Scan barcode
wickham's review against another edition
5.0
I am, I think understandably, distrustful of anthologies of any kind. Even if an anthology contains a number of well-written pieces the overall experience of reading it is often marred by the worse pieces which pepper the book. That being said, this may be the anthology that teaches me to love them again.
The majority of the short story authors chosen are familiar names, and those that I was introduced to through this book are certainly deserving of that same recognition. The style and concept that the authors chose to pursue in the spirit of fairy tale was wildly varying, and there was never a moment that I felt I knew what was coming next. There are no beat for beat fairy tale retellings in this book: only revolutionary transformative works. The authors notes which ended every story provided necessary perspective and insight into the works themselves, and were often as thought provoking as the stories themselves.
Every story was a new, immersive adventure, able to nimbly weave intricate and engrossing narratives despite their truncated length. These may be fairy tales, but they are never childish. Many tackle difficult, complicated themes with deft, unflinching expertise. They are thought-provoking, breath-taking, and heart-stopping in turn. Even one of such stories would be a treasure - this anthology is a dragon's hoard.
The majority of the short story authors chosen are familiar names, and those that I was introduced to through this book are certainly deserving of that same recognition. The style and concept that the authors chose to pursue in the spirit of fairy tale was wildly varying, and there was never a moment that I felt I knew what was coming next. There are no beat for beat fairy tale retellings in this book: only revolutionary transformative works. The authors notes which ended every story provided necessary perspective and insight into the works themselves, and were often as thought provoking as the stories themselves.
Every story was a new, immersive adventure, able to nimbly weave intricate and engrossing narratives despite their truncated length. These may be fairy tales, but they are never childish. Many tackle difficult, complicated themes with deft, unflinching expertise. They are thought-provoking, breath-taking, and heart-stopping in turn. Even one of such stories would be a treasure - this anthology is a dragon's hoard.
megatsunami's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. The collection varied quite a bit: some really good stories, others that were conceptually interesting but didn't really pull me in, some that were over-the-top grisly (i.e. "Look how 'dark' I can be"). Standout stories:
Aimee Bender, "Color Master" (my favorite, I think)
Karen Joy Fowler, "The Wild Swans"
Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, "Erlking"
Francesca Lia Block, "Cupid and Psyche Revisited"
Lily Hoang, "Story of the Mosquito"
Aimee Bender, "Color Master" (my favorite, I think)
Karen Joy Fowler, "The Wild Swans"
Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, "Erlking"
Francesca Lia Block, "Cupid and Psyche Revisited"
Lily Hoang, "Story of the Mosquito"
andtheitoldyousos's review against another edition
4.0
A great time was had by all- and by "all" I mean me, as most fairy tale protagonists are uh, cursed.
Full review to come!
Full review to come!
stealingyoursunbeams's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't familiar with most of the fairy tales in the book, so I wasn't able to appreciate the new versions all that much. That said, this is an enjoyable read for a lazy afternoon.
cami19's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
lydiature_'s review against another edition
too weird and disturbing for me personally. hard pass
karawhipple's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of bizarre going on but I like this as an overall project. Only one of the stories was straight boring and I drudged through on principle. Per my interests, this is more ⭐️⭐️⭐️ but like I said I dig the intent and collaboration behind the whole thing.
servemethesky's review against another edition
3.0
Phew!! Finally done with this behemoth. Can’t remember the last time I’ve read a book over 500 pages. This is a hard one to rate since it’s short stories and an anthology—short story collections are hard enough since they can be uneven, but this is 40 different writers, too!
I mostly picked this up because awhile back, I’d been working on my own retelling of The Wild Swans and I heard there were a few retelling of it in here. Honestly I didn’t love any of them! And it was refreshing that my take on it was very different from theirs.
Some absolute favorites in here were: Dapplegrim by Brian Evenson, The Brother and the Bird by Alissa Nutting, and The Color Master by Aimee Bender. The first two were delightfully dark and fun, the third was very beautiful and moving.
Other stories in here I just did not get or hated the style, as you might expect with an anthology like this. Very interesting overall!
I mostly picked this up because awhile back, I’d been working on my own retelling of The Wild Swans and I heard there were a few retelling of it in here. Honestly I didn’t love any of them! And it was refreshing that my take on it was very different from theirs.
Some absolute favorites in here were: Dapplegrim by Brian Evenson, The Brother and the Bird by Alissa Nutting, and The Color Master by Aimee Bender. The first two were delightfully dark and fun, the third was very beautiful and moving.
Other stories in here I just did not get or hated the style, as you might expect with an anthology like this. Very interesting overall!
saevers's review against another edition
2.0
This book ultimately earned a "meh" from me. It started out with one star, nearly redeemed itself with a handful of five star stories, and went back downhill at the end. There were enough really good stories that I'm not entirely sorry that I read it, but I wouldn't read it again or recommend it as a whole body of work to someone else.
It wasn't this book's fault, but I was also disappointed that the Kelly Link story was a republished piece I'd already read in another collection of hers.
It wasn't this book's fault, but I was also disappointed that the Kelly Link story was a republished piece I'd already read in another collection of hers.