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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
i wasn't particularly feeling this but the last story 'ever/after' pleasantly surprised me by ending the collection on a grace note so 2.5 stars
Quirky and sometimes modern reworkings of well known fairy tales with wry humour and beautiful language. So good I may have to read it again immediately
A slightly more adult (not graphic) retelling of some classic fairy tales. All recognizable, but with a humor and language that cracked me up often, mostly because I have read the originals and though, what? Really? And this collection just says it. A quick read, and a fun twist, if you like to see what other can come up with like I do.
A pile of fairy tales reimagined in the kind of darkness their original forms hinted at, before the advent of happy endings for children.
Fairy tales are a big favourite of mine, especially the kind of fairy tales that retain something of the brutal honesty of the originals, before the Victorians for their hands on them. I couldn't have been happier with how Cunningham has approached the original fairy tales. Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Fairy tales are beautiful reflection of culture and society. Ever asked yourself why there's so many step-mothers and why those so often turn the children out of doors? Well, medieval Europe wasn't an easy place to live and with disease and terrible hygiene, mothers often died and families often couldn't feed their children. It's this kind of historicity that I love about the original tales behind what we now see as fairy tales. Folk tales are distinctly different in quality to fairy tales, the latter of which are very much an adaptation of the former by the French first, and then by the Victorians in England. They became too moralistic, too clean and thereby lost much of their magic. Michael Cunningham has achieved a perfect reversal in his stories which aren't quite as drastic as Angela Carter's were in The Bloody Chamber but which are definitely worth a read.
If you're a sucker for fairytales, like me, then A Wild Swan is for you. Cunningham gives you completely different takes on traditional fairy tales. Each adaptation adds something to the tradition of the tale itself as well and you certainly won't forget these adaptations quickly. I'd recommend this to fans of fairy tales and magical realism.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/review-wild-swan-by-michael-cunningham.html
Fairy tales are beautiful reflection of culture and society. Ever asked yourself why there's so many step-mothers and why those so often turn the children out of doors? Well, medieval Europe wasn't an easy place to live and with disease and terrible hygiene, mothers often died and families often couldn't feed their children. It's this kind of historicity that I love about the original tales behind what we now see as fairy tales. Folk tales are distinctly different in quality to fairy tales, the latter of which are very much an adaptation of the former by the French first, and then by the Victorians in England. They became too moralistic, too clean and thereby lost much of their magic. Michael Cunningham has achieved a perfect reversal in his stories which aren't quite as drastic as Angela Carter's were in The Bloody Chamber but which are definitely worth a read.
If you're a sucker for fairytales, like me, then A Wild Swan is for you. Cunningham gives you completely different takes on traditional fairy tales. Each adaptation adds something to the tradition of the tale itself as well and you certainly won't forget these adaptations quickly. I'd recommend this to fans of fairy tales and magical realism.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/review-wild-swan-by-michael-cunningham.html
I wasn't sure what to think of this book when I picked it up. It didn't look like anything special, but at the same time, maybe that's what made the book glow in my mind. I keep thinking about it even after I've put the book down and there are a couple stories that set the benchmark for me when it comes to fairy tale rewrites.
It wasn't bad, it just didn't feel like it brought much of anything new to think about in the world of fairytale retelling. The one story I will say touched me was the Rumpelstiltskin retelling- that one really made me reevaluate the original in a way I never had. And the Steadfast Tin soldier- alright, for those 2, I'll make this 3 stars.
A set of fractured fairy tales, largely told in the modern period and from perspectives not in the original tales themselves but that never contradict the canonical stories. Unlike some collections, A Wild Swan goes slightly broader than the usual purview of such tales to include The Monkey's Paw, Hans Christian Anderson's The Steadfast Tin Soldier, and a few others. But the conventions are largely the same. For example, in "Crazy Old Lady" we learn the backstory of the witch in Hansel and Gretel, how she went through multiple husbands, got alienated from her friends, aged, built a candy house in the woods, waited years for anyone to come, and finally two kids "pierced and tattooed" come by and the "psychopaths" end up pushing her into the oven. I thought the best of the bunch was "Little Man" which tells about how Rumpelstiltskin keeps wanting to adopt a child and then, in a good deed, attempts to selflessly rescue a girl from a psychotic king who keeps threatening to execute her if she does not spin straw into gold but it does not turn out that way given her narrow vanity. Etc.
A Wild Swan is distinguished by particularly good, imaginative writing that all serve to "dis. enchant" the classic stories, as the title of the first one explains.
A Wild Swan is distinguished by particularly good, imaginative writing that all serve to "dis. enchant" the classic stories, as the title of the first one explains.
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Short, gritty, contemporary retellings of some classic fairy tales. I really enjoyed the reimaging of the minor characters from the original stories, all brought to life through Yuko Shimizu's beautiful illustrations.