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abbythompson 's review for:
Spindle's End
by Robin McKinley
An interesting and deceptively simple retelling of Sleeping Beauty, McKinley works her literary magic again, bringing a too-often told tale back to life.
In this version, the princess is Rosie, who being hidden from the evil fairy Pernicia by the young Katriona and her Aunt. Rosie is "as safe as ordinariness can make her" and grows up far away from court intrigue. Rosie also has the gift of "beast-speech" meaning she can talk to animals (makes all that Disney crap seem a little more believable) and a best friend named Peony. Peony is all that is good and sweet and gentle, while Rosie is tomboy and apprenticed to the local blacksmith.
There is little to no dialog in the book, but the descriptions are vivid and the world-building fascinating. This may annoy some readers depending on where you sit on the "show me/tell me" fence. I didn't mind it and preferred McKinley's 3rd person narration over some info-dump, stilted conversation between characters to learn why fish are so untrustworthy.
When I finished Spindle's End, there was one part at the end of the book that intrigued me and I was reading some of the other reviews here on Goodreads to see if anyone else picked up on it. One other review did but damn me if I can find it again. If you can find the review that references the gender queering of Rosie, PLEASE let me know. I would love to further explore that idea.
In this version, the princess is Rosie, who being hidden from the evil fairy Pernicia by the young Katriona and her Aunt. Rosie is "as safe as ordinariness can make her" and grows up far away from court intrigue. Rosie also has the gift of "beast-speech" meaning she can talk to animals (makes all that Disney crap seem a little more believable) and a best friend named Peony. Peony is all that is good and sweet and gentle, while Rosie is tomboy and apprenticed to the local blacksmith.
There is little to no dialog in the book, but the descriptions are vivid and the world-building fascinating. This may annoy some readers depending on where you sit on the "show me/tell me" fence. I didn't mind it and preferred McKinley's 3rd person narration over some info-dump, stilted conversation between characters to learn why fish are so untrustworthy.
When I finished Spindle's End, there was one part at the end of the book that intrigued me and I was reading some of the other reviews here on Goodreads to see if anyone else picked up on it. One other review did but damn me if I can find it again. If you can find the review that references the gender queering of Rosie, PLEASE let me know. I would love to further explore that idea.