Rating: 
Summary: A Treat for Byatt Fans
Review: _The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye_ is a collection of five stories, or more accurately, four stories and a novella, since the title story is actually quite long; it takes up half the book.First we have "The Glass Coffin", which is excerpted from the novel _Possession_. It's a fairly standard princess-rescuing sort of fairy tale, starring a young man who chooses adventure over good sense, and is rewarded for it. Then comes "Gode's Story", also from _Possession_, which is about a man who returns from sea to find his lover deeply changed. It was great within the setting of the novel, and set the mood perfectly when Christabel traveled to Brittany, but standing alone it's a rather depressing story. It works better in context. "The Tale of the Eldest Princess" is simply delightful. The princess goes out on a quest, keenly aware that the eldest child in stories always fails in his or her quest, and usually because of arrogance. This is the story of how the princess consciously tries to make the story go differently this time. In the end she finds something she didn't even know she was looking for. "Dragon's Breath" is a story of bored villagers who gain a new perspective after volcanic creatures destroy most of their town; suddenly they come alive again with tales of tragedy, heroism, and dumb luck. Suddenly they see value in what they have. Seems awfully prophetic, considering this was published three years ago. Finally, we come to the title story, "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye", which is a lush and romantic tale about a middle-aged professor who goes to a conference in Istanbul, and buys a pretty glass bottle that just happens to contain a djinn. It's a sensual and enchanting tale of a woman learning new things about herself. It is so richly written that Byatt can refer to the remote control as "the black lozenge" without sounding ridiculous. We are immersed in a world of hotels and shops, described so lushly that they feel like scenes from Arabian Nights tales of many years ago, despite their modernity. And while we know, from other tales, what the woman's third wish will be, the ending is written beautifully and doesn't feel cliched. All in all, a wonderful collection of tales.
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