I picked up this novella based on a recommendation from Abigail Nussbaum*, whose thoughts you’d be better off reading than mine.**

 If you stick around, here’s what I have to say. A Mourning Coat is about a son dealing with the conflicting emotions that follow the death of his famous father, with whom he never got along. It’s a story set in a secondary world consisting of islands and archipelagos—some of which are protected by Gods and some of which are Godless. The son, Therre, who has spent a chunk of his life caring for his father, who had dementia, was, in better years, a very talented costumier. He worked on movies. Because, yes, this world has its version of Hollywood, where Therre’s father was an internationally renowned movie star. 

When Therre designs a mourning coat for the funeral, the cultural elite notices, suddenly vying for his attention, talent, and eye for fashion and design. But Therre’s focus is elsewhere; he has fallen in love with Hanhavenel, the star of a science fiction series called Star & Comets. Because, yes, not only does this secondary world with Gods have movies, but it also has a penchant for spaceships and ray guns.    

 I know how busy all that sounds. It’s anything but. Like a well-tailored outfit, there’s an elegance to the novella that ensures all these pieces slot in seamlessly without distracting us from Therre’s emotional struggle, his new sense of vulnerability and deep sadness for never fully understanding his father. Jeffers, whose work dates back to the 90s, has written other stories set in this world. They are, from what I can tell, scattered across multiple anthologies. If there’s enough to make a collection, I would definitely read it.

 *Another genre critic with a book of criticism out—Track Changes—that I heartily and unreservedly recommend. It should be up for awards this year.

**This isn’t an act of self-deprecation. Abigail gets to the core of what makes this such a stunning novella. (The page I’ve linked has a list of Nussbaum’s favourite books. Several of which I’ve read. She has great taste).