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A review by rlgreen91
Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Where do I begin? Where do I begin?
Well, I guess I can start by saying thank you! I actually received this book via a Goodreads Giveaway! Unfortunately, dealing with my mother's care arrangements meant that I completely missed the email notifying me I won and the actual package sat on my table unopened for a couple of weeks at least. So here is my very delayed review.
I enjoyed this collection for a number of reasons. First of all, Babalola's writing skills are top notch, especially in her characterization. Even if the title character wasn't necessarily relatable to me personally, there was something about her writing that still allowed me to step seamlessly into their space. That ability is really impressive and one of the strengths of the collection.
Another strength was a central part of this collection and something Babalola mentioned in her note: taking a variety of myths and stretching and playing with them in different contexts without losing what made the original a defining part of a culture. I mean, when I read "Scheherazade" I was spellbound. Afterwards, I immediately looked up the original version and was disappointed because it couldn't seem to hold a candle to Babalola's retelling. And the whole collection was like this! It was just one wonderful transformation after the other that worked really really really well.
The last strength I'll mention is the overall theme of the collection around romantic love. I think that in the past few years, where we've seen increasing and entrenched inequality, a global pandemic, growing political polarization, and all sorts of concerning things, overall we've honed in on this view of romance and "chick-lit" as overally optimistic, bubblegum love stories that just don't happen in the real world. We look for the downsides more often, and expect to read about anti-heroes with cynical takes on life. So I really enjoyed that this collection looked at how a healthy romantic relationship could be a blessing, could be a balm - that while it doesn't solve all of life's problems, healthy romantic love is a good thing to have, and that we should cherish it if we do.
If there was one thing I didn't care for as much in the collection, it would be that the last story is out of place. I enjoyed it - the story itself is fine, it's just that to me, it doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the stories and I wouldn't have chosen to end the collection on that one. But overall, this was a wonderful short story collection. 5 stars, easy
Well, I guess I can start by saying thank you! I actually received this book via a Goodreads Giveaway! Unfortunately, dealing with my mother's care arrangements meant that I completely missed the email notifying me I won and the actual package sat on my table unopened for a couple of weeks at least. So here is my very delayed review.
I enjoyed this collection for a number of reasons. First of all, Babalola's writing skills are top notch, especially in her characterization. Even if the title character wasn't necessarily relatable to me personally, there was something about her writing that still allowed me to step seamlessly into their space. That ability is really impressive and one of the strengths of the collection.
Another strength was a central part of this collection and something Babalola mentioned in her note: taking a variety of myths and stretching and playing with them in different contexts without losing what made the original a defining part of a culture. I mean, when I read "Scheherazade" I was spellbound. Afterwards, I immediately looked up the original version and was disappointed because it couldn't seem to hold a candle to Babalola's retelling. And the whole collection was like this! It was just one wonderful transformation after the other that worked really really really well.
The last strength I'll mention is the overall theme of the collection around romantic love. I think that in the past few years, where we've seen increasing and entrenched inequality, a global pandemic, growing political polarization, and all sorts of concerning things, overall we've honed in on this view of romance and "chick-lit" as overally optimistic, bubblegum love stories that just don't happen in the real world. We look for the downsides more often, and expect to read about anti-heroes with cynical takes on life. So I really enjoyed that this collection looked at how a healthy romantic relationship could be a blessing, could be a balm - that while it doesn't solve all of life's problems, healthy romantic love is a good thing to have, and that we should cherish it if we do.
If there was one thing I didn't care for as much in the collection, it would be that the last story is out of place. I enjoyed it - the story itself is fine, it's just that to me, it doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the stories and I wouldn't have chosen to end the collection on that one. But overall, this was a wonderful short story collection. 5 stars, easy
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent