Archive for the ‘fairy tales’ Category
Five for Friday!
Posted on: February 15, 2019
- In: fairy tales | fantasy | science fiction
- 3 Comments
Welcome to a new-ish feature here at Little Red Reviewer, called Five for Friday. The concept is simple – it’s a Friday, and I post a photo of 5 books, and then we chat about them in the comments.
The only things these books have in common are:
– they were on my bookshelf
– I’m interested in your thoughts on them.
have you read any of these? if yes, did you like them? If you’ve not read them, does the cover make you interested in learning more about the book?
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman – I have got to be only person left on earth who hasn’t read this book! My friend lent it to me, and I just finished a manga (Silver Spoon #5!), so the timing is perfect for me to finally read this.
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord – Hard to believe it’s been five years since this came out. This is a quiet book that sneaks up on you, I reviewed it here. Did you like Station Eleven? You’ll like The Best of All Possible Worlds. Totally different plots, but they have a similar, hmm… tone is maybe the right word?
Winterglass by Benjanun Sriduangkaew – I love everything this woman writes. Gorgeous prose, atmospheric writing, vibrant characters, and did I mention the gorgeous prose? And can I say no to a retelling of The Snow Queen? no, I can not. Also, have you seen that beautiful cover art? review is here, if you’re interested.
Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart – Chinese fantasy adventure! This debut novel won the World Fantasy Award and has become a classic. review here. Have you read the sequels? are they good?
The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars by Steven Brust – Gosh, I haven’t read this in ages. I remember a painter and a bunch of artists who share a studio, I remember fairy tale that is told in tiny bits and pieces. I remember the first time I read this, I thought the painter was telling the fairy tale to his artist friends. Yep, I should really reread this.
I totally did not plan it this way, but a bunch of these books involve mythology and fairy tales!
Have you read any of these? what did you think of them?
Which of these look interesting to you?
What are some of your favorite fairy tale / mythology retellings?
The Starlit Wood, edited by Navah Wolfe and Dominik Parisien
published Oct 18, 2016
where I got it: received review copy from the publisher (thanks Saga!)
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I grew up with the standard mix of fairy tales that most American kids in the 80s were probably familiar with – Jack in the Beanstalk, The Pied Piper, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Rumplestiltskin, The Red Shoes, Hansel and Gretel, and more. They were a part of my childhood, in everything from Disney movies to bedtime stories. Most of these stories were cautionary tales: be a good/obedient/quiet child, otherwise something bad will happen to you. In a handful of the stories the child was good and obedient, but their parent wasn’t, so the child paid the price. Moral of the story? Being a child is garbage, you better grow up as fast as possible.
Playing with fairy tales is fun, it always has been. Turning them on their side, fracturing them, giving them a modern take, taking them apart and putting them back together again. I’m not sure who has more fun in this situation – the author retelling a fairy tale, or the reader who gets to enjoy the finished product. The original stories were always so sparse, so light on the details. What happened before the story started? What happened after it ended? Did the person really deserve what they got? Maybe the witch had a really crappy childhood, maybe the little girl really hated her grandma, maybe “magic beans” means something different, maybe Rumplestiltskin was just really socially awkward. And don’t even get me started on the Pied Piper of Hamlin (Thanks Cooney!).
The Starlit Wood, edited by Navah Wolfe and Dominik Parisien joins a fine literary tradition of inviting authors to give an old story a new twist. While I was reading this book, my husband asked me if it was like one of it’s famous predecessors, Snow White, Blood Red, edited by Datlow and Windling, and I said this new one was a far more modern take. Granted, it’s been years since I read Snow White, Blood Red, but I don’t remember quite as much recreational drug use, post-human characters, 3-d printing, or humor. Yes, some of the stories in The Starlit Wood are laugh out loud funny, but others are just as horrifying, disturbing, and cautionary as the original tales. The sheer variety of types of stories and styles of storytelling in The Starlit Wood sets this anthology apart from others in the same vein. It’s as if the editors told their authors “I trust you. Now go do your crazy magic”. And the authors did their magic, and suddenly witches became caretakers and advocates, giants became not-so-godly post-humans, parents forced their losses on to others, children told themselves stories to escape their own awful childhoods, stories intertwined and diverged and then and found each other again, fortunes were made, and some people even got a happy ending. If the original tales were cautionary, these new ones are about throwing caution to the wind.
the Little Red Reviewer 
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