Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

Carter has an amazing writing style that blends reality and dreams better than most authors I've ever read. Sure, the stories can get repetitive but when the descriptions are that vivid I really didn't care at all. Also, the feminist subtext? Yes please. Bear in mind the fairytales are, umm, of the German bedtime story varieties so expect a lot of macabre, weird, gory, horrific stuff.

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river_dithers's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I read this book for the second time, and I love it just as much! Carter's command of words is incredible, and I had to reach for my phone to find meanings of certain words. That does not mean it wasn't beautiful. My favourite story was Lady of the House of Love, and I loved the tortured characters. The beastliness of this collection is surprising, but enticing. It forced me to confront my own preconceptions about femininity and humanity.

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heartofhorrors's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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suchsweetsorrow89's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

probably more like a 3.5— carter's rendition of classic fairy tale stories are frankly quite beautiful. it hits you with a punch in ways that are incredibly vivid, incredibly reflective, incredibly feminist, and— at times— incredibly erotic. i initially read "the bloody chamber" in high school, but we never read anything in the collection beyond that story. thus, to conclude my summer of horror readings, i honestly couldn't think of any better ending than revisiting an old book to see what i used to believe were the important aspects of the stories and what i believe them to be now. it also serves as a way for me to test how my interactions with the horror and gothic genre has evolved, so pretty neat!

that being said, i think this time reading it in full has given me a stronger sense of carter's capabilities as a writer and as a storyteller. each story left me thinking about a lot. considering the more feminist aspects of this text, she approaches far beyond what i expected it to: from detailed accounts of performativity within gender roles, to characters that openly embrace the "wild" regardless of the costs, even to leaving me thinking about how masculinity and femininity are both two sides of the same coin vastly effected under the patriarchy (a move that most feminist writers and thinkers barely consider!). i rate this a 3.5 because, as is the case with all short stories, some left me feeling great and others not so much. i also think that it would have been a better experience for me had i actually read most of these stories in their original forms, since carter adapts a kind of writing style that seems to replicate that (great for symbolism, but hard for accessibility). overall, i think it is worth the read if you're up for it. in particular, i liked "the bloody chamber," "the courtship of mr. lyon," "puss-in-boots," "the snowchild," and "the lady of the house of love"

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