A review by vreadsabook
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

5.0

I cannot rave about this book enough. A quote on the back of the book describes Carter as a "quirky, original, baroque stylist" and I couldn't agree more. This collection of re-written fairy tales is very lush. Carter makes them into works of great literature, all the while further highlighting their bawdiness, and highly-gendered nature with her word choice. Likewise, her word choice links all the tales together so, like good fairy tales, the only real way to tell where one story ends and another begins, is by how they are arranged and divided by the teller. It is very important, when reading this book, to pay attention to word choice. Carter uses her words carefully and strangely, often to great effect. It took me a long while to read the book simply because I'd read a story and sit and digest the words. Many of the stories are updated, with cars and guns, which made me feel like I was listening to someone tell me the stories today, perhaps my grandmother at her stove rather than at a spinning wheel. Puss-in-Boots and The Bloody Chamber were particular favorites. Ultimately, this book, although short (at about 125 pages) was not only a delight but now has a firm place on my favorites list.