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achilleanshelves's review against another edition
4.0
(3.5 stars)
I really enjoyed quite a few of these! The Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel and Snow White retellings were particularly memorable and put an interesting spin on the classic tales.
I really enjoyed quite a few of these! The Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel and Snow White retellings were particularly memorable and put an interesting spin on the classic tales.
tjasa_f's review against another edition
4.0
The illustrations are beautiful in this edition and I loved Rapunzel, The Frog Prince and Briar Rose.
moonpie's review against another edition
4.0
The speaker in this case
is a middle-aged witch, me --
tangled on my two great arms,
my face in a book
and my mouth wide,
ready to tell you a story or two.
I expected to LOVE Transformations, an all caps, shouty kind of love, but instead I liked it, lowercase, normal conversational tones. I'm not sure why I didn't connect with Sexton's poems, especially since I love the way she plays with words and metaphor, mixes the dusty language of fairy tales with taxi girls and Thorazine.
Transformations is a collection of poems, retellings of fairy tales -- the Grimm versions, pretty dark even without help. Sexton pulls out the creepiest undertones of the stories and puts them on full display. Before each retelling there's an introduction, putting a modern spin on the old stories. Most of the retellings are straightforward enough, but often Sexton's turns of phrase would make me see some element of the tale in a new light, and even when they didn't, I'd enjoy the words she chose to put her poem together, even if I didn't totally click with the collection as a whole.
I found a few of the poems in the collection to go past dark into downright disturbing. I'm sure that was Sexton's intention, but I would be happy never to read "Rapunzel" again.
(three-and-a-half stars)
cwalsh's review against another edition
4.0
“Give me your skin
as sheer as a cobweb,
let me open it up
and listen in and scoop out the dark.”
Dark, poetic, and at times humorous retellings of Grimms' Fairytales? We love her, folks.
as sheer as a cobweb,
let me open it up
and listen in and scoop out the dark.”
Dark, poetic, and at times humorous retellings of Grimms' Fairytales? We love her, folks.
bloomingsouls's review against another edition
3.0
at times i find myself more intrigued by a poet than their poetry. this is one of those cases, i suppose.
asma_aj's review against another edition
4.0
There's something captivating and haunting about Anne Sexton's poetry. Taking well-known fairytales, Sexton captured their dark essence in her stanzas. Much like the style she's known for, there are elements of a tortured confession in each of her poems, beginning as if like an anecdote before launching into a familiar, but kind of new, tale. In some instances, it is a jab at the style of how fairytales are told, replacing happy endings with morbid or unhappy endings. One of the things I observed and loved when I read her poetry is the use of language. Sexton's dark tones were, like I said, captivating and moving.
Transformations brought forth interesting twists to the well-known fairytales that I reveled in.
For more book reviews, check out my blog A Reading Kabocha.
Transformations brought forth interesting twists to the well-known fairytales that I reveled in.
For more book reviews, check out my blog A Reading Kabocha.
smlaurie's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Is it transformation or revelation? Under Sexton's pen, fairy tales are not fairy tales but tales of horror that are found in contemporary life.