman she has seen only once into some of her dream stones, with unexpected consequences.
The idea behind Pockets is not new, as Nadia begins to find random items in her pockets, some of which should not have been able to fit. What makes this story different is the humanity of Nadia and her friends, and their desire to find a reason for why it is happening.
Florilegia Or Some Lies About Flowers contains a different kind of magic and is based on the Welsh myth of Blodeuwedd, a woman conjured from flowers to become the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes. This version is told from Blodeuwedd’s perspective and has a very different ending from the original.
Anabasis is a short and very personal piece of writing. It is poetic in form and concerns becoming a different person as you cross borders.
The four poems in this volume, Song For An Ancient City, Qahr, Thunderstorm In Glasgow, July 25, 2013 and Pieces, include prize-winners. The first two also have the Arabic versions alongside them, showing El-Mohtar’s versatility.
This is a small volume, but the contents are delightful. This is a writer with talent.
Pauline Morgan
August 2026
(pub: Arcadia/Quercus, 2026. 196-page hardback. Price: £16.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-52944-339-4)
Check out websites: www.quercusbooks.co.uk and www.amalelmohtar.com
