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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
I think this was the first Sheri Tepper that I read and it led me to several others. I have to think, though, that this was the best. I started collecting titles whenever I could find them cheap, and loved each one I read, nevertheless I think Beauty topped them all.
4.5 stars. It took me so many tries to start this book. I don't know why. I liked the premise from the very first page - a fairy tale set in the historical 14th century! - but after two false starts a few years ago, I set it aside.
This time, I jumped in with determination, and was stunned to find - mere pages after the part where I had given up twice before - the plot took a complete swan dive off the deep end and the book became something completely different than what I had expected it to be.
It is fairy tale, it is science fiction, it is cautionary tale, and it is beautiful. Tepper weaves together elements I would never, ever have expected to coexist, combining the historic settings of 14th and 15th century Europe with the traditional worlds of Fairy with an original philosophy on the creation and existence of other realities with an entirely doomful vision of the 22nd century fate of humanity. The story hops around between all these times, places, and realities, leaving our protagonist - Beauty of the Sleeping Beauty tale - stronger and more broken by turns. The conclusion of the tale was a perfect mixture of hope and bittersweet.
My two very small complaints are the treatment of the third thread (why did Beauty spend 390 of 412 pages never thinking to ask about it?) and the final revelation of what the burning inside her was. I mean... it was fine, but... why did Carabosse have to seem so surprised the Beauty hadn't figured it out? Nothing any of them ever said or did would have caused me to guess at its actual nature. (I expected it to ultimately be declared a burning little ball of hope. Which was dumber, but still...)
This has been my best fiction read for quite awhile.
This time, I jumped in with determination, and was stunned to find - mere pages after the part where I had given up twice before - the plot took a complete swan dive off the deep end and the book became something completely different than what I had expected it to be.
It is fairy tale, it is science fiction, it is cautionary tale, and it is beautiful. Tepper weaves together elements I would never, ever have expected to coexist, combining the historic settings of 14th and 15th century Europe with the traditional worlds of Fairy with an original philosophy on the creation and existence of other realities with an entirely doomful vision of the 22nd century fate of humanity. The story hops around between all these times, places, and realities, leaving our protagonist - Beauty of the Sleeping Beauty tale - stronger and more broken by turns. The conclusion of the tale was a perfect mixture of hope and bittersweet.
My two very small complaints are the treatment of the third thread (why did Beauty spend 390 of 412 pages never thinking to ask about it?) and the final revelation of what the burning inside her was. I mean... it was fine, but... why did Carabosse have to seem so surprised the Beauty hadn't figured it out? Nothing any of them ever said or did would have caused me to guess at its actual nature. (I expected it to ultimately be declared a burning little ball of hope. Which was dumber, but still...)
This has been my best fiction read for quite awhile.
A half-fairy girl goes on a long journey to discover the fate of magic in a changing world. Normally I approach Tepper like Atwood's genre writing: message-driven to the point of transparency, but sympathetic and consistently well-written. But Beauty is a mess of a book. It begins as a Sleeping Beauty retelling but crams in Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, and the Frog Prince, growing increasingly predictable; it spans a lifetime and jumps between half a dozen settings, the worst of which is an ill-conceived environmental dystopia--yet the book says so little. It's a ham-fisted morality tale about the sins of environmental destruction and ... horror novels, I guess? because they best represent humanity's desensitization to violence and evil? It's sanctimonious, plodding, and runs a hundred pages too long. This is the first of Tepper's novels to disappoint me and I by no means recommend it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A good Tepper book, not as incredible as Grass or Gate to Women's Country, but still good.
I found some of the medieval sections a bit anachronistic, even though yes it's like a fairy tale I prefer accurate engagement with the times stories are set in.
and the part with Bill gave me some reassurance that despite Tepper being quite bio-essentialist in her feminism, she wasn't transphobic
I found some of the medieval sections a bit anachronistic, even though yes it's like a fairy tale I prefer accurate engagement with the times stories are set in.
and the part with Bill gave me some reassurance that despite Tepper being quite bio-essentialist in her feminism, she wasn't transphobic
The first half of this book was so off the wall I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep going. Things came together quite beautifully in the second half. I was expecting a Sleeping Beauty retelling but it is not nearly that simple. This book has a little of everything. Very weird and unlike the other Tepper books I’ve read, though it did have her usual themes of feminism and environmentalism. I have a feeling I’ll be thinking about this one awhile.
At no point in time could I possibly have guessed where this book was going next.
There's hardly a fairytale you've heard of that's not mentioned here. They're woven together beautifully.