Since 2020, Nghi Vo has been publishing acclaimed novellas about Cleric Chih, who travels across a Chinese-inspired fantasy world and collects stories, usually in the company of a talking bird with an eidetic memory. In “Mammoths,” the fourth in the series, Chih returns home to the Singing Hills abbey at last, only to find that its leader, Cleric Thien, has died. And Thien’s granddaughters want to take possession of the body, by force if necessary.

“Mammoths” is a nuanced meditation on grief and its relationship to our flawed memories, leading to an ending that’s both tear-jerking and gut-punching. Entirely accessible on its own, it is an excellent place to start if you haven’t read any of Vo’s novellas yet.