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A review by vasi83177
Gretel and the Dark by Eliza Granville
4.0
It's a bit difficult to rate this book.
It's also a bit difficult to get through. Which isn't to say that it's badly written. It's not. But the subject matter gets very dark, very quickly and in the end, it's not for those faint of heart. I can't go into too much details about this side of the story because I don't want to give anything away, but this is just a warning that some rather terrible things are being portrayed.
Apart from this, the book revolves around fairy tales and especially the tale of Hansel and Gretel. These stories are used as a coping mechanism by our main character, a little girl, who tries to make sense of the real world by likening it to that of fairy tales. And that is just the beginning. This concept morphs over time into something closer to madness.
And because we see things through the eyes of a little girl who uses fairy tales as a compass, it's up to the reader to figure out what is actually happening. The end result is that topics, such as mistreatment of children for instance, are portrayed in fairy tale language. So their effect doesn't echo as powerfully until you realize what our young narrator is trying say, what parts of those tales apply to her real-life situations.
So if you don't shy away from darker topics, and you have a love for fairy tales, I would recommend this book.
It's also a bit difficult to get through. Which isn't to say that it's badly written. It's not. But the subject matter gets very dark, very quickly and in the end, it's not for those faint of heart. I can't go into too much details about this side of the story because I don't want to give anything away, but this is just a warning that some rather terrible things are being portrayed.
Apart from this, the book revolves around fairy tales and especially the tale of Hansel and Gretel. These stories are used as a coping mechanism by our main character, a little girl, who tries to make sense of the real world by likening it to that of fairy tales. And that is just the beginning. This concept morphs over time into something closer to madness.
And because we see things through the eyes of a little girl who uses fairy tales as a compass, it's up to the reader to figure out what is actually happening. The end result is that topics, such as mistreatment of children for instance, are portrayed in fairy tale language. So their effect doesn't echo as powerfully until you realize what our young narrator is trying say, what parts of those tales apply to her real-life situations.
So if you don't shy away from darker topics, and you have a love for fairy tales, I would recommend this book.