Reviews

Burning Your Boats by Angela Carter

bnielsen214's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

cheyenneb's review against another edition

I bought this book a long time ago when I thought I had to like certain authors just because they were popular with others. I love the story "The Bloody Chamber" by her and that's about it for me. Her writing feels very hard to get through and I feel my eyes glazing over as I read. I feel okay letting this one go and trying to tackle more short stories I might really love.

robberbaroness's review against another edition

5.0

More people need to know about Angela Carter. There are several reasons for this- she did dark and sexual fairy tales before they were cool and better than anyone else has, she wrote a nonfiction coherant analysis of the Marquis de Sade’s writing in relation to feminism that wasn’t just throwing up her hands and giving up, she blurred the lines of magical realism in a manner comparable to Borges- but an incentive I’d like to add is that she’s one of the best writers of gothic short stories I’ve ever found.

Her most famous work is The Bloody Chamber, the aforementioned fairy tale collection (the movie that was loosely based on it is The Company of Wolves, and I urge you all to watch it,) but I’d recommend you get Burning Your Boats, which collects all her short fiction. The fairy tales are there, as well as historical fantasy, deadly puppet-women, sex comedies, werewolves, vampires, sinister circuses, days in the life of Lizzie Borden, and a hauntingly grotesque take on 120 Days of Sodom from the victims’ point of view. Her work isn’t for the faint of heart (or, at times, for those impatient with whimsy) but I’m dying to make more people as in love with her as I am.

wenniebiss's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

4.5

The blood chamber is definitely the best out of all the short stories.

rubel's review against another edition

5.0

I love these stories. She writes like, I dunno, a raunchy and giddy Robert Aickman? I want to be friends with her as teenagers and wear capes to school. But more, her stories feel genuinely dangerous.

itsmandaaa's review against another edition

5.0

"fireworks" collection was my favorite

And of course the bloody chamber

wifescullys's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious medium-paced

4.0

Some of her short stories were a bit of a let down after leading with the captivating “The Bloody Chamber”; her writing was still gorgeous and fantastical but they didn’t deal as much with the themes of objectification and female power that I found so interesting. “Reflections”, “The Executioner’s Beautiful Daughter”, “The Loves of Lady Purple”, and “John Ford’s ‘’Tis Pity She’s a Whore” were the ones that stuck out to me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

veranasi's review against another edition

5.0

If she were alive today, they would say, "Bad woman! Bad!" because of her lack of compromise on textual aesthetics. When she was alive, they said, "Bad woman! Bad!" because aesthetics of her characters. You can't just like Angela Carter. You can't say, "Oh! this was a good book..." You have say, "Even though I oppose the idea of marriage, I would wed this collection."

ainsleyexe's review against another edition

5.0

4.75 stars.

It's Angela Carter, man.

juliemiaholmes's review against another edition

5.0

The Tiger's Bride, The Bloody Chamber and In the Company of Wolves are my favourites. I'm in love. xo