Let Me Tell You Something About that Night

Book excerpt: Be warned, mothers should not read these stories to their children, even though they might contain a lonely elf, a talking moon, a butterfly that wants to be a rabbit, or a boy who was born with a flower as an unfortunate appendage. Hovering within the realm of fables, myths and fairy tales, here are unlikely bedtime stories that are best read on a dark, stormy night, and at the risk of wounding the soul. The first edition of Let Me Tell You Something About That Night: Strange Tales by Cyril Wong was first published by Transit Lounge (Australia) in 2009. Reader Reviews: “Wong takes fairytales and works them into a surreal lustre…the heart of these stories gestures to a time before fairytales were saccharine fantasies. Their magic springs from the fact that they incorporate—within realms crammed with elves and water spirits and weird metamorphoses—an unvarnished sense of life’s desolations…A vivid collection that will enchant and disturb.” — The Age “Cyril Wong’s first prose collection focus on the individual and his moments of despair and epiphany, cutting swiftly to the emotional quick. These fairy tales provide the pleasure of being transported into fantasy realms, yet they also offer the sharp bite of contemporary issues and themes that appeals to a more mature audience than the folkish narratives would suggest.” — The Straits Times, Life! “[Cyril’s] work expands beyond simple sexuality… to embrace themes of love, alienation and human relationships of all kinds.” — TIME (Asia) "Reading Wong's tales is a mind-blowing experience. It is a literary journey as well as a philosophical quest. Conveyed in accessible language is a strong sense of defiance, interrogating many of our established beliefs instilled by (popular versions of) traditional fairy tales regarding sexuality, desire, life and death, etc.” - Aaron Chan, Cha, Asian Literary Journal "These are fairy tales that provide readers with the simple pleasure of being transported into fantasy realms, yet they also offer the sharp bite of contemporary issues and themes that appeals to a more mature audience than the folkish narratives would initially suggest." — Gerund, Goodreads reviewer