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kaylor_guitar's review against another edition
3.0
This was...interesting. The book itself was a great premise and I did enjoy reading the various poems and short stories. Some of the stories were spell-binding (see what I did there?) Those that jump to the top of my mind include "The Rose in Twelve Petals", "Blanchefleur" and "The Other Thea".
I do wish there had been more short stories/fewer poems. And I really wish that the author had included the titles of the fairy tales that inspired each story and poem. Some were easy to figure out, but others...I had no clue.
I do wish there had been more short stories/fewer poems. And I really wish that the author had included the titles of the fairy tales that inspired each story and poem. Some were easy to figure out, but others...I had no clue.
leticiatoraci's review against another edition
5.0
This is a beautifully written collection of short stories and poems, not only inspired, but also composed of "fairy tales fractured, reinvented, re-imagined, retold" as Jane Yolen describes in her Introduction "A Welcome to the Coven."
Poetic, feminist and literary, the stories and poems are at times obscure, rich with symbols, and at times convey relatable women's experiences and feelings in a deeply touching way. It also discusses women's life experiences, and themes like women's love, desire, marriage, motherhood, artistic expression, freedom, aspirations. It's rich in themes deeply embedded in all its 'tales'.
My favorite stories were:
"Blanchefleur", with a beautiful quote about empathy.
"The Other Thea", about a witch and her passional shadow.
"The Bear's Daughter" about a girl who dreams of the south.
"Diamonds and Toads" about the interpretation of morality in fairy tales.
"The Princess and the Frog" with a nice twist on the outcome of the tale.
"Conversations with the Sea Witch" with the "old women sitting together in the sunshine".
and finally "The Nightingale and the Rose" that was so touching it made me cry.
I consider this book a modern classic. I read it slowly because its richness of themes and meanings requires time to absorb and think over. I'll probably reread this later on and also also check other books by this awesome author.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Mythic Delirium Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Poetic, feminist and literary, the stories and poems are at times obscure, rich with symbols, and at times convey relatable women's experiences and feelings in a deeply touching way. It also discusses women's life experiences, and themes like women's love, desire, marriage, motherhood, artistic expression, freedom, aspirations. It's rich in themes deeply embedded in all its 'tales'.
My favorite stories were:
"Blanchefleur", with a beautiful quote about empathy.
"The Other Thea", about a witch and her passional shadow.
"The Bear's Daughter" about a girl who dreams of the south.
"Diamonds and Toads" about the interpretation of morality in fairy tales.
"The Princess and the Frog" with a nice twist on the outcome of the tale.
"Conversations with the Sea Witch" with the "old women sitting together in the sunshine".
and finally "The Nightingale and the Rose" that was so touching it made me cry.
I consider this book a modern classic. I read it slowly because its richness of themes and meanings requires time to absorb and think over. I'll probably reread this later on and also also check other books by this awesome author.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Mythic Delirium Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
faith123's review against another edition
4.0
More than four stars... but not quite five. Really, a wonderful book of and about fairy tales and life.
quirkycatsfatstacks's review against another edition
4.0
Snow White Learns Witchcraft is a compilation of short stories and poems written by Theodora Goss. There's an introduction written by Jane Yolen, which is admittedly the whole reason this collection ended up on my radar in the first place (thank you for that).
This anthology is full of fractured fairy tales – my favorite sort of fairy tale. Included, you'll find new takes on stories originally written by Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Oscar Wilde. Yeah, it's quite the variety! And it's worth checking out.
“They are some of the most powerful narratives human beings have produced, about what we most want (beauty, home, bread) and fear (darkness, abandonment, being devoured), which is why they keep being retold and reconfigured.”
Snow White Learns Witchcraft has got to be one of the more vibrant anthologies I've read in recent times. But then again, I really do love twisted and unique takes on classic tales, so I rather expected to enjoy this book.
There's something so ethereal about Theodora Goss' writing, it works beautifully with the stories she hand-picked to handle here, and I couldn't get enough of it all. To put it into perspective – I got so wrapped up in reading these stories and poems that I forgot to take notes. Hence why I'm not reviewing each one separately. Hopefully, my reason why will be compelling enough.
Thanks to Mythic Delirium Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Read more reviews at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
This anthology is full of fractured fairy tales – my favorite sort of fairy tale. Included, you'll find new takes on stories originally written by Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Oscar Wilde. Yeah, it's quite the variety! And it's worth checking out.
“They are some of the most powerful narratives human beings have produced, about what we most want (beauty, home, bread) and fear (darkness, abandonment, being devoured), which is why they keep being retold and reconfigured.”
Snow White Learns Witchcraft has got to be one of the more vibrant anthologies I've read in recent times. But then again, I really do love twisted and unique takes on classic tales, so I rather expected to enjoy this book.
There's something so ethereal about Theodora Goss' writing, it works beautifully with the stories she hand-picked to handle here, and I couldn't get enough of it all. To put it into perspective – I got so wrapped up in reading these stories and poems that I forgot to take notes. Hence why I'm not reviewing each one separately. Hopefully, my reason why will be compelling enough.
Thanks to Mythic Delirium Books and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
Read more reviews at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
tyches_dice's review against another edition
4.0
I very much liked the short stories but the poems were hit or miss for me - the meter was, at times, just off enough to be jarring
bookslucyreads's review against another edition
4.0
So I love Fairy tales in any form. Like all short story collections there is always some stories you like more than others which is why I gave this book 4 stars. I enjoyed how the tales were reinvented! I enjoyed that there were links to things from our world like Shakespeare, Keats and Mobile which made the tales feel like they were part of our world rather than separate to it. The stories were quick reads and they flow really well. This is a book I would happily reread over and over again. It made me smile with the sort of dry humour it had in places.
Basically this reinvents classic fairy tales and makes them new classics! There are 31 tales and I wont go though them all but I will list the ones I liked the most and the few I didn't really enjoy. The tales are made to fit in between the 18th and 21st century and they feature magic, cannibalism, talking animals and all the other classic fairytale tropes that I love.
My favourite stories are;
Snow White Learns Witchcraft - After the classic fairy-tale from Snow's POV. Snow grows old and it asks what should women do when women grow old and useless? Become witches is the obvious answer which is what Snow does, she creates her own story after following the classic one.
The Ogress Queen - This one was short and creepy! It still became a favourite of mine though.
The Rose in Twelve Petals - retelling Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty so of course I enjoyed it.
Blanchefleur - Talking cats? yes please! I love tales about cats, there's also wolves and a dragon in this story.
Mr Fox - Moral of the story is to have your own set of Lock Picking tools.
Red as Blood and White as Bone - girl meets a magic princess who gets revenge on the Prince. She then goes on to help a resistance in ww2. It mixes fairy-tales and realism really well.
Goldilocks and the Bear - The bear helps the girl and then helps her again later in life and it is a wonderful tale with a happy ending. Loved the twists in this. It is my new favourite version of this story.
Other stories - The Gold-spinner, The Stepsisters tale (Cinderella) and the Clever Serving Maid were some of my favourites. The Princess and the Frog, What her Mother Said and Conversations with the Sea Witch were also great and had twists on the original tales that I liked better.
I found that I enjoyed the stories I have always liked more than the ones I did not know! I still enjoyed all of them but a few I found were just strange or didn't have enough of the original fairy-tale in them. I would still recommend this book for those who love fairy-tales or those who ant to try new fairy-tales. I will reread a few of the tales in this book multiple times.
Thank you to the publisher, Mythic Delirium Books , for providing me this advanced copy if the book via Netgalley.
Basically this reinvents classic fairy tales and makes them new classics! There are 31 tales and I wont go though them all but I will list the ones I liked the most and the few I didn't really enjoy. The tales are made to fit in between the 18th and 21st century and they feature magic, cannibalism, talking animals and all the other classic fairytale tropes that I love.
My favourite stories are;
Snow White Learns Witchcraft - After the classic fairy-tale from Snow's POV. Snow grows old and it asks what should women do when women grow old and useless? Become witches is the obvious answer which is what Snow does, she creates her own story after following the classic one.
The Ogress Queen - This one was short and creepy! It still became a favourite of mine though.
The Rose in Twelve Petals - retelling Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty so of course I enjoyed it.
Blanchefleur - Talking cats? yes please! I love tales about cats, there's also wolves and a dragon in this story.
Mr Fox - Moral of the story is to have your own set of Lock Picking tools.
Red as Blood and White as Bone - girl meets a magic princess who gets revenge on the Prince. She then goes on to help a resistance in ww2. It mixes fairy-tales and realism really well.
Goldilocks and the Bear - The bear helps the girl and then helps her again later in life and it is a wonderful tale with a happy ending. Loved the twists in this. It is my new favourite version of this story.
Other stories - The Gold-spinner, The Stepsisters tale (Cinderella) and the Clever Serving Maid were some of my favourites. The Princess and the Frog, What her Mother Said and Conversations with the Sea Witch were also great and had twists on the original tales that I liked better.
I found that I enjoyed the stories I have always liked more than the ones I did not know! I still enjoyed all of them but a few I found were just strange or didn't have enough of the original fairy-tale in them. I would still recommend this book for those who love fairy-tales or those who ant to try new fairy-tales. I will reread a few of the tales in this book multiple times.
Thank you to the publisher, Mythic Delirium Books , for providing me this advanced copy if the book via Netgalley.
cgs4488x's review against another edition
5.0
A collection of stories and poems built on and around faerie tales with loose threads weaving between. I'd compare favourably with similar collections by Neil Gaiman, ie Smoke and Mirrors.
bent's review against another edition
2.0
I think I've read too much Theodora Goss at once. I'm also not a big poetry fan. I found this book fitfully enjoyable. I liked most of the stories, was so-so on most of the poetry and found some of the themes repetitive. I may have enjoyed it more if I hadn't recently read a lot of her stuff, but it is what it is. I have to admit, poetry often a bit of a deal breaker for me.