From the irresistibly droll mind of Jim Knipfel comes These Children Who Come at You with Knives, and Other Fairy Tales, a series of twisted fables that echo with pinpoint acuity. A masterful storyteller whose memoirs and novels have earned him widespread acclaim, this is Knipfel's first foray into the short story, and he delivers in spades: this wickedly dark satire on the notion of happily ever after turns the traditional fairy tale on its head. Among the array of lonely losers wallowing in discontent, the enterprising reader of this volume may meet a talking chicken who learns the world has little patience for intelligence, a foul-mouthed gnome set on world domination, and a magical snowman wrestling with the horror of being alive. In These Children Who Come at You with Knives, Knipfel's singular and brilliantly funny mind reinvents the bedtime story and offers up a wildly entertaining meditation on the perils of human nature.
"The title of Knipfel's offbeat collection of creepy stories makes one thing immediately clear - this, thankfully, isn't a typical collection of fairy tales….these twisted stories horrify the reader, provide ample shots of humor, and, of course, offer lessons…Funny, sarcastic, and disturbing, Knipfel's stories will cause readers to squirm in their seats and laugh out loud at the same time."
Publishers Weekly, "Pick of the Week"
"Jim Knipfel has crafted this collection of fairy tales for adults, and while the morality might be a bit grayer and the beasties a little less bucolic, he taps directly into the twisted vein of creepiness that made Grimm so grim. Only Knipfel's funny. Really funny. In These Children Who Come at You With Knives…nothing's as hilarious in Knipfel's sarcasm-soaked mind as that three-word lie ''happil
