I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Queer As Folklore walks the reader through various areas of popular folklore and mythology, connecting similar tales from cultures across the globe and pointing out their similarities and the ways in which queer people relate. I appreciated how Coward drew on a broad range of cultures, rather than focusing on the most commonly known folklore, and quoted or referenced members of those cultures on their stories.
Unfortunately, I often felt like the connection to queer culture was a bit of a reach. While some folklore figures such as fairies and unicorns do have an undeniable link to queer iconography, I sometimes felt like the discussions of the creatures and queer culture were unrelated, or only very distantly related.
Additionally, at times the writing felt quite dense. This may have been partly because I didn't see the connection between topics, but I felt like I really had to focus to take in what Coward was saying. I did enjoy the way he wrote, but it required me to pay attention.