The Cellar Below the Cellar

The world ends in an eerie neon glow in this wonderfully weird fairy tale from Grimes (Glass Stories). An inexplicable solar storm wipes out the electric grid and strands narrator Jane at her grandmother’s remote cabin in the woods under a series of blazing auroras. Girded by practical folk wisdom, Grandma is quick to adapt to this new world order, banding with her handful of far-flung neighbors (most of whom suspect her of witchcraft) to pool skills and resources, while Jane wallows in fear and confusion. Still, she reluctantly follows Grandma’s instructions, however nonsensical they seem. The one thing she won’t do is visit the cellar below the cellar, a mysterious subterranean space that, Jane assumes, contains horrors she dare not even imagine. Grandma insists that only through visiting this subcellar will Jane finally be ready to embrace her destiny. This central metaphor feels elastic and expansive even after the truth of the eponymous space is revealed. Grimes conjures a world that is simultaneously vast, mysterious, and fully lived in, replete with idiosyncratic folk horror elements including sentient dolls, a little girl with uncanny abilities, and a traveling pastor who captures demons in bottles. Meanwhile, Jane’s fretful but matter-of-fact narration of increasingly enchanted circumstances adds humor. Kelly Link fans won’t want to miss this. (Feb.)