Stoker award winner. Deservedly so. Black Cranes: Tales of Unquiet Women, edited by Lee Murray and Geneve Flynn, is a beautiful book. Literally, the cover is compelling, and the interior illustrations lend magic. The fourteen stories that make up the anthology are, every one of them, breath-takers.

The authors are all Southeast Asian writers. These stories emanate, get their strength, from the authors’ relationship with their heritage, and with the culture and tradition that come with it. Some of the conflicts in the story are universal — disappointing a parent in your choice of partner or career or by the act of moving away, for example. But in these stories, there are struggles specific to Asian women who don’t fit in, or who struggle with aspects of their culture.

The stories blend fantasy and folk horror, ghost stories and dystopia and dark humor. The stories have been flowing over each other in my mind for days, making me feel haunted at times, pensive at others.

Though I wasn’t trying to match my drink to the book, the house special cherry mule, made with local ginger beer, seemed appropriate. Joe’s Friendly Tavern, Empire, Michigan.