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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
-I like that it is more about Katriona than Rosie
-kind of like the Prince and the pauper version of sleeping beauty?
-what is it with McKinley and truly terrible endings? It feels like she didn’t plan out the ending ahead of time but kind of threw it together last minute this is confusing and disjointed and distracting. I did not like it
-as always, she tells the story as if she is a distant observer so that we can never get close to any of the characters. Usually if a story is in first person, this can be remedied, but as Beauty was told in the first person and still managed to have this quality, it obviously does not apply in all circumstances
-I get the impression that this is the author’s attempt to maintain the tradition of a narrator telling a fairtytale. Fairytales are a kind of skeleton that each parent can embellish as they like. But McKinley of all people should know that when you’re retelling a fairytale, you can break some of the rules – you can have an ugly Belle, a stunning Beast, kind stepsisters and mother, a not-so-handsome Prince Charming. That’s what retellings are FOR
-it feels distant! I want to love those characters but she rarely if ever lets you get inside their heads to see what they’re thinking or better yet – their hearts to know what they’re feeling
-barely any dialogue also contributes to this problem
-kind of like the Prince and the pauper version of sleeping beauty?
-what is it with McKinley and truly terrible endings? It feels like she didn’t plan out the ending ahead of time but kind of threw it together last minute this is confusing and disjointed and distracting. I did not like it
-as always, she tells the story as if she is a distant observer so that we can never get close to any of the characters. Usually if a story is in first person, this can be remedied, but as Beauty was told in the first person and still managed to have this quality, it obviously does not apply in all circumstances
-I get the impression that this is the author’s attempt to maintain the tradition of a narrator telling a fairtytale. Fairytales are a kind of skeleton that each parent can embellish as they like. But McKinley of all people should know that when you’re retelling a fairytale, you can break some of the rules – you can have an ugly Belle, a stunning Beast, kind stepsisters and mother, a not-so-handsome Prince Charming. That’s what retellings are FOR
-it feels distant! I want to love those characters but she rarely if ever lets you get inside their heads to see what they’re thinking or better yet – their hearts to know what they’re feeling
-barely any dialogue also contributes to this problem
This book has a lovely, magical atmosphere, but the writing plods along... I seriously couldn't believe how long it took me to get through a page of writing. It wasn't that it wasn't engaging, nor is the writing dense or difficult to understand. It just has a lot of MASS to it, if that makes sense.
I wasn't a huge fan of the pacing of the story which sort of drags along until the final 140 pages suddenly fill up with vague, Lovecraftian descriptions of action. I think I remember now why this book was definitely not on my frequently-read shelf as a child.
Also, seriously concerned about
I wasn't a huge fan of the pacing of the story which sort of drags along until the final 140 pages suddenly fill up with vague, Lovecraftian descriptions of action. I think I remember now why this book was definitely not on my frequently-read shelf as a child.
Also, seriously concerned about
Spoiler
the unquestionable age gap between Rosie and Narl? If he's already an established blacksmith when she starts befriending him at... 4? that must give them at least a 14 year age gap, not to mention that he literally watched her grow up from a toddler. Miss me with that!
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So I had such fond memories of reading this as a child, and some of that magic was there this time around, but somehow I had concocted a completely different version in my head??
I genuinely remembered it being so much queerer than it was!! I was convinced that this was the first canonically queer book I ever read but I guess not??? I guess child me interpreted it that way because that was the only way I could skim over the fact that Rosie gets with Narl, a man who KNEW HER AS A YOUNG CHILD AND IS PROBABLY AT LEAST TWICE HER AGE???? Young (also closeted to be fair) me was like ~oh la di da, Rosie and Peony are ~~soulmates~~ connected so that their hearts beat as one and then Rosie saves her with a kiss on the lips, so even if it wasn’t gay it was the ~power of friendship~ not LITERAL GROOMING. This is so funny to me. Also I guess now that I’m older all the animal characters are kind of boring in a way?
This book will always have a fond place in my heart, but I think I’m going to have to revert back to the version I had in my head lol
This book will always have a fond place in my heart, but I think I’m going to have to revert back to the version I had in my head lol
I love fairy tale retellings so normally this would have been five stars. However, this 422 page book took me SO long to finish. Don't get me wrong. It was a great story. A very imaginative retelling of Sleeping Beauty which is one of my favorites. In fact, I like this version of the story even better. The problem was (for me) the endless description and dragging out scenes that could have been a bit shorter, and not hurt the story in the least. This was my first McKinley read though I own quite a few of her books. I will read them too because ultimately she has a knack for reimagining fairy tales.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4.5 Stars. I loved the magical world, the rich detail in how magic works and how spells work and the sheer lushness of it all, but the final sweep from page 300 to the end got a little too silly for me. That said, I absolutely adored all the characters, and I loved Rosie's relationship and speech with all the animals in this world. A quaint, female-empowered spin on the Sleeping Beauty tale.
A lot of Robin McKinley fans find Spindle's End slower than her other novels and, sadly, boring. Yes, the plot moves slowly and much of the book is narrated with very little dialogue, so if you’re looking for fast-moving scenes with pages of dialogue, you won’t find it here. However, I think this novel highlights McKinley's greatest strength - her ability to create a timeless, magical world, where every detail you read feels exactly right and exactly in its place.
McKinley spends hundreds of pages building her world and her characters so that you feel as if you personally live in her world and know her characters as friends and neighbors. The best part is that McKinley does all of that using gorgeous, sometimes funny, language that is such a treat to soak up. She’s a great fan of parenthetical phrases, which definitely takes a few chapters to get used to, and her narration is not always straightforward, but I feel like her narrative style invokes the oral tradition of fairytales and it feels purposeful and timeless.
The way McKinley weaves actual mythology (for example, stories of Lancelot and King Arthur or Orpheus and Eurydice) and her own made up mythologies (like magic not working around cold iron or how blacksmiths are always bearded) into her book is done with such finesse and it makes for a really rich reading experience.
Every time I reread this book, I remember why Robin McKinley is one of my most favorite writers. I love her stories and I really love her writing!
McKinley spends hundreds of pages building her world and her characters so that you feel as if you personally live in her world and know her characters as friends and neighbors. The best part is that McKinley does all of that using gorgeous, sometimes funny, language that is such a treat to soak up. She’s a great fan of parenthetical phrases, which definitely takes a few chapters to get used to, and her narration is not always straightforward, but I feel like her narrative style invokes the oral tradition of fairytales and it feels purposeful and timeless.
The way McKinley weaves actual mythology (for example, stories of Lancelot and King Arthur or Orpheus and Eurydice) and her own made up mythologies (like magic not working around cold iron or how blacksmiths are always bearded) into her book is done with such finesse and it makes for a really rich reading experience.
Every time I reread this book, I remember why Robin McKinley is one of my most favorite writers. I love her stories and I really love her writing!