In the Night Garden

This book blew me away, mostly because of its form. It's a collection of stories, sort of like the story of Scheherazade and the 1001 Nights. Here, a girl tells stories to a young prince. The remarkable thing, though, is that the stories are nested. She begins one tale, within which is another tale, within which is another tale, and so on. All the stories are within the same universe and the characters all overlap. Left in average hands, this could have been a mess, but Valente does it expertly and with such deft that it is easy to follow. You never feel that there is exposition because the recursive form makes each story seem vital. This book and its sequel "In the Cities of Coin and Spice" together won the 2008 Mythopoeic Award. This volume alone won the 2006 Otherwise Award and was nominated for the 2007 World Fantasy Award.

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