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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I enjoyed the majority of these tales, especially for the darkness. However, some of them were a little too twisted for my liking, or felt as though they strayed from the original spirit of the tale.
Will provide a better review when I get the chance.
Will provide a better review when I get the chance.
Incredibly dark and disturbing stories, but the introduction and "recommended reading" section were really interesting for someone interested in fairy tales and folk lore.
I don't think I actually finished this-- while I liked some of the stories, by the end of it I was getting really fed up with 'dark' fairy tale meaning 'weird sexual elements.' I'm sure something more interesting can be done with this concept?
I really wanted to like this but at some point a little over half-way through, I couldn't stomach it. There's a lot of sexual abuse, implied and/or explicit and it just became uncomfortable. I'm not a squeamish reader; it was more that none of it seemed to have a point aside from an aim to be provocative. But it wasn't, it was just a bit unsettling.
There were a few stories that, at the time I read this, seemed promising but most, I felt were not really that inventive. It's been 2 months since I gave up on this one and the only story I distinctly remember was Tanith Lee's retelling of Snow White, which was actually quite good -- and much more Angela Carter-esque.
Obviously this comes down to personal taste, but I really haven't found a GREAT anthology of reworked fairy tales, with the exception of Angela Carter's work, which I enjoyed overall. There are plenty of novels that work in fairy tale elements that are fantastic, but straight up retellings seem to fall flat for me.
There were a few stories that, at the time I read this, seemed promising but most, I felt were not really that inventive. It's been 2 months since I gave up on this one and the only story I distinctly remember was Tanith Lee's retelling of Snow White, which was actually quite good -- and much more Angela Carter-esque.
Obviously this comes down to personal taste, but I really haven't found a GREAT anthology of reworked fairy tales, with the exception of Angela Carter's work, which I enjoyed overall. There are plenty of novels that work in fairy tale elements that are fantastic, but straight up retellings seem to fall flat for me.
This is a collection of fairy tales re-written for adults. It seems that when the authors, who are fabulous in their own right (i.e. Charles De Lint, Tanith Lee, Patricia McKillip), were asked to do work on this project they were just told to "make them for adults". This book reads like a contest to see how much sex, violence, and gore can be crammed into a beloved fairy tale. While one or two are engaging, most are filled with violence and sexual content. We cannot recommend this collection for anyone under the age of eighteen.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Just wasn't for me. Beware of graphic violence, sexual violence and decapitation of children. Seriously I wish I could delete some to the images from my brain. This is a short story collection and not all of the stories were gruesome. It is going in the donate pile.
Stories that stood out to me:
Like a Red Red Rose
Snow-Drop
Little Red
The Root of the Matter
The Glass Casket
The Snow Queen
Breadcrumbs and Stones
Like a Red Red Rose
Snow-Drop
Little Red
The Root of the Matter
The Glass Casket
The Snow Queen
Breadcrumbs and Stones
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This collection was not what I expected. While there were a few gems in here, I would say that about 60% of the tales in here were about very rapey men and turned my stomach. In my mind "adult" fairy tales does not equal predatory, so this did not meet my expectations.
It was interesting to read a new take on some classic fairy tales