Scan barcode
A review by amy_trent
Astra Remade by Elizabeth Lowham
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
This is a delicious retelling of Rapunzel. The twist is that the hero, the affable Dust, is the one trapped in the tower, and the beautiful maiden, Astra, is the one doing the rescuing. There's a whole lot of wit and a whole lot of charm in this story, but the chemistry between these two was a stand out. So too were the dragons!
In the third act there is this beautiful scene where Astra is bargaining with a dragon, and I realized that this was in fact a metaphor for what it takes to create art and what it means to share it.
"It was stitched with regret... but also with relentless hope and a stubbornness to continue forward... It is the capturing of imagined beauty, and it is the capturing of silent rebellion... The perfect representation of Astra." And a perfect representation of the emotion that goes into creating art.
"There was power in what I'd done. It would tear my heart to release it."
I loved this! I often don't honor the emotional work of creating. I certainly don't honor the emotional work of sharing my creations with others. It is vulnerable stuff, and it does at times feel like tearing off a piece of my soul and tossing it to a dragon. Content and consumption are words that creators are inundated with these days. Calloused approaches, thick skinned--all are offered up as advice to artists who put a lot of feeling into the long, hard labor of creating. Realizing the power of creating art and the power of vulnerability is important! Anyway, I loved this scene. It was incredibly cathartic.
Thoroughly enjoyed! I had fun too guessing at what influenced and inspired madam author. Was she a fan of _Love Is Blind_? Was the initial nature of Dust and Astra's relationship commentary on how modern life (texting) has changed the way couples interact? Is there something about filters and social media tied up in the idea of beautiful facades that plays out in Astra's wish?
"It was stitched with regret... but also with relentless hope and a stubbornness to continue forward... It is the capturing of imagined beauty, and it is the capturing of silent rebellion... The perfect representation of Astra." And a perfect representation of the emotion that goes into creating art.
"There was power in what I'd done. It would tear my heart to release it."
I loved this! I often don't honor the emotional work of creating. I certainly don't honor the emotional work of sharing my creations with others. It is vulnerable stuff, and it does at times feel like tearing off a piece of my soul and tossing it to a dragon. Content and consumption are words that creators are inundated with these days. Calloused approaches, thick skinned--all are offered up as advice to artists who put a lot of feeling into the long, hard labor of creating. Realizing the power of creating art and the power of vulnerability is important! Anyway, I loved this scene. It was incredibly cathartic.
Thoroughly enjoyed! I had fun too guessing at what influenced and inspired madam author. Was she a fan of _Love Is Blind_? Was the initial nature of Dust and Astra's relationship commentary on how modern life (texting) has changed the way couples interact? Is there something about filters and social media tied up in the idea of beautiful facades that plays out in Astra's wish?