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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
The stories in this collection are wonderful, even if this edition is unnecessarily typeset with wide margins and overgenerous linespacing to make the book look longer than it is, and reprinting the two stories from [b:Possession|41219|Possession|A.S. Byatt|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1311978255s/41219.jpg|2246190] is cheating (and they were better where they were originally, in context). "The Story of the Eldest Princess" is a perfect fairy story, especially if you have ever been a bookish eldest daughter, and the titular novella is superb.
Got bored with the last long story which didn’t seem to have any direction but felt like an excuse to weave together dozens of myths into one travelogue experience.
George Miller's "Three Thousand Years of Longing" is one of my favorite new movies of this year, so when I heard it was based on the title story of this collection, I just had to check it out. Turns out these stories are wonderful and magical in their own way (not just the titular one, either — I also love the one about dragons and the first one about the glass key). Both Byatt and Miller are so good at accessing that particular flavor of real fairytales that I just love. Now I want to check out more of her books!
The last story gets a little bogged down in the academic background of the character, but overall, a nice, often lyrical collection of original fairy tales.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Full of layers. The fairy tales read like real old school fairy tales. The main story was like severals stories in one. I feel like I'm going to have to read it again a couple of times before I can fully digest it.
The first two stories in this collection originally appeared as part of Possession, but it's been more than 20 years since I read that, so they felt new to me: fresh takes on the fairytale genre. The next two stories were commissioned for other purposes and also offer smart feminist takes on the genre before the centrepiece of this collection: the title-story which is more of a novella. It's a magnificent postmodern take on the Arabian Nights with lots of meta-commentary on the nature of stories and the role of fate, with Byatt again using the academic world as a tool in this regard (as she did in Possession).
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A. S. Byatt is plain and simple, just a great writer. She can make fairytales come to life and even the ones I didn't care for were interesting enough to keep me reading.