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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a real stinker for me. Didn't want to dnf it.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
One of my favorite books as a teenager. I'd like to come back to it soon and see how it holds up!
I picked up this tale about a lovely duke's daughter in the 14th century because it was on my shelf, and I thought it would be nice light summer fun reading. It 'tis, but it is also... science fiction! I was reading right along, and suddenly Beauty was in the 21st century... huh? But it all worked out I guess. Unexpected storyline, but I still had fun!
As you can probably tell from my score, I have rather mixed thoughts about this book. Tepper's 'Beauty' creatively retells the tales of a number of recognisable fairytale characters. However these are often very bleak and gritty.
Interestingly she employs the premises of time travelling and parallel worlds to weave strong messages of environmentalism and religion.
Having just set the book aside, here's a list of some of my impressions:
Things I enjoyed:
Seeing the character Beauty discovering and bringing about parallels between Disney's films and the events occurring to her own family.
The mixture of sci-fi, fantasy and fairytales.
Beauty's loving (if inconsistent) love for Grumpkin, Puck, Giles and her faery allies.
Beauty and her mother Elladine's ever changing relationship.
The environmentalist theme running through the book (although this was a little strong at times).
The idea of horror desensitising us.
Tepper's portrayal of a woman coming to terms with ageing and mortality impressed me. I haven't read a lot of other books covering this in such a heartfelt and honest way. (Stephen King's 'Insomnia' is another book that features ageing beautifully.)
The description of the faery host at the end if the book. Having recognised a few of the names, I wanted to go away and read more of their own legends.
Tepper's beautifully vivid descriptions.
Things that didn't float my boat:
Sime of the grittier aspects of the book; for example the rape and seven dwarves attitudes.
Almost all female characters were very unlike able...
I found myself skipping passages as the time travelling caused me to lose my investment in any given situation. When reading about her visits to the twenty first century I just couldn't wait for her to get back to what was going on back in her time!
So... quite a mixed bag all in all!
Interestingly she employs the premises of time travelling and parallel worlds to weave strong messages of environmentalism and religion.
Having just set the book aside, here's a list of some of my impressions:
Things I enjoyed:
Seeing the character Beauty discovering and bringing about parallels between Disney's films and the events occurring to her own family.
The mixture of sci-fi, fantasy and fairytales.
Beauty's loving (if inconsistent) love for Grumpkin, Puck, Giles and her faery allies.
Beauty and her mother Elladine's ever changing relationship.
The environmentalist theme running through the book (although this was a little strong at times).
The idea of horror desensitising us.
Tepper's portrayal of a woman coming to terms with ageing and mortality impressed me. I haven't read a lot of other books covering this in such a heartfelt and honest way. (Stephen King's 'Insomnia' is another book that features ageing beautifully.)
The description of the faery host at the end if the book. Having recognised a few of the names, I wanted to go away and read more of their own legends.
Tepper's beautifully vivid descriptions.
Things that didn't float my boat:
Sime of the grittier aspects of the book; for example the rape and seven dwarves attitudes.
Almost all female characters were very unlike able...
I found myself skipping passages as the time travelling caused me to lose my investment in any given situation. When reading about her visits to the twenty first century I just couldn't wait for her to get back to what was going on back in her time!
So... quite a mixed bag all in all!
Another Tepper that has fairytale elements. Her gender politics and world-building are always interesting.
Sheri Tepper looked at a map showing the boundaries of different genres and, taking a fine black marker, drew her own shape instead.
Fantasy: there's magic and faeries and they're a real part of the world.
Science fiction: time travel and a dystopian future are integral to the plot.
Fairy tale retelling: the titular character is meant to be Sleeping Beauty (... and that phrase should be understood in a couple of different ways).
Horror: a couple of sections, for my tastes anyway.
Christian allegory: tied in with the Faery aspects, they work quite nicely.
Bildungsroman: the novel covers pretty much the entirety of Beauty's life.
Environmental cry for help: the future is a horrible place unless we get on with changing things NOW.
Family drama: oh yes. Oh my yes.
I know there are other authors who do similar things, but it's rare to find such a magnificent combination of elements that are traditionally 'fantasy' (faery, fairy tales, etc) with those that are science fiction (time travel in particular). I can absolutely see why Tepper is being honoured with the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award, and this is the first of her books I've read (... I'm pretty sure...). There is just no question for her that of course a dystopia can coexist with the concept of magic, that fairy tales can be reworked together with time travel.
14th-century Beauty lives with maiden aunts and her father, when he's not off crusading. Her mother died in childbirth, or so she's been told, but when her father intends to marry again, she discovers that maybe things are weirder than expected. And then things get really weird when she encounters people from the future and she is whisked away with them, to a decidedly brutal and unpleasant future of billions of people, little room to move and less food. She doesn't stay there, but ends up travelling... elsewhere...
Look, I can't say too much else about this book because finding all the amazing twists and turns is an absolute joy. Tepper writes beautifully, at times grimly; she constructs a complex character in Beauty and surrounds her with genuinely varied friends and foes and family. SO MUCH happens in fewer than 500 pages. It's magnificent.
Fantasy: there's magic and faeries and they're a real part of the world.
Science fiction: time travel and a dystopian future are integral to the plot.
Fairy tale retelling: the titular character is meant to be Sleeping Beauty (... and that phrase should be understood in a couple of different ways).
Horror: a couple of sections, for my tastes anyway.
Christian allegory: tied in with the Faery aspects, they work quite nicely.
Bildungsroman: the novel covers pretty much the entirety of Beauty's life.
Environmental cry for help: the future is a horrible place unless we get on with changing things NOW.
Family drama: oh yes. Oh my yes.
I know there are other authors who do similar things, but it's rare to find such a magnificent combination of elements that are traditionally 'fantasy' (faery, fairy tales, etc) with those that are science fiction (time travel in particular). I can absolutely see why Tepper is being honoured with the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award, and this is the first of her books I've read (... I'm pretty sure...). There is just no question for her that of course a dystopia can coexist with the concept of magic, that fairy tales can be reworked together with time travel.
14th-century Beauty lives with maiden aunts and her father, when he's not off crusading. Her mother died in childbirth, or so she's been told, but when her father intends to marry again, she discovers that maybe things are weirder than expected. And then things get really weird when she encounters people from the future and she is whisked away with them, to a decidedly brutal and unpleasant future of billions of people, little room to move and less food. She doesn't stay there, but ends up travelling... elsewhere...
Look, I can't say too much else about this book because finding all the amazing twists and turns is an absolute joy. Tepper writes beautifully, at times grimly; she constructs a complex character in Beauty and surrounds her with genuinely varied friends and foes and family. SO MUCH happens in fewer than 500 pages. It's magnificent.
Niet mijn ding. Ik ben met lezen tot over de helft gekomen en toen bij de verhuizing mijn boekenlegger er uit is gevallen was ik er klaar mee en heb het laatste hoofdstuk nog voor de vorm gelezen.
Het is een rare wereld waarbij de hoofdpersoon tussen tijden heen en weer springt en daar overkomen haar dingen. Er worden hele verhalen op haar afgevuurd waarvan ik mij afvraag wat de toegevoegde waarde is, wat het geheel ook nog eens verwarrender maakte.
De manier waarop het einde gedaan is, is in lijn met het boek. Een heel verhaal waarvan ik mij de functie afvraag en een raar vaag einde waarbij ik zoiets had van 'oké dan...'. Ik kan mij goed voostellen dat er mensen zijn die dit een goed boek vinden, zeker door alle verrassende elementen. Het is absoluut niet voorspelbaar.
Het is een rare wereld waarbij de hoofdpersoon tussen tijden heen en weer springt en daar overkomen haar dingen. Er worden hele verhalen op haar afgevuurd waarvan ik mij afvraag wat de toegevoegde waarde is, wat het geheel ook nog eens verwarrender maakte.
De manier waarop het einde gedaan is, is in lijn met het boek. Een heel verhaal waarvan ik mij de functie afvraag en een raar vaag einde waarbij ik zoiets had van 'oké dan...'. Ik kan mij goed voostellen dat er mensen zijn die dit een goed boek vinden, zeker door alle verrassende elementen. Het is absoluut niet voorspelbaar.
I generally love Sheri Tepper but this one was a little weird. I liked the mishmash of fairytales, sci fi and social commentary but sometimes the preachiness was too heavy handed.
I love fairy tale reimaginings so when I saw this at the library I picked it right up. The main character is Sleeping Beauty whose daughter becomes Cinderella whose daughter becomes Snow White whose son is The Frog Prince with some sprinklings of other fairy tales, faeries, dystopia, and the idea of beauty.
The main point is the necessity of beauty and how humans destroy it with overpopulation and the destruction of natural resources to provide for them. Needless to say this is not a happy topic and did not align with my expectations or what I wanted to read at this point. However it was a fast read-I sped through the 475 pages
Overall: 3.5/5 My expectation was of a lighthearted story twisting fairy tales all around but instead I got a time traveling story with some very depressing elements and not exactly a happily ever after.
The main point is the necessity of beauty and how humans destroy it with overpopulation and the destruction of natural resources to provide for them. Needless to say this is not a happy topic and did not align with my expectations or what I wanted to read at this point. However it was a fast read-I sped through the 475 pages
Overall: 3.5/5 My expectation was of a lighthearted story twisting fairy tales all around but instead I got a time traveling story with some very depressing elements and not exactly a happily ever after.