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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
3.5 stars. i wished some of the stories were longer/went into more depth.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Most of these were forgettable and off-kilter for me. There were a few that I thought were interesting but most were not twisted enough (some were not twisted at all?) and the ones that did have twists seemed to try too hard to be edgy, dark, and progressive. The story building wasn't there, the writing wasn't spectacular, the characters were not special. Short stories are delicate things, but when done right they hold water and make your heart break or soar. None of these did that for me, they were too edgily academic and nothing special, nothing moving.
New, dark twisted fairy tales. I enjoyed the use of second person narrative in a few of the stores. The audiobook narrators were enjoyable.
I thought the majority of the stories were ok. My favourite stories were Beasts, which has a thoughtful female character, and Ever/After, again with an interesting female character.
This is a quick read with stunning illustrations by Yuko Shimizu.
This is a quick read with stunning illustrations by Yuko Shimizu.
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I am not quite sure what's up with authors and re-writing fairy tales. Walker tried it with her [b:Feminist Fairy Tales|469261|Feminist Fairy Tales|Barbara G. Walker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347911936s/469261.jpg|689941] (they are terrible, please don't read them) and there are countless YA-Titles which include and re-work fairy tales and often produce a sappy love story filled with idiotic protagonists.
It is only natural that sometimes it seems to me that fairy tales are perceived as an easy target. "Look," (insert a random author here),"these are just tales for children, I am sure they are easy to write. I mean, how hard can it really be?" Of course, this often leads to another thing re-written fairy tales are often subjected to. "These are for kids? Let's make them daaaark and edgy and grrritty! Let's add sex, drugs and rock'n'roll!"
And that's basically what A Wild Swan: And Other Tales is. It is a darker re-write and it failed. Hard. One big gripe I have with dark re-tellings of fairy tales in general is that they are not really needed. The original versions and even still popular versions of fairy tales already deal with pretty heavy themes without needing help from other authors. The orignal Rapunzel was raped and pregnant, Andersen's tales are often very depressive and don't have happy ends and even the Gretel of today merrily kills the evil witch by burning her alive.
The edginess in A Wild Swan comes from various sources but the most prevalent theme is that marriage sucks. Always and in every way. The Giantess in "Jack and the Bean Stalk" only helps Jack because she wants to get back at her husband somehow, the married pair in "The Nutcracker" only comes together because she finds his missing leg attractive and the parents in "A Monkey's Paw" are lethargic and would rather be divorced today rather than tomorrow.
Also there is a lot of unneeded and frankly sometimes downright irrational sexual content. The witch of Hansel and Gretel is a former sex addict, Beauty from Beauty and the Beast fantasizes about being raped by the Beast (and in one instance by her father) and the big nonsensical twist is basically the implication that.
Rumpelstiltskin is a Nice Guy and gets pissy when his emotional manipulation fails and the princess marries the Asshole Prince. So to get back at her he tries to take her child and not, as the intro of the tale implies, because he wants a child just so badly.
There is also Cunningham's compulsion to describe everything in grisly detail which really doesn't mesh well with tales like "The Monkey's Paw", a story that works best with the fear of the unknown and untold.
There is also the fact that for example "The Nutcracker" isn't so much a re-telling of the original tale but a mess of a story with the occasional allusion to the original.
The only redeeming qualities of this book are the art and two stories that aren't offensive but merely boring. It fails one every other count. There are no morals, no character development and they don't add anything worthwhile. Not a single character as far as I can remember is portrayed as positive. It is just not good, I am sorry.
*Please note that I used the names of the original fairy tales in order to avoid confusion.
It is only natural that sometimes it seems to me that fairy tales are perceived as an easy target. "Look," (insert a random author here),"these are just tales for children, I am sure they are easy to write. I mean, how hard can it really be?" Of course, this often leads to another thing re-written fairy tales are often subjected to. "These are for kids? Let's make them daaaark and edgy and grrritty! Let's add sex, drugs and rock'n'roll!"
And that's basically what A Wild Swan: And Other Tales is. It is a darker re-write and it failed. Hard. One big gripe I have with dark re-tellings of fairy tales in general is that they are not really needed. The original versions and even still popular versions of fairy tales already deal with pretty heavy themes without needing help from other authors. The orignal Rapunzel was raped and pregnant, Andersen's tales are often very depressive and don't have happy ends and even the Gretel of today merrily kills the evil witch by burning her alive.
The edginess in A Wild Swan comes from various sources but the most prevalent theme is that marriage sucks. Always and in every way. The Giantess in "Jack and the Bean Stalk" only helps Jack because she wants to get back at her husband somehow, the married pair in "The Nutcracker" only comes together because she finds his missing leg attractive and the parents in "A Monkey's Paw" are lethargic and would rather be divorced today rather than tomorrow.
Also there is a lot of unneeded and frankly sometimes downright irrational sexual content. The witch of Hansel and Gretel is a former sex addict, Beauty from Beauty and the Beast fantasizes about being raped by the Beast (and in one instance by her father) and the big nonsensical twist is basically the implication that
Spoiler
human!Beast is going to sexually abuse her. Since the narrator has not a single positive thing to say about Beauty throughout the story this comes across as a twisted "Take that!" at BeautyRumpelstiltskin is a Nice Guy and gets pissy when his emotional manipulation fails and the princess marries the Asshole Prince. So to get back at her he tries to take her child and not, as the intro of the tale implies, because he wants a child just so badly.
There is also Cunningham's compulsion to describe everything in grisly detail which really doesn't mesh well with tales like "The Monkey's Paw", a story that works best with the fear of the unknown and untold.
There is also the fact that for example "The Nutcracker" isn't so much a re-telling of the original tale but a mess of a story with the occasional allusion to the original.
The only redeeming qualities of this book are the art and two stories that aren't offensive but merely boring. It fails one every other count. There are no morals, no character development and they don't add anything worthwhile. Not a single character as far as I can remember is portrayed as positive. It is just not good, I am sorry.
*Please note that I used the names of the original fairy tales in order to avoid confusion.
At first glance this looks like a collection of fairy-tale retellings. When you actually read it, you find that yes, it is as simple as that. But there's impeccable logic in how Cunningham writes, a fluid wit that had me agreeing.
Cunningham modernises, revamps, and all in all makes them more human. It was very fascinating (and easy) to read. Some of these stories made me feel, without me feeling that I was being coerced. I think it was simply because the way that these stories portrayed their subjects as people from which we ourselves are no better than in a straightforwardly simple, bare-necessities diction: wanting to have downfall befall perfect people, being lonely, wanting a child, making wishes... it was relatable in more ways than one. That's what I like best. And those illustrations! To die for! I'm giving those a star itself.
Cunningham modernises, revamps, and all in all makes them more human. It was very fascinating (and easy) to read. Some of these stories made me feel, without me feeling that I was being coerced. I think it was simply because the way that these stories portrayed their subjects as people from which we ourselves are no better than in a straightforwardly simple, bare-necessities diction: wanting to have downfall befall perfect people, being lonely, wanting a child, making wishes... it was relatable in more ways than one. That's what I like best. And those illustrations! To die for! I'm giving those a star itself.