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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
A collection of fairy tales written not for children, but for those of us approaching (or already comfortably in) middle age.
adventurous
medium-paced
“I want our solitudes to be together.”
“Hope is a monster and a deer and i am its play thing.”
what would i do if i had 3 wishes?
1. first, that my family have happy, healthy lives for as long as they live. ✨
2. second, that i have my own library with an unlimited supply of books I could ever wish for. ✨
3. and lastly that my Djin be free from his servitudes. ✨
“Hope is a monster and a deer and i am its play thing.”
what would i do if i had 3 wishes?
1. first, that my family have happy, healthy lives for as long as they live. ✨
2. second, that i have my own library with an unlimited supply of books I could ever wish for. ✨
3. and lastly that my Djin be free from his servitudes. ✨
This weird book was not a pleasure to read, but my husband and I had some good discussions about whether it was successful or not. He suspects it was an essay she turned into fiction and it works so-so, and I suspect she needed to publish something, anything, and cobbled together a collection from what was available and the resulting book doesn’t cohere. In any case, it seems the sort of thing better studied than read casually. Byatt is not for everyone.
(My husband wanted to read this before watching the movie it inspired—“Three Thousand Years of Longing”—but said it was virtually impossible to find a copy. At which point I went to our home library and grabbed the one marked “Staff Copy,” which I’d taken from my college-era job at Barnes and Noble. He looked at me like I’d just performed a magic trick, which in a way I had.)
(My husband wanted to read this before watching the movie it inspired—“Three Thousand Years of Longing”—but said it was virtually impossible to find a copy. At which point I went to our home library and grabbed the one marked “Staff Copy,” which I’d taken from my college-era job at Barnes and Noble. He looked at me like I’d just performed a magic trick, which in a way I had.)
Never have I read fairy tales as completely lovely and original as in these pages. I read this several years ago and am finding it just as wonderful on the second reading.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book feels like two separate entities. There are four very short tales that feel torn from a collection. Then there is the novella with the title of the book. I want to pull the short tales away, and if I rated each individually they would be all over the place. So I'm giving this 3.75 stars. I'm glad to finally get to this author. I'm interested in trying more of her work, which is very inventive and like classic fairy tales with sometimes a modern take. The audiobook narration is very good.
This is the last book I'll be finishing in 2024.
This is the last book I'll be finishing in 2024.
Truly stunning writing that perfectly bridges the gap between the worlds of fairy tales lost to time and a modern master of the pen. Each story had me transfixed and I couldn't put the book down. I ended up reading the entire book within a few hours.
This was such an enjoyable book of short stories to read.
I am not the biggest fan of short stories usually, but this book was full of stories written in such beautiful words and I truly enjoyed all of the stories, not just for their plot but for their language and the imagery and atmosphere they created.
I am not the biggest fan of short stories usually, but this book was full of stories written in such beautiful words and I truly enjoyed all of the stories, not just for their plot but for their language and the imagery and atmosphere they created.
Another gorgeous A. S. Byatt story collection....are these fairytales? short stories? magical realism or true-to-life? Yes & no. All, and some not. Her writing is so beautiful...
"The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye" is the second book by A.S. Byatt I've read this year. I enjoyed it as much as "The Children's Book," which means I hope to read her masterwork "Possession" in the near future.
"Djinn" is a collection of stories -- four short stories and the title story, which is novella length. They are fairy tales with a twist and most are lovely. I thought the title story was the weakest -- it wanders a lot before getting around to the interesting bits. By far, the strongest was "The Story of the Eldest Princess," which was a clever take on the fate of the oldest adventurers who set out on a quest.
I like the way Byatt writes for the most part, though sometimes she gets a big bogged down in tangential stuff that admittedly sometimes brings up an interesting observation. This book overall was a fun little batch of stories.
"Djinn" is a collection of stories -- four short stories and the title story, which is novella length. They are fairy tales with a twist and most are lovely. I thought the title story was the weakest -- it wanders a lot before getting around to the interesting bits. By far, the strongest was "The Story of the Eldest Princess," which was a clever take on the fate of the oldest adventurers who set out on a quest.
I like the way Byatt writes for the most part, though sometimes she gets a big bogged down in tangential stuff that admittedly sometimes brings up an interesting observation. This book overall was a fun little batch of stories.