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A review by pussinbooks
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce
4.0
Elizabeth C. Bunce's A Curse Dark as Gold is enchanting before the first word is even read. On the cover, a girl's hands are clasped in prayer and wrapped in gold thread--an ominous piece of beauty for those familiar with the tale of Rumpelstiltskin. Upon opening the cover, brilliant blue end papers greet the reader, and within the second chapter it is told that blue is a color of protection to ward off the Folk. And so this tale held in readers' hands is wrapped in good magic, and shouldn't fear the words be stolen by demons.
Bunce introduces her audience to Charlotte Miller, the eldest daughter of the now deceased Mr. Miller, who must take over the mill her father left behind. The differences between Bunce's telling and older versions of Rumpelstiltskin are striking. A deceased father means no one to boast falsely about his daughter's ability to spin straw into gold, and no king to put her under duress if she does not produce the goods. So the theme of one lie affecting the heroine is put aside, but in its place remain secrets, tragedies, and false identities. Indeed, this is a text rich in personal and worldly history.
Curse is set at the dawn of the industrial revolution in a small town where steam power is not yet in favor--a setting that allows Bunce to develop issues of class, child labor, and a rustic way of life that may not be as cozy as readers would like to picture. Historical purists may want to read the Author's Note, in which Bunce admits the historical liberties she takes, before delving into the text.
Once in the text, Charlotte's voice is one authors and readers crave. Charlotte is practical with little patience for belief in the curse the town says is on her family. Charlotte's narration is much like readers will come to picture her fabrics--tightly woven, each layer made with great care (and bits of funny town gossip offered in tidy parentheses). She is a heroine who uses her mind to protect her town, her business, her family. Charlotte's unwavering nerve will have readers feeling relief and dismay along with the young woman who must right wrongs of those who came before her without losing everything dear to her in the process.
I thought Bunce could have done more with the themes of class and bloodlines that come up towards the end of the novel. By cropping up near the end, they feel shoved together, and the final confrontation ends up being anti-climactic because of a heartbreaking scene that plays out earlier.
In the course of A Curse Dark as Gold, many stories are told by many voices that have long held their silence through consent or force. Characters the reader thinks vile may turn sympathetic, but Bunce does not use her authorial hand to guide what conclusions the reader should come to. In the end, Bunce's revision of the tale still explores power in its corrupt and liberating forms that leads to an end both chilling and rewarding. Then the blue end papers return, wrapping the words in friendly protection once more until readers return for another go at the spinning of a dark legend.
Bunce introduces her audience to Charlotte Miller, the eldest daughter of the now deceased Mr. Miller, who must take over the mill her father left behind. The differences between Bunce's telling and older versions of Rumpelstiltskin are striking. A deceased father means no one to boast falsely about his daughter's ability to spin straw into gold, and no king to put her under duress if she does not produce the goods. So the theme of one lie affecting the heroine is put aside, but in its place remain secrets, tragedies, and false identities. Indeed, this is a text rich in personal and worldly history.
Curse is set at the dawn of the industrial revolution in a small town where steam power is not yet in favor--a setting that allows Bunce to develop issues of class, child labor, and a rustic way of life that may not be as cozy as readers would like to picture. Historical purists may want to read the Author's Note, in which Bunce admits the historical liberties she takes, before delving into the text.
Once in the text, Charlotte's voice is one authors and readers crave. Charlotte is practical with little patience for belief in the curse the town says is on her family. Charlotte's narration is much like readers will come to picture her fabrics--tightly woven, each layer made with great care (and bits of funny town gossip offered in tidy parentheses). She is a heroine who uses her mind to protect her town, her business, her family. Charlotte's unwavering nerve will have readers feeling relief and dismay along with the young woman who must right wrongs of those who came before her without losing everything dear to her in the process.
I thought Bunce could have done more with the themes of class and bloodlines that come up towards the end of the novel. By cropping up near the end, they feel shoved together, and the final confrontation ends up being anti-climactic because of a heartbreaking scene that plays out earlier.
In the course of A Curse Dark as Gold, many stories are told by many voices that have long held their silence through consent or force. Characters the reader thinks vile may turn sympathetic, but Bunce does not use her authorial hand to guide what conclusions the reader should come to. In the end, Bunce's revision of the tale still explores power in its corrupt and liberating forms that leads to an end both chilling and rewarding. Then the blue end papers return, wrapping the words in friendly protection once more until readers return for another go at the spinning of a dark legend.