Ended up reading this to close 2023 at my partner's place, and because of how thick (complementary) this is, it ended up taking me well into January to finish. It's great to have all of these stories in one place, including the original stories that spawned The Future is Red and Palimpsest, and the sheer breadth and depth of her work (themes, poetry, excerpts from other collections (like The Refrigerator Monologues)) is astounding when you take it all in like this. Looking forward to the next volume when it comes out!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for granting me access to an early copy of this book*

Why I Requested It: Before reading this collection, I had read multiple novels and novellas by Valente but only one short story, A Fall Counts Anywhere. The longer material was a very mixed bag (either liking it or quitting it), while the short story was a highlight in the anthology I originally read it in (Robots vs Fairies). So I was curious how I would feel about the rest of Valente's shorter works. Would I consistently enjoy them or would it turn into a mixed bag like the longer works. Plus Valente tends to write weird yet ornate narratives which I am in the mood for every once in awhile.
(Edit: there was one other Valente short story I read that was in this collection, Badgirl, Deadman, & the Wheel of Fortune, which I did not care for but my reasons for wanting to read this collection remain the same.)

Finishing Thoughts: This was a very comprehensive collection, at 800 pages, which is one of my main issues. At about the half way point I started to feel the burnout which did impact my enjoyment of the stories. In the first two sections there were multiple stories I could highlight in a positive manner, whereas in the last two sections there were only four. Had the collection been split, I possibly would have appreciated more. The other thing about this collection that I did not care for was the poetry. Aside from Mouse Koan (a critique of the Disney company and its history) my opinion is that all the poetry was superfluous and placing it in its own collection would also mitigate the issue of the length of the overall collection. As for my opinion on the stories within the collection, it was definitely a mixed bag experience. While there are some I thought were astounding (and would purchase if there was a collection out there that consisted of most of them), most I found to be disappointing and uninspiring. I've grouped them into three categories: Favorite, Interesting (not a favorite but appreciate the experience of reading it), and Boring/ Didn't Care For. In this review I will also give my brief thoughts on the stories I want to highlight in each section. Glad I read it, would absolutely read more short fiction by Valente, but would hesitate to pick up a collection by her again.

Favorite: The Consultant/ Reading Borges in Buenos Aires/ One Breath, One Stroke/ Fade to White/ Secretario/ The Lily & The Horn
*The Consultant: A perfect blend of the noir and fairytale genre. Using a noir filter to break down the tropes of the fairytale genre and heavily suggest things are not what always they seem, especially happily ever afters. Also very much about female agency, which is a narrative that will always intrigue me.
*Fade to White: My favorite story of the entire collection. The mixed-media segments worked well with the story without overwhelming it. Immediately invested in the two main characters and the conflicts they face because of their identity, particularly the females. Also one of the few stories in this entire collection that felt like a complete story.
*The Lily & Horn: Such a beautiful, delicate, and deadly story. This is set in world where conflict between countries is handled in a different manner, where women on are on the metaphorical front-lines and poison is the weapon of choice. Would like a novella set in this world following the same characters (since things end right before the action begins).

Interesting: Thirteen Ways of Looking at Time/Space/ The Future is Blue/ The Sin Eater/ The Sun in Exile/ The Perfect Host/ Twenty Five Facts About Santa Claus/ The Long Goodnight of Violet Wild/ A Fall Counts Anywhere/ A Delicate Architecture
*The Sin Eater: Akin to a modern-day Lottery by Shirley Jackson (my favorite thing by Jackson), this one is clearly making a statement about American culture and politics, with a similarly brutal ending. A clear sense of place and there clearly are important themes on display but aren't obnoxiously on the nose about it.
*The Long Goodnight of Violet Wild: Shouldn't work because it was long and weird, but if L'Espirit D'Escalier suffered because it lacked color, this one went wild with color and I loved it. In particular I liked how the protagonist changed as she went through each section of her world and how unique each part is, corresponding to a different color of the rainbow.

Boring/ Didn't Care For (some of these may be poems that I've accidently included because I've forgotten that they are poems): The Difference Between Love and Time/ A Buyer's Guide to Maps of Antarctica/ The Wolves of Brooklynn/ White Lines on a Green Field/ Days of Flaming Motorcycles/ Color, Heat, and the Wreck of the Argo/ How to Become a Mars Overlord/ In the Future When All is Well/ Planet Lion/ A Great Clerk of Necromancy/ Urchins, While Swimming/ L'Espirit D'Escalier/ Palimpsest/ The Red Girl/ The Flame After Candle/ The Wedding/ The Bread We Eat in Dreams/ Golubash, or Wine-Blood-War-Elegy/ Badgirl, Deadman, and the Wheel of Fortune/ Down and Out in R'lyeh/ The Shoot Out at Burnt Corn Ranch Over the Bride of the World/ No One Dies in Nowhere/ The Limitless Perspective of Master Peek/ Daisy Green Says I Love You/ Silently and Very Fast
*Unlike all the stories in the other two categories, where I remember all the stories but chose to only discuss a few, I remember very few of the narratives in this category
*L'Espirit D'Escalier: I chose this short story because it is one of the better known works by Valente that I can actually remember what happened and go into detail about how I feel about it. Also much of what I have to say about this one applies to the other short stories in this category that I can actually remember. This is a contemporary "retelling" of Orpheus and Eurydice that continues after they are reunited and both are mopping about their current circumstance. The only way I can describe this story is lifeless. When Valente writes stories based on twisting the tropes of a genre itself, I tend to like those stories better because they are focusing on themes and patterns which seem to suit her style of writing better. If the narrative focuses on a specific story, however, the results tend to be lackluster.

Valente is a new-to-me author though she has been on my radar for a long time. This collection, though massive and a bit intimidating, was an incredibly comprehensive introduction and I’m looking forward to reading more!

What a great collection to have. I like the convenience of having so many stories in one place.

I hadn't read many of her books before receiving this one but I'm glad for this collection so I can hop around to which ones intrigued me at the time. I appreciate her story telling and how unique and interesting every story is.

What a wicked and lovely set of stories. These were so amazing. I absolutely love that they were separated by the four main parts of a heart (L/R Ventricle, L/R Atrium). It was quite a large book for short stories, but I definitely enjoyed reading them.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for a copy of this ARC.

Catherynne Valente is a brilliant author, and her collected short works are amazing reads. Divided into sections named after the chambers of the heart, her stories are creepy, deep, and startlingly funny. Time shenanigans and lovable monsters sit side by side with intense examinations of motherhood, loss, and identity. A superlative collection that is so chock full of feeling it is impossible to read in one go. Treat yourself to a story at a time and feel your heart fill a little each time.

The Best of Catherynne M. Valente, Volume One is an 800 page collection of 45 short stories and novellas by the award-winning author, Catherynne M. Valente. The anthology showcases Valente's unique style, blending fantasy, science fiction, and speculative fiction to create imaginative and thought-provoking stories. Each story is a detailed work of genius, and should be carefully savored and contemplated. They would be perfect topics for a book club. I was delighted to read this collection, and look forward to reading more by Catherynne M. Valente.

I am very grateful to the publisher and author for kindly providing a temporary electronic review copy of this work.

*4.5 rounded down to 4 for easy rating*
Thank you to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for my arc in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

"The Best of Catherynne M. Valente, Volume One" is a massive collection of short creative work by Valente and at 800 pages and 45 pieces (pieces because there's a mix of prose and verse), it's the largest collection that I've read for one author. It is Volume One which implies that Valente has more stories to fill another collection but again...800 pages? That's a large number of pages for anyone to read at an appropriate pace. As it is, it took me a long time to finish this on top of my graduate courses' novels was honestly kind of impressive for me as one of my books amounted to around 700+ pages. Despite the digital thickness (and likely, physical thickness) of this book, it wasn't necessarily a struggle to read. Valente is a writer whose work I've always enjoyed reading. I first came across her for a creative writing course and I was blown away by her writing. The most recent work by her that I've read is "Comfort Me with Apples" and while that one was *weird* it was a good kind of weird. Now that I think about it, considering how large her catalogue is, I guess it does make sense for her to have a 45 piece short story collection. That said, the collection is split into four sections named after the chambers of the heart and like another reviewer had said, I really agree that this should have been split into four volumes rather than one whole compendium. I think that there was an underlying theme throughout each piece but if I'm being honest, I was not paying as deep attention to that since I was reading this in my "off" time.

Here are some of the standout pieces for me (according to my bookmarks in my eArc):
"The Consultant", "White Lines on a Green Field", "One Breath, One Stroke" (I would very much like more of this as a standalone novel or series, please), "Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time" (the subject matter of this one reminded me something Ken Liu could have written, I loved it!), "Fade to White", "Secretario" (TW for this one because of the subject matter also it's just depressing), "In the Future When All's Well" (I'm so easy for vampires, gdi), "A Great Clerk of Necromancy" (LOVE THIS ONE but it's overall VERY sad), "The Lily and the Horn", "The Wedding" (finally something not excessively depressing!), and "The Bread We Eat in Dreams".

Although 10 out of 45 is really low, I still enjoyed this collection. It shows off Valente's strengths as a writer as well as her weaknesses; she seems to struggle with maintaining narrative with the weird and in most cases in this collection, she leans heavily into the weird and so, the story itself ends up lacking in storytelling and engagement. One of Valente's quirks that is also really evident here is how often she turns towards being "#edgelord" in the majority of her stories ("The Red Girl" story comes to mind, ugh) in order to be subversive but it just ends up being kind of choppy and lazy.

All of that considered, I would recommend this for people who are already familiar with Valente as a writer. I think if you're very new to her, this collection could easily land in the "Miss" pile. I would still buy this and will likely reread this over the summer.

45 stories by Catherynne M. Valente separated into the four chambers of the heart, The Best of Catherynne M Valente, Volume One highlights Valente's breadth of imagination and creativity as demonstrated by over two decades of short fiction.

Through short stories, novellas and works of poetry, the reader encounters works of science fiction, fantasy, listicles, retellings and works combining these different types. Many of these stories or poems are very playful with the subject, with a few of them revisited at greater length by Valente (for example Palimpsest became a full length book). At over 800 pages, this is definitely a dense undertaking best read in small bursts. As with any short story collection, some works are stronger than others, but as this is a 'best of' they all are of a higher quality, in fact many were nominated for or received prizes.

Some of my favorites:
White Lines on a Green Field - A retelling of the coyote myth set in a highschool.
A Buyer’s Guide to Maps of Antarctica - A tale of explorer rivalry as told through an auction catalogue
The Future is Blue - The most hated girl in garbage town details her life and how she earned her moniker.
Down and Out in R’lyeh - Three losers of try to escape the Lovecraftian small town life.

For fans of Valente it will be nice to have these works collected in a single edition, instead of parts of anthologies, featured on websites or published in periodicals. However, beyond the stories being collected there is nothing new in this volume. No introduction, no explanation of their ordering, and no commentary from the author. The latter is particularly disappointed as some of these works in their original release did have a paragraph explaining the process or influences involved.

An absolute delight to read, and a wonderful way to bring the author's lesser known works to new readers. Thank you to the publisher for the chance to read and review this collection.

Does what it says on the tin!
I feel I ought to offer the disclaimer that I'm both already a fan of Valente's work and a longtime fan of Subterranean Press' releases, and I had already placed an order for the hardcover of this limited edition collection before I got the opportunity to review an ARC. I'm happy to say, though, that having read the book, I still feel great about my pre-order.

This is a chonker of a book, as other reviewers have noted. Valente is a bit like plum wine, in my opinion (upon reflection, Becherovka might make for a better analogy)--heady and complex and lovely for those who like the flavor, but even big fans of plum wine typically enjoy it best savored in small doses.

Literary, allusive, mythic, dense, wildly poetic and not a little surreal*, the whole book is well worth your time/purchase if you're a fan of Valente's work, but I doubt even devoted fans ought to go through this cover to cover. If you plan to drink it all at once, you might consider proceeding under the guidance of a physician, shaman, or lit-crit buddy with a thing for Borges, Japanese mythology, and mech poetry.

Thanks to Subterranean Press and Netgalley for the early access in exchange for an honest review.

*(The internal structure organizing the stories in the collection, divided into atria and ventricles, fits wonderfully and weirdly with the flavor and mind-feel of the stories themselves.)

As a huge Catherynne M. Valente fan, I was thrilled to be able to read this compendium with many of her works that I had previously not had the opportunity to read. Unfortunately, at 800 pages this anthology felt like a slog to get through. It would have been better to release it in half the size, especially due to Valente’s unique and highly descriptive writing style.

The stories themselves are exquisite, favorites including The Difference Between Love and Time, Reading Borges in Buenos Aires, The Future is Blue, and Daisy Green Says I Love You. However, however for every amazing short story, I felt like there were two or three filler stories that just seemed like unformed ideas or scenarios.

One other issue I had with my digital ARC through NetGalley was the formatting. Although no fault of the author, it did make reading a bit of a challenge and words and sentences seemed to form run on paragraphs with no natural breaks. There were even a few times that I had not realized that I was reading a completely different short story from the previous one.

Overall, a must for die hard Valente fans, but I fear the sheer size and breadth of her works in this anthology will deter any new readers from discovering her novels like The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and Space Opera, two books that any sci-fi fantasy fan should most definitely read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Subterranean Press, and Catherynne M. Valente for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I can already tell you, this should have been more, shorter volumes, instead of the four chambers of the heart (starting with left ventricle, then right atrium, then left atrium, and finally right ventricle), because holy hell: 800 pages?! That is way too long for a short story collection. I realize that Subterranean Press is not a conventional press, and so it can make the decision to publish 800-page short story collections, but this is a lot of short stories to read by one person. Forty five, I think? That’s enough to read one a day for a month and a half.

Beyond the excessive length, this is basically an anthology (although, technically, since it’s only one author’s work it’s a collection). Some of the pieces are good, others are not. Some are enjoyable, others are not. Good and enjoyable are not always synonymous. Overall, there were seven stories I would say I mostly liked, but the weight of the other 38, some of which I really disliked, pulls this down to a barely two-star book. For me, the fourth chamber was the least enjoyable section, but had the advantage of containing the most stories I’d already read, so I could get through it more quickly by skimming those.

It feels like there is an underlying theme of sadness and anger running through the selections here. Heartbreak, perhaps, to go with the chambers of the heart theme? I’m sure I’d know more if there was an introduction or afterword of any sort, but there isn’t so I just have to make my best guess.

I guess I’m just not sure why this was published. Did Valente die and I missed hearing about it? Does she have such a massive following that an entire (but actually incomplete) collection of her short fiction is necessary to help them find all her scattered writings? Perhaps a university library with an unusually well-developed speculative fiction section might have a use for it, but it’s really too bulky for a casual reader and I can’t imagine finding any other kind of reader for Valente (I promise I don’t mean that as an insult). If you’re a more-than-casual fan of hers, though, this may be the tome for you.

This was my introduction to Catherynne M. Valente and it was so pleasant. The writing style and content were both enjoyable and I imagine that anyone who enjoys this genre in general, would enjoy this collection as a whole.

A beautiful, strange, and wicked collection of thought-provoking stories. Catherynne M. Valente is one of the greatest writers of our age and this collection is just the tip of the iceberg of her work. As a fan of her books including Palimpsest, Fairyland series, Orphan's Tales, and more, I was stoked to read the short story collection.
As with any collection of so many stories, there are some that are better than others. My favorites included The Days of Flaming Motorcycles (probably the best zombie story I've read), The Future is Blue, and Color, Heat, and the Wreck of the Argo. There were many others I enjoyed but these were the ones that hit me hardest during this reading. I do think that a reader could come back to this collection multiple times and probably pick completely different favorites depending on mood and what's going on in your life and the world at large.
Highly recommend for fans of speculative fiction and Valente fans in general.

Cat Valente has always been a master of proE and I really enjoyed reading the compiled collection of het short stories. I don't have favourites but I didn’t particularly dislike anything as well.

4.5 stars. This sprawling collection of short stories from the mind of Catherine M Valente is really something. There is a lot of *weird* meshed with a lot of poignant emotions and observations. I loved how creative and smart so many of these stories were, and how different each one was from another. It's a huge collection, but I don't think there was a single story that bored me. I will definitely be grabbing a physical copy of this collection when it is released.

NetGalley and Subterranean press provided me a copy of the Best Of Cathrynne M Valente to give an honest review.

Here it is: I wanted to like this book more than I did. Part of my challenge, the formatting made the stories bleed into one another like a fever dream. I will try this again in print and not on a deadline.

I loved Past is Red. I enjoyed Space Opera and The girl who circumnavigated Fairyland. This book was not for me in this format or right now, in general.

So what did I like? There was some interesting stories. I liked the rival map makers, the facts about Santa Claus, and a few others. They were inventive, funny, charming. It felt like I was reading a loosely edited writing journal.

What did I not like? This could have been 4 stellar volumes of short stories. All at once, it was like the scene in Matilda where the kid is forced to eat the delicious chocolate cake. It was good, but it was too rich for my taste.

I'll revisit this in print post publication without a deadline and update this review then.

This collection confirms for me that I really like how Catherynne M. Valente writes. This is a very large collection of works, and in that there were ones I liked more than others but I still liked the prose and approach to the stories. This is a great collection of stories whether you have liked anything else by this author or are looking for tales that are fanciful, different, and compelling.

Personal favorites in this collection were: The Consultant, Reading Borges in Buenos Aires, The Days of Flaming Motorcycles, The Long Goodnight of Violet Wild, A Fall Counts Anywhere, A Delicate Architecture

Note: arc provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for honest review

I love how much depth and feeling Valente can impart in such short stories. Many of the titles in this collection were fantastic and hit just right, but I think “The Bread We Eat in Dreams” was by far my favorite. Overall, there’s something for everyone in this, and I highly recommend it!