Cat in Glass and Other Tales of the Unnatural cover

Cat in Glass and Other Tales of the Unnatural

by Nancy Etchemendy

From the first two-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award in the children's category come this gripping collection of eight tales of the weird and otherworldly. In the title story, madness awaits inside a statue created by an insane dying artist. "The Lily and the Weaver's Heart" is a tale of a courageous one-eyed village girl who makes a life for herself and her young love, a one-legged cobbler, by selling her weavings and taking his place in a time-honored courting ritual in which young village men set out on a weeklong hunt for a rare lily for their future spouses. In "Lunch at Etienne's," a brief, chilling tale of nuclear winter, a woman continues her weekly luncheon dates until she realizes she's the only diner speaking. In "The Flat-Brimmed Hat," a teenage girl's attempted suicide is thwarted by a visit from her older, wiser, happier self.

More by Nancy Etchemendy

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?