In the Press
The Pleasure of Drowning revisits half-familiar childhood stories that take on grotesque proportions, their logic pushed to macabre conclusions. Fans of fairy tale retellings by Angela Carter and Neil Gaiman will see a similar impulse in Bürlesk's work.
In his first collection of short stories, Jean Bürlesk revisits fairy tales, local myths and fantasy tales, giving them a contemporary twist while adding a pinch of humour and irony.
These are the stories we have been telling for generation upon generation. They’ll give you a glimpse into a culture’s soul. A deeper glimpse than you might get almost anywhere else, in fact, for fairy tales do not hide the darkness. They thrive on it. They confront it and allow us to face our anxieties with the ritualistic protection of a story.
Bio
Jean Bürlesk is a storyteller. He writes, he reads, he acts, he makes jokes nobody understands. He would sing and dance, but he has no sense of rhythm or melody. Sometimes he still sings and dances. As a Luxembourger and a lover of words, he expresses himself in five recognizable languages, as well as the usual nonsense.
He’s a terrific guide, unless of course he’s not and people just don’t have the heart to tell him.
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His debut short story collection 'The Pleasure of Drowning' won the Prix d’Encouragement de la Fondation Servais 2019 and he was awarded a Chrysalis Award at Eurocon 2020.
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