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annick's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
2.75
This was a near perfect five star when I first read it in 2002.
I reread it twenty years after I read and loved it. For years I would tell people this was one of my top five favourite novels. But this reread was a disappointment. I don’t think this is as amazing as I did as a teenager. I enjoyed the parts with Puck esp from page 398 onwards.
I reread it twenty years after I read and loved it. For years I would tell people this was one of my top five favourite novels. But this reread was a disappointment. I don’t think this is as amazing as I did as a teenager. I enjoyed the parts with Puck esp from page 398 onwards.
I can’t help but notice the absence of BIPOC characters. I think this shows the age of when it was published (1991) and I hope good editors nowadays would notice how non western cultures are marginalised in the second half of the tale (when Beauty visits Faery and Baskarone, and when she and the Bogles act to preserve beauty on Earth).
I’m nonetheless grateful for the story and how ideas were presented. The book made me ponder many things, including the impact of inter generational traumas. As a teenager it galvanised my interest in protecting the environment and noticing the flaws in western fairy tales.
this book is no longer one I recommend in my top five favourite novels. But it still is one I’m glad to have read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Sexual violence, and Rape
Moderate: Transphobia, War, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Sexism, Violence, and Body horror
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