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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I got this as kind of a tie-in to that movie with Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba.
I actually liked the fairy tales in the first part of the book very well, even a little better than the eponymous novella. That one was good, but seemed maybe a little too ornate in the descriptive parts in some places.
Definitely worth reading again, I think.
And I still haven't seen the movie.
I actually liked the fairy tales in the first part of the book very well, even a little better than the eponymous novella. That one was good, but seemed maybe a little too ornate in the descriptive parts in some places.
Definitely worth reading again, I think.
And I still haven't seen the movie.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Mixed bag to me. "The Glass Coffin" and "The Story of the Eldest Princess" were enjoyable, playing with fairy tale tropes and - especially the princess one - letting the characters be self-aware of the tropes they're breaking. "Gode's Story" was unremarkable, very much felt like an old folk tale dug out of a corner of the UK rather than a new invention. Maybe I'm missing something in that one. "Dragon's Breath" was a strange one, but I ended up liking the morality tale-feel with a modern wry take.
The titular novella also featured a character knowing the tropes for the story she's in - she is, in fact, an academic who studies such things. I again liked this sense of playing with the fourth wall, almost. Gillian is clearly a stand-in for the author (who would have also been in her 50s when writing this, had been through a divorce, and spent 11 years in academia), which I don't have any particular feeling about, but I guessed this even before looking up her biography specifically, so that's interesting to note. She's also not a character I could build a lot of sympathy for, both because her personality doesn't invite it and I guess because I'm not middle-aged. I do think this could have been a much shorter story and still delivered the same points. It also does some fetishizing and "orientalizing" of Turkish culture for all that there was clearly a lot of research into stories from that region. Which is not uncommon for writers of her generation. I do think that this is a story with good bones and I appreciate the modern setting to play with fairy tale tropes.
There's a lot of second wave feminism energy in this collection overall.
The titular novella also featured a character knowing the tropes for the story she's in - she is, in fact, an academic who studies such things. I again liked this sense of playing with the fourth wall, almost. Gillian is clearly a stand-in for the author (who would have also been in her 50s when writing this, had been through a divorce, and spent 11 years in academia), which I don't have any particular feeling about, but I guessed this even before looking up her biography specifically, so that's interesting to note. She's also not a character I could build a lot of sympathy for, both because her personality doesn't invite it and I guess because I'm not middle-aged. I do think this could have been a much shorter story and still delivered the same points. It also does some fetishizing and "orientalizing" of Turkish culture for all that there was clearly a lot of research into stories from that region. Which is not uncommon for writers of her generation. I do think that this is a story with good bones and I appreciate the modern setting to play with fairy tale tropes.
There's a lot of second wave feminism energy in this collection overall.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
mid
I thought the short stories were okay. The last story was hard to get through. somehow made the film seem even worse
Lucid, poetical, mysterious, and appealing. The title story, a nest of stories and a meditation on the nature of story and on the roles of men and women in the world, is a marvel. Some of Byatt's images strike horror into my heart in a way no other writer's images can, and she can move my contrary heart to joy unlike any other writer, as well. The other stories are gemlike as well. I particularly liked "The Eldest Princess."
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Picked this up after watching the movie, the book manages to be less Orientalist but still wants to fetishize a foreign culture & a brown man for the development of a sad white woman. Not recommended.