This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone is a modern sapphic classic, but I somehow I ended up reading El-Mohtar’s new novella first. It did not disappoint—in fact, it was the final push I needed to finally pick up This is How You Lose the Time War, and they both ended up on my year-end favorites list.
It wasn’t until I got the author’s note that I found out that this is a retelling. It’s based on the 17th century Scots murder ballad “The Two Sisters”—I didn’t even know “murder ballads” were a thing! You definitely don’t need to be familiar with the original to enjoy this story.
This folkloric fantasy novella is about about two sisters, Esther and Ysabel, who live on the edge of Faerie and nurture the magical trees there with their singing. They are devoted to each other, even after Esther falls for a nonbinary Fae lover—and everyone knows that once you enter the land of Faerie, coming back isn’t simple. This is a love story, but it’s the story of the love between sisters, with a touch of a revenge plot.
The woodblock illustration add to the timeless, fairy tale-like tone. Despite it only being a novella, the world, where magic is grammar, is completely absorbing. The writing is gorgeous and a little quirky, and this is a story I know I’ll want to return to again and again, just like a favorite fairy tale. It’s somehow simultaneously sad and hopeful, and I teared up reading it.
I highly recommend this for anyone looking to visit a queer, feminist fairy tale world.
