Okay, it’s true. I’ve been writing about fantasy all this time! That’s because when I came to India this summer, I didn’t see much of a fantasy section at any bookstore I went to, even big ones. but here’s my review...
Once Upon a Time...
Cinderella worked like a dog until her fairy godmother saw fit to interfere, and then then she married her prince and live happily ever after.
Snow White’s mother asked for a child with hair like ebony, skin like snow and lips like blood...think about what such a child would REALLY look like.
Sleeping Beauty’s prince impregnated her while she was asleep.
In the last few decades, there’s been a return to the darker side of fairy tales, where not everything is a happy ending. Disney would hardly make a movie about Fair Rosalinde, a young orphan village girl who was seduced by the King, imprisoned in a tower/bower/gilded cage, and murdered by the jealous Queen when Her Majesty discovered her husband’s infidelity.
NOT a happy ending.
Below are five books where the authors have tried to return the fairy tales to their original form, blood and gore and all, or where they’ve based their story on a fairy tale.
- Jack of Kinrowan by Charles deLint- Remember the fairy tale of Jack the Giant Killer? Here, Jacky Rowan is suddenly swept up from the streets of modern Ottawa into the world of Faerie, and hailed as the Jack of Kinrowan, a folklore trickster figure who will save the Faerie Courts.
Excellent story, fast- paced, and entertaining, with a quest and everything!
Snow White, Blood Red- This is a collection of stories edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. The stories are very adult retellings of fairytales, some erotic, some inspiring, some horrific. The story that struck me the most is told by Snow White’s stepmother, who reveals that Snow White is actually a vampire.
Deerskin by Robin McKinley- You no doubt remember the story of the beautiful princess who inherited her dead mother’s looks, causing her father, the King, who is warped by grief, to have a heinous lust for her. In fact, he announces he will marry her on her 17th birthday! Terrified, she locks herself in but her father breaks in and things get quite bad for a bit.
This story is beautifully written, and Princess Lissar, our heroine, is brave and resourceful. This novel maybe slightly geared toward the Young Adult section, but is nevertheless an exciting read. It also makes one think about parent-child relationships, how a child can suffer from an abusive relationship.
The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey- The retelling of Swan Lake, from the point of view of the wicked sorcerer’s daughter. Odile von Rothbart is the daughter of Baron Eric von Rothbart, a powerful sorcerer who imprisons women who have betrayed men. He keeps them as swans in his garden, and they may only return to human form under the light of the full moon. He leaves Odile to study spells and to watch over the swans, while Odile works hard(in vain) for his approval. One of the swan-women is Odette, a princess. Von Rothbart makes a deal with Odette that if she can make a prince fall in love with her for a month, he’ll release all the swan-maidens. But von Rothbart has plans in mind, and they include Odile, who has befriended the swan maidens.
The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey- This is the best of them all!
Blond, pretty Elena Klovis lives in Otraria, one of the 500 Kingdoms with her wicked stepmother and stepsisters. She was supposed to be her Kingdom’s Cinderella, but the prince of her kingdom is 11 years old! Her destiny thwarted, Elena ends up as a fairy godmother’s apprentice.
She learns about ’the Tradition’, a destiny-like magical force. In the 500 kingdoms, sometimes certain people’s lives start to resemble a fairytale of some kind, and the Tradition tries to ensure that the person gets a fairy tale ending. This is not necessarily good, because if you remember, not all fairy tales have HAPPY endings.
This is an awesome book. Elena is smart, hardworking and kind, and all the characters, from Hob the brownie to Arachnia the evil witch, to Alexander the haughty prince, are well fleshed out. The book has a great start, middle and ending. Nowhere does the story falter and the explanations for the Tradition were really good.
Definitely a book to pick up!!
Now that you’ve read this, the least you can do is leave a comment! :) Thanks!
Rois.