Palace Beautiful

Read for Fall Reading Challenge: Stories Past and Future

The true beauty of this book is not its first impression, but the way it lingers. I first read Palace Beautiful when I was seven or eight, during my older brother's soccer game. I remember sitting on a blanket behind my parents' lawn chairs, reading, thinking more about the green shirt I was wearing than the actual book. I've reread it every few years since then, and it hits harder each time. (As you can imagine, I had ultimate bragging rights in 2020 for knowing what the Spanish flu was before the pandemic.)
Palace Beautiful has made its mark on me, well and truly. When I write, I describe colors like the chapter titles. I think frequently about the concept of “extraness”. I have an interest in history, particularly the women's fashion of World War 1.
I've never been able to pin down this book as a favorite favorite, but it deserves a spot on this list for the sheer effect it has had on me.

In the beginning, there was nothing, no light, no dark, no air - nothing. Then, suddenly, a Great Dog as big as the universe came into being and then there was something...The dog panted and howled with loneliness. He lay his head down on one paw and fell asleep, and as he slept, his dreams leaked from his ear and spilled out over the nothingness...The entire universe spilled out of his dreams. When he woke, he howled with joy. Then there was everything.