The Doll Collection

What is it about dolls that has captured the imagination of people throughout the years? Shown with their continuous appearance in both horror films and in the hearts of children, The Doll Collection explores several different sides of what dolls are, what they stand for, and how we feel about them, with 17 short stories picked by anthologist Ellen Datlow.
What makes this collection so unique is that it doesn’t focus around the stereotypical haunted child’s playthings that kill people in the night and move only when you’re not looking. Every short story inspects a different side of human perspective while changing the meaning of what we might think when we read the word “doll.” It covers so many different aspects of these man-made creations in different literary fashions that it doesn’t feel as if you’re reading the same book every time you pick it up. Rather, it’s broken up by different writing styles without the quality wavering. “Intriguing” and “visceral” are both words that most would use to describe this cornucopia of literary finesse.

“I thought that, that you might really think that stupid doll WAS Janine.”

Whether you pick this up out of morbid curiosity, or are interested in finding another good book to add to your shelf, you may just do a double-take walking by the windows of a toy store, or perhaps avoid turning your back to that porcelain doll your family member has staring from the mantle, you will remember Datlow’s selection of yarns.

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