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27 reviews for:
Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale
Catherine Orenstein
3.85 AVERAGE
27 reviews for:
Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale
Catherine Orenstein
3.85 AVERAGE
informative
"[Fairy tales] are a form of theater....where cultural and social values and desires play out."
Overall, I liked this book. The history of the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood"--and fairy tales in general--is especially fascinating ("Little Red" was originally written in the 17th century by Perrault as a cautionary tale warning court ladies against sexual "wolves"). But I felt that Orenstein was padding it a bit when she included pieces on the history of wolves vs. man, wolves in literature, an extensive look at Anne Sexton's personal history, and how the classic tale is respun in the movie Freeway. Nevertheless, Orenstein is an engaging writer; those interested in a deeper look at fairy and folk tales will probably enjoy Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked.
I want a book like this on all popular fairy tales please. Especially Snow White.
informative
informative
slow-paced
LRRH remakes have continued to emerge since this book was published. Though I'd love to see an update, this is a fascinating insight into the famous tale.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
informative
medium-paced
Meh. I'm probably not the target audience for this. I mean, I was only one class shy of a literature minor in college and a lot of my online non-book reading tends toward social justice matters including feminism, so none of the author's interpretations were new to me. To me it was blatantly obvious that this began with the author's college thesis AND that said thesis was 20+ years ago (some of the terminology is pretty dated, as is the conflating of certain concepts).
The first half of the book is better than the second; it's great to see the different variations of the story and all the different historical contexts. The second half is super disjointed, and full of the aforementioned terminology and conflation issues.
The first half of the book is better than the second; it's great to see the different variations of the story and all the different historical contexts. The second half is super disjointed, and full of the aforementioned terminology and conflation issues.