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A review by jordanbates91
Snow White by Donald Barthelme
5.0
Snow White by Donald Barthelme
Scribner Paperback Fiction, New York. 1965
“The hair is black as ebony, the skin white as snow” when reading this sentence you might immediately think of the Brothers Grimm, but this is not the case here. When looking at Donald Barthelme’s Snow White I was shocked to see the blood red and white cover with a corset on the front and back of it. Barthelme’s Snow White is taking the Grimm brother’s fairy tale to a whole new level, putting a contemporary spin on it. We see Snow White and the dwarfs living in the city and going about their daily lives. We soon learn the provocative nature of Snow White and the dwarfs, clinging to their shower times together; the most important thing to them.
We, as the reader, are now exposed to a new world in relation to Snow White, one with many sexual innuendoes and a place where she has already met prince charming. We get to see into the lives of the dwarfs and what they endure everyday along with their awaited showers. We get to finally see the thought process of Snow White and how she interacts with the dwarfs and how they put up with each other.
Barthelme takes all of the main characters and places and imagine them as real people. Jane - the Evil Queen; Hogo - the Mirror; Paul - Prince Charming. Consequently, we are able to connect with these characters on a different level when they have an actual name and we can relate to them. You also get to interact with Jane, the Evil Queen; you don’t see her plotting the demise of Snow white, you almost feel sympathy for her every day life. When getting to see into the everyday lives of these people we almost start to lose sight of how Snow White ends. When we get closer to the ending, and with a unexpected twist, you sit there trying to think about everything you have read about Snow White and comprehend what just happened.
Barthelme has cerated a new realm of fairy tale, interjecting real life amongst fantasy. This book would startle most people with the language, different narrators, and of course the little tid bit in the middle of the book. Barthelme’s writing is strong- willed in creating something of his own. I would love to be able to take a fairy tale and make it my own and put as much raw emotion into it. The satire with the raw emotion in this book intrigues me to write more this way, almost taking the raw emotion and putting a twist on it. This is exactly what Barthelme’s writing does and what makes this story such an amazing read.
Scribner Paperback Fiction, New York. 1965
“The hair is black as ebony, the skin white as snow” when reading this sentence you might immediately think of the Brothers Grimm, but this is not the case here. When looking at Donald Barthelme’s Snow White I was shocked to see the blood red and white cover with a corset on the front and back of it. Barthelme’s Snow White is taking the Grimm brother’s fairy tale to a whole new level, putting a contemporary spin on it. We see Snow White and the dwarfs living in the city and going about their daily lives. We soon learn the provocative nature of Snow White and the dwarfs, clinging to their shower times together; the most important thing to them.
We, as the reader, are now exposed to a new world in relation to Snow White, one with many sexual innuendoes and a place where she has already met prince charming. We get to see into the lives of the dwarfs and what they endure everyday along with their awaited showers. We get to finally see the thought process of Snow White and how she interacts with the dwarfs and how they put up with each other.
Barthelme takes all of the main characters and places and imagine them as real people. Jane - the Evil Queen; Hogo - the Mirror; Paul - Prince Charming. Consequently, we are able to connect with these characters on a different level when they have an actual name and we can relate to them. You also get to interact with Jane, the Evil Queen; you don’t see her plotting the demise of Snow white, you almost feel sympathy for her every day life. When getting to see into the everyday lives of these people we almost start to lose sight of how Snow White ends. When we get closer to the ending, and with a unexpected twist, you sit there trying to think about everything you have read about Snow White and comprehend what just happened.
Barthelme has cerated a new realm of fairy tale, interjecting real life amongst fantasy. This book would startle most people with the language, different narrators, and of course the little tid bit in the middle of the book. Barthelme’s writing is strong- willed in creating something of his own. I would love to be able to take a fairy tale and make it my own and put as much raw emotion into it. The satire with the raw emotion in this book intrigues me to write more this way, almost taking the raw emotion and putting a twist on it. This is exactly what Barthelme’s writing does and what makes this story such an amazing read.