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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
haunting. Read along with "Spindle's End" by Robin McKinley for comparison.
I wasn't particularly amazed with the book overall, the writing was a little bland and leaned towards dull sometimes, but it was a good book and a sweet story.
Only nominally a fantasy, Briar Rose re-imagines the Sleeping Beauty story as a poignant allegory, retold by a survivor of the Holocaust. It begins as a peculiar retelling of the traditional fairy tale from a mysterious woman to her three granddaughters, a story she has obsessively told them from childhood to adulthood. When the old woman dies, it is, in fairy tale style, up to the youngest of the three to piece together the clues that she left behind. It is a genealogical treasure hunt that leads her to an elderly aristocrat in Poland, the one man who can provide her with the truth behind the tale.
Briar Rose is a refreshing take on Holocaust stories, framed as it is in mystery and metaphor. The background story takes up about the lsst third of the book, a bittersweet tale that reminds us that nursery rhymes and fairy tales often carry within them deeper truths.
Briar Rose is a refreshing take on Holocaust stories, framed as it is in mystery and metaphor. The background story takes up about the lsst third of the book, a bittersweet tale that reminds us that nursery rhymes and fairy tales often carry within them deeper truths.
I want to write a review of this, but words kind of fail me.
This is the first Jane Yolen book I’ve read, and even though the topic of the Holocaust it explores is deeply important and even though she is a renowned writer, I confess that I wasn’t all that impressed. I wanted to care about the characters, but I didn’t. I felt like the story was disjointed, and the vehicle she used to discuss the real concerns of antisemitism and other prejudices (sleeping beauty) was kind of contrived and didn’t really work. The answers the narrator/character was looking for felt unsatisfying, maybe like the end of this review.
Jane Yolen has been a favorite since childhood. She writes well and beautifully. She tackles concepts in a way that teens and young adults can understand. This book is a beautiful weaving of fairy tale and history that gives life to the true purpose of fairy tales while telling a compelling story about the Holocaust. A must read!
This weaves young adult book elements of the Briar Rose story (Sleeping Beauty) into a horrifying Holocaust tale.
"Gemma" has told the tale of Briar Rose to her three granddaughters for as long as they can remember, but on her death bed, in a moment of lucidity, Gemma emphatically informs Becca that she actually is Briar Rose. A box full of Gemma's secret possessions leads Becca to unravel the mystery of her grandmother's past in a harrowing holocaust story.
Imaginative re-tellings of fairy tales can be hit or miss for me, but this book really caught my attention with the way it took the story of Sleeping Beauty well beyond its darker roots. Becca's actual journey, which takes her all the way to Poland, has many interesting and endearing moments, but the magic of this book is how Yolen weaves Gemma’s apparent fairy tale into the reality, teasing out the story of Briar Rose bit by bit, until it reaches its bittersweet conclusion.
Imaginative re-tellings of fairy tales can be hit or miss for me, but this book really caught my attention with the way it took the story of Sleeping Beauty well beyond its darker roots. Becca's actual journey, which takes her all the way to Poland, has many interesting and endearing moments, but the magic of this book is how Yolen weaves Gemma’s apparent fairy tale into the reality, teasing out the story of Briar Rose bit by bit, until it reaches its bittersweet conclusion.
I've taught this book twice, once in a young adult lit course and once in a creative writng class. Both times students were hooked in by the unlikely combination of Sleeeping Beauty and a Holocaust narrative. It's a lovely, haunting story, perfect for young adults and adults alike.
This is a powerful, touching retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story. Before reading it, I couldn’t imagine how Yolen would connect the fairy tale with the Holocaust, but the wall of thorns becomes barbed wire, the prince has a real-life counterpart and the truth of the sleeping spell is a horrible reality.
I shy away from Holocaust literature in general. I’m always worried that it will be too depressing, although so many of the stories, like Briar Rose, end in redemption and hope. Gemma, as the princess, is both a victim and a heroine, as were so many individuals. She loses everything in the sleeping wood, her memories, her identity, her true love, but manages to build a new life for her and her daughter.
I was enchanted by the story from the beginning. Even though it dealt with a horrific subject, it was short and simply told. Beautiful, really.
I shy away from Holocaust literature in general. I’m always worried that it will be too depressing, although so many of the stories, like Briar Rose, end in redemption and hope. Gemma, as the princess, is both a victim and a heroine, as were so many individuals. She loses everything in the sleeping wood, her memories, her identity, her true love, but manages to build a new life for her and her daughter.
I was enchanted by the story from the beginning. Even though it dealt with a horrific subject, it was short and simply told. Beautiful, really.