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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
Rebecca and her sisters were always fascinated by their grandmother's stories. Especially Sleeping Beauty. Although her sisters eventually lost interest, Rebecca never did. Years later, when Gemma is dying, Rebecca is the one who sits and listens to her tales. Rebecca is the one who hears Gemma claim that she was Briar Rose. And it is Rebecca--now a twenty-three-year-old journalist--who will follow her grandmother's claims from their home in the US to Poland.
Yolen delivers an unlikely retelling of Sleeping Beauty in this haunting novel that blends fact with fiction. The story of Sleeping Beauty weaves together with details of the Holocaust and the brutality and horrors suffered by so many in Nazi Concentration Camps.
Originally published in 1988, parts of this novel are dated with outmoded technology and pre-Internet research. The tense and tone of Briar Rose build distance into the story as well effectively keeping readers at a remove for most of the novel. Although ultimately a story with a happy ending, Briar Rose is also imbued with sadness from the beginning even as Gemma tells her Sleeping Beauty story in flashbacks.
This isn't a story for everyone and not a conventional retelling although elements of Sleeping Beauty do come into play with Gemma's history as Rebecca investigates it. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction or are interested in World War II.
Yolen delivers an unlikely retelling of Sleeping Beauty in this haunting novel that blends fact with fiction. The story of Sleeping Beauty weaves together with details of the Holocaust and the brutality and horrors suffered by so many in Nazi Concentration Camps.
Originally published in 1988, parts of this novel are dated with outmoded technology and pre-Internet research. The tense and tone of Briar Rose build distance into the story as well effectively keeping readers at a remove for most of the novel. Although ultimately a story with a happy ending, Briar Rose is also imbued with sadness from the beginning even as Gemma tells her Sleeping Beauty story in flashbacks.
This isn't a story for everyone and not a conventional retelling although elements of Sleeping Beauty do come into play with Gemma's history as Rebecca investigates it. Recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction or are interested in World War II.
An absolutely heart - and gut - wrenching novel, which seamlessly and beautifully connects the Sleeping Beauty fairytale with the Holocaust and its history of strife, horror and death. I really liked this story of a woman in search of her grandmother's story, a promise she makes on a deathbed, and how she finds what she was looking for in her grandmother's homeland of Poland, in a story that is so saddening and frightening because most of the events portrayed are historical facts. A different and touching rendering of a beloved fairytale in a dark, despairing context, but which makes for a great - if sad - read.
"Happy-ever-after is a fairy tale notion, not history."
That's a quote from the Author's Note at the end of the book and I think it sums up the book nicely without revealing anything plot-wise.
I was going to give this book three stars, but the ending (of the Grandmother's story) is so profoundly beautiful, it makes up for the semi flat modern characters and the 2D 1990's world.
That's a quote from the Author's Note at the end of the book and I think it sums up the book nicely without revealing anything plot-wise.
I was going to give this book three stars, but the ending (of the Grandmother's story) is so profoundly beautiful, it makes up for the semi flat modern characters and the 2D 1990's world.
Jane Yolen is a master story teller. This book provided a dark new twist on the classic tale Sleeping Beauty. I enjoyed reading it.
If you don't know me, I'm going to tell you straight off that Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney movie. So when my friend gave me this book, I was immediately intrigued.
Holy shit was that intense. Briar Rose is the tale of Sleeping Beauty, but not the classic 'pricks her finger on a spindle, sleeps, wakes up by a prince's kiss' fairy tale we're all used to. This Sleeping Beauty is told in flashbacks by a grandmother to her grandchildren. It's only when the grandmother dies, that we begin to understand what the story meant.
Gemma, the grandmother, is Sleeping Beauty - a tale her grandchildren aren't too sure about. When Gemma passes away, Becca (the youngest grandchild) promises Gemma that she will find her grandmother's 'castle'. This promise sends Becca on a wild chase deep into her grandmother's past, a past that no one knows about. Through conversations with Jewish immigrants, interviews with concentration camp survivors, and ultimately ending in a trip to Poland, Becca begins to unravel the secret that was her grandmother.
Told as a fairy tale, but laced with historical undertones, Briar Rose takes what you think you know about Sleeping Beauty and merges it with a tale of survival and rescue from one of the most horrific concentration camps under Nazi rule.
I was unprepared for how this book made me feel. The haunting tale at the end will stay with me for awhile. But I am very glad that I read this.
Holy shit was that intense. Briar Rose is the tale of Sleeping Beauty, but not the classic 'pricks her finger on a spindle, sleeps, wakes up by a prince's kiss' fairy tale we're all used to. This Sleeping Beauty is told in flashbacks by a grandmother to her grandchildren. It's only when the grandmother dies, that we begin to understand what the story meant.
Gemma, the grandmother, is Sleeping Beauty - a tale her grandchildren aren't too sure about. When Gemma passes away, Becca (the youngest grandchild) promises Gemma that she will find her grandmother's 'castle'. This promise sends Becca on a wild chase deep into her grandmother's past, a past that no one knows about. Through conversations with Jewish immigrants, interviews with concentration camp survivors, and ultimately ending in a trip to Poland, Becca begins to unravel the secret that was her grandmother.
Told as a fairy tale, but laced with historical undertones, Briar Rose takes what you think you know about Sleeping Beauty and merges it with a tale of survival and rescue from one of the most horrific concentration camps under Nazi rule.
I was unprepared for how this book made me feel. The haunting tale at the end will stay with me for awhile. But I am very glad that I read this.
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This retelling of sorts is just beautiful. At times it felt much more like a memoir - like a tale of someone searching her past, but we are reminded that it is not. It is not a fairytale. It is not history. It IS a beautiful told story, with an ending as it needed to be.
Normally this would be classified as a fairy tale, except it isn't. Not really. Becca is tracing her grandmother "Gemma" to find out where she came from, and discovers a Holocaust fairy tale instead.
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nice read in many ways, could have done with more exploring of the stan relationship. Also amnesia plot ugh.
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, War