A review by zhongxia
Tangleweed and Brine by Deirdre Sullivan

4.0

If anything convinces you to read this book, let it be the beautiful writing. Sullivan spins lush and clever retellings of fairytales, and it's my favorite anthology/writing on fairytales that I've read so far. It's amazing how much emotion she can convey through one sentence and make you care for every woman and girl in these tories. Not all are sympathetic, and I love that. There are terrible women in some of these stories and Sullivan doesn't cover up their deeds or try to force sympathy from the reader; she just tells us how some of them might be. I also love the way each story was about the misogyny and the sacrifices required of women in fairytales but that they still centered so much on the woman herself. Every girl is so much more than just an allegory against the patriarchy, but feels painfully real.