Reviews

Tangleweed and Brine by Deirdre Sullivan

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teri_b's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved listening to these short stories and feminist retellings evolving around fairy tales and fairy tales characters.

They examine female existence, from girlhood to adolescence to adulthood to motherhood within a wider context which is very patriarchal and the ways women find their own, break free, claim power for themselves.

Most of the stories talk about rather messy situations, where due has to be collected, blood/life is involved, sometimes revenge is required. Some of the women are lovable, with others I would be careful not to cross ways.

I loved how the stories touched down on female existence within a patriarchal context unlike anything I have come across before. And even though I not always agreed with the author's conclusions, I found her portrayals of what it means to be a woman helpful as all the stories give plenty food for thought.

I loved the rendition of this text through the narrator. She brought the flow within the stories and the words beautifully to the fore.

Content Warnings

snuzzbobble's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

enn_'s review

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

solitaint's review

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3.0

*3.5 stars

beautiful and fascinated collection of short stories, i think my favourite was the bluebeard one

ronibooks's review against another edition

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2.0

I was very disappointed with this book.
The drawings were really particular and beautiful, but the stories didn't compare. I found many of the them meaningless and I honestly didn't understand some at all (at the end of them I was like... what?), and many of them had elements that I didn't like at all.
I was expecting a different book from the one I found, what I read seemed to me done fast, not very structured in short. I also had a hard time finishing it: even if the stories were short it seemed to me that the pages never ended.
Personally It was a real letdown.

zhongxia's review

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4.0

If anything convinces you to read this book, let it be the beautiful writing. Sullivan spins lush and clever retellings of fairytales, and it's my favorite anthology/writing on fairytales that I've read so far. It's amazing how much emotion she can convey through one sentence and make you care for every woman and girl in these tories. Not all are sympathetic, and I love that. There are terrible women in some of these stories and Sullivan doesn't cover up their deeds or try to force sympathy from the reader; she just tells us how some of them might be. I also love the way each story was about the misogyny and the sacrifices required of women in fairytales but that they still centered so much on the woman herself. Every girl is so much more than just an allegory against the patriarchy, but feels painfully real.