A startling read full of questions, and offering some answers, A Horse Made of Fire appeals to a new audience. Old fans will be reassured by Bell’s continued use of strong, female-centric narrators, and often quirky use of language. The same accessible and surprisingly vivid imagery which trademarked her earlier work is sharpened in A Horse Made of Fire. Likewise, Bell’s regression to earlier topics is a delight rather than a bore—in her new collection, Bell has pulled back the veil and stands more focused, more poignant, and with the benefit of hindsight earned the hard way by a narrator who now knows “that rage was not my happiness backwards.”

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