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A review by rainydaywriter217b2
Beautiful by Juliet Marillier
4.0
This was a new experience for me, listening to a book that is *only* available in audiobook format. It’s the length of a longer novella, or thereabouts.
I love fairy tale retellings, and gave my thesis presentation in grad school on them. East of the Sun, West of the Moon is one of my favorites, precursor as it is to Beauty and the Beast. This take on the classic tale was surprising, and lovely.
Instead of hearing about the girl who has to travel after her lover-turned-into-a-bear, we get the perspective of the troll queen’s daughter. I really enjoyed Hulde as a character. She was mostly a cinnamon bun for the first half of the story or so, but she’s got spine underneath it all and it eventually shows.
The most compelling part of the story for me was the brothers, by far. They were intriguing and lovely and I wanted to see how things ended up. I also appreciated all the little ways that Marillier subverted the fairy tale trope, or wove in a narrative tactic that made the story come alive. For example, Hulde starts the story with everything. Opposite to someone like Cinderella, who starts with nothing and works her way to winning the prince, Hulde has a castle and treasure and an impending marriage to a handsome prince at the start of this story. And the reason we love her is because she turns it all down, and is determined to make her own story.
As to the narrative tactics, a good example of that is the way that Hulde describes the world around her. She loves books, and the storybooks she used to learn how to read had pictures of the stories, tableaus that were very emotionally expressive. And Hulde is always thinking about what such-and-such event would be pictured like in a storybook. It’s a beautiful way to put us inside Hulde’s head and heart, and to help the reader really visualize exactly what’s going on. Masterful storytelling.
I’d recommend this audiobook to anyone who enjoys fairy tale retellings, anyone looking for an unconventional magical adventure story, or really anyone at all who likes Marillier’s type of unique storytelling. I have to wonder if this book is only available in audiobook format because Marillier has such respect for the Celts and their oral tradition.
This and other reviews by me can be found at www.annaimber.com
I love fairy tale retellings, and gave my thesis presentation in grad school on them. East of the Sun, West of the Moon is one of my favorites, precursor as it is to Beauty and the Beast. This take on the classic tale was surprising, and lovely.
Instead of hearing about the girl who has to travel after her lover-turned-into-a-bear, we get the perspective of the troll queen’s daughter. I really enjoyed Hulde as a character. She was mostly a cinnamon bun for the first half of the story or so, but she’s got spine underneath it all and it eventually shows.
The most compelling part of the story for me was the brothers, by far. They were intriguing and lovely and I wanted to see how things ended up. I also appreciated all the little ways that Marillier subverted the fairy tale trope, or wove in a narrative tactic that made the story come alive. For example, Hulde starts the story with everything. Opposite to someone like Cinderella, who starts with nothing and works her way to winning the prince, Hulde has a castle and treasure and an impending marriage to a handsome prince at the start of this story. And the reason we love her is because she turns it all down, and is determined to make her own story.
As to the narrative tactics, a good example of that is the way that Hulde describes the world around her. She loves books, and the storybooks she used to learn how to read had pictures of the stories, tableaus that were very emotionally expressive. And Hulde is always thinking about what such-and-such event would be pictured like in a storybook. It’s a beautiful way to put us inside Hulde’s head and heart, and to help the reader really visualize exactly what’s going on. Masterful storytelling.
I’d recommend this audiobook to anyone who enjoys fairy tale retellings, anyone looking for an unconventional magical adventure story, or really anyone at all who likes Marillier’s type of unique storytelling. I have to wonder if this book is only available in audiobook format because Marillier has such respect for the Celts and their oral tradition.
This and other reviews by me can be found at www.annaimber.com