Title: Paid Piper Author: Tanith Lee In: Red as Blood (Tanith Lee) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Dark fantasy, Fairy tales, Retellings Dates read: 23rd October 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Wildside Year: 1983 5th sentence, 74th page: And Raur’s image would be taken out of its sanctuary, though veiled – the Lime Treeans were only permitted to look at him face to face on special occasions – and up and down the byways on the shoulders of his priests.
The Piper has come to help the small town celebrate their yearly festival. But, when they refuse to stop worshipping a false god, he quickly turns cruel.
The Piper has always kind of freaked me out from fairy
tales. No matter how much the tale has been Disney-fied, it’s still kind of
dark and twisted. After all, it’s a man that steals an entire town’s children
and skips off into the sunset with them. Plus, I find the sound of a flute a
little haunting and creepy.
Tanith Lee takes that creepy aspect of the original fairy tale and makes it a little more plausible. It’s still entirely creepy, still makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable. But, now there is sympathy for the piper. And understanding for his actions, no matter how dark they are. It’s this ability to turn something that I thought I knew so well that drew me into this collection completely. And now I can’t wait to continue onwards with the Red as Blood collection.
Paid Piper is a little melanchology, quite a bit dark and a really nice read. The perfect fairy tale retelling to read just before bed time… if you want to be slightly unsettled, but not entirely freaked out. Although, I think that that’s mostly because of the true creepiness of the original fairy tale.
Title: Spinning Silver Author: Naomi Novik Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Fairy tales, Magic, Retellings, Strong women Dates read: 5th – 9th September 2019 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: MacMillan Year: 2018 5th sentence, 74th page: I woke thinking not of my mother, but of the ring; I wanted a chance to touch it, to hold it.
WILL DARK MAGIC CLAIM THEIR HOME?
Miryem is the daughter of a moneylender, but her father’s too kind-hearted to collect his debts. They face poverty, until Miryem hardens her own heart to collect his debts. Her success creates rumours she can turn silver into gold, which attract the fairy king of winter himself. He sets Miryem an impossible challenge – and if she fails, she dies. Yet if she triumphs, it could mean a fate worse than death. And in her desperate efforts to succeed, Miryem unwittingly involves the unhappy daughter of a lord.
Irina’s father schemes to wed her to the tsar. However, their dashing ruler hides a terrible secret that threatens mortals and winter alike. Torn between deadly choices, Miryem and Irina embark on a quest that will encompass sacrifice, power and love.
This is my first every Naomi Novik. I know that there’s been a lot of hype around her work, so I was kind of looking forward to seeing what all the fuss was about. And now I understand the fuss. It is well deserved fuss. This book was amazingly written, incredible fun and seriously intense. For some reason I was kind of expecting a young adult, easy read which would sweep me away to a beautiful, magical kingdom. This is not that book. This is a book about three different women and how they become the strong, independent women they need to be to defeat a great evil.
I normally struggle a little with storylines that jump
between narrator voices. Especially when it isn’t necessarily clear who is the
primary voice. The first few jumps between Miryem, Wanda and Irina kind of
frustrated me because it was a little difficult to follow each storyline. And
then I started recognising their narrations and their voices. Suddenly, I loved
jumping between the three girls as they became women. Jumping across voices and
storylines in a completely haphazard way which sucked me in completely.
One of the themes that is incredibly strong and prevalent
throughout this story is the idea of paying what you are owed. Whether that was
to the moneylender or paying the debts that you have accrued through your
actions. It is this great reminder that every action has a consequence, and
sometimes you have to face up to those at the worst possible moments. Although,
this wasn’t entirely negative. Wanda helps to save Miryem because she feels like
she owes her and is thankful to her actions. Miryem finds her own happily ever
after partly because she honors another being and does what is right, rather
than what is easy.
I love how each of the three women who are featured in this
story come into their own powers under their own volition. They aren’t immediately
strong. And all of the decisions that they make are for survival and their
families – it’s not about suddenly being a grown up, but the process through
which it occurs. There is a fantastic gradual change to the characters
throughout. One which makes you reflect on your own life at sixteen and how you
changed over those years (alright, I wasn’t getting married to demon spawn and
fighting for the survival of the world, but still…)
Title: Curiouser and Curiouser Author: Melanie Karsak Series: Steampunk Fairytales #1 Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Fairy tales, Retellings, Steampunk Dates read: 25th – 28th July 2019 Pace: Fast Format: Novel Publisher: Clockpunk Press Year: 2017 5th sentence, 74th page: Nonsense.
To save the Hatter, Alice must work with the one man she despises so much that she might still love him.
Alice thought she’d turned over a new leaf. No more working for Jabberwocky. No more making deals with the ruthless Queen of Hearts. No more hanging around The Mushroom with tinkers, tarts, scoundrels, and thieves in London’s criminal underbelly. But she’d been bonkers to dream.
Hatter’s reckless behavior leads Alic back to the one person she never wanted to see again, Caterpillar. Pulled into Caterpillar’s mad schemes, Alice must steal a very big diamond from a very royal lady. The heist is not problem for this Bandersnatch. But protecting her heart from the man she once loved? Impossible.
I seriously love Alice in Wonderland. Or anything that uses themes and imagery from this story. And it’s moved beyond the Lewis Carroll original to something more. As time has moved and the many, many, many retellings have weaved their way into pop culture, the story has taken on more and more of a life of its own. Which is also probably why I love it so much. Each person’s take is amazing. Each aspect of the story that is focused on… but I’ve never read a steampunk retelling of this tale. Until now. And wow.
Every single moment in this story had an allusion to Alice in Wonderland. Yet, the creation of this world in a steampunk underbelly also made it completely disjointed from the original. I loved the way that these two ideas sit against each other. Alice is full of muchness (much like the original), but she’s also older, wiser and in a much darker world. The Queen of Hearts is also far more terrifying than she is in Carroll’s version. This separation between the two realities was just fantastic and it made me sink my nose into this book and refuse to get out. A bit like falling down the rabbit hole…
One of my favourite things about this retelling is the repurposing of the names throughout. Alice becomes the Bandersnatch, her father-figure the Jabberwocky and her love interest Caterpillar. They’re such familiar names and characters, and whilst I could still recognise them in the characterisation, they added a new layer, an extra something that was previously not there. It was so cleverly and seamlessly done that it would be so easily missed if I hadn’t recently been on an Alice in Wonderlandbinge.
Although this is an amazing retelling that just completely sweeps you into a whole new world, it is also a fantastic story in and of itself. Even if you have been living under a rock and had absolutely zero exposure to Alice in Wonderland, it is still something that you’d thoroughly enjoy. Actually, this is something that is almost impossible to put down. And I really wouldn’t suggest that anyone do so. It’s amazing! I can’t wait to read the next Steampunk Fairytales.
Title: Pride Author: Ibi Zoboi Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Retellings, Young adult Dates read: 25th – 26th July 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Balzer + Bray Year: 2018 5th sentence, 74th page: She grabs her ball from beneath the bench and starts passing it between her hands.
Zuri Benitez has pride.
Brooklyn pride, family pride, and pride in her Afro-Latino roots. But pride might not be enough to save her rapidly gentrifying neighborhood from becoming unrecognizable.
When the wealthy Darcy family moves in across the street, Zuri wants nothing to do with their two teenage sons, even as her older sister, Janae, starts to fall for the charming Ainsley. She especially can’t stand the judgmental and artogant Darius. Yet as Zuri and Darius are forced to find common ground, their initial dislike shifts into an unexpected understanding.
But with four wild sistsers pulling her in different directions, cute boy Warren vying for her attention, and college applications hovering on the horizon – Zuri fights to find her place in Bushwick’s changing landscape or lose it all.
In this timely update of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, critically acclimaed author Ibi Zoboi skillfully balances cultural identity, class, and gentrification against the heady magic of first love in her vibrant reimagining of this beloved classic.
Pride and Prejudice is one of my absolute favourite classics. It’s the classic that I go to again anda gain when I want to reread something soothing. Actually, it’s the book I probably pick up about once a year when I need my fix. So when I found out that there’s a contemporary retelling of this story which features a Dominican-Haitian girl on the cusp of adulthood, applying for colleges… well, I bought it immediately.
It was completely impossible to put this story down. Even though I knew pretty much what was going to happen, I looked forward to finding out how Zoboi was going to adjust the storyline to suit her needs. Particularly when the greater issues of race, identity and the identity of the neighbourhood are all explored alongside a well-loved classic. It meant that I was sucked in as if this was an entirely new storyline – because, for me, an Australian with very few experiences of these issues, it was an entirely new world and story that I was being whisked away to.
I was honestly
expecting a story that explored some of the issues of racism. And, although
this did in a slight way, it was more about pride in identity. Alright, Zuri’s
pride almost gets her in a lot of trouble, but there is also an intense pride
in who she is and where she comes from. Actually, this pride in identity and
awareness of her cultural history inspired a little jealousy. I’ve never really
had any awareness of my own family’s cultural history. Yet, this pride also
bought up issues of first perceptions and stereotypes. The ways in which some
people see a certain cultural way of being and decide that it is “wrong”. And
this worked in both ways – not only towards Zuri, but also in her attitudes
towards the Darcys.
This is the second book I’ve read in under a week that deals
with the very cusp of adulthood. That moment when you are just about to leave high
school and step out on your own for the first time. I loved the open ended-ness
of this. Yes, Zuri and Darius look like they’ll get a happily ever after, but they
are also only teenagers. And there is no moment of everything being set in
stone – rather it is about the hope for the future and an acceptance of each
other in a way that makes you think they might just make it when not many
others do…
Title: Heathcliff Is Not My Name Author: Michael Stewart In: I Am Heathcliff (Kate Mosse) Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Retellings Dates read: 16th May 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Borough Press Year: 2018 5th sentence, 74th page: You hear a fox scream and an owl cry.
A great, and different point of view to the story of Heathcliff and his unhealthy obsession with Cathy.
This is a bit of a ranty, ravy type of story. Just one block
of text that recounts Heathcliff’s impressions of Cathy and her family as he
grew up. That makes his tale a little more tragic. A little more relatable.
Even if I still think he’s a douche.
There is a certain divorcing from the name Heathcliff throughout
this story. A sense that the story we all know isn’t really the true story.
That there is so much more beneath the layer of the tale. So much more to
Heathcliff than such an overwhelming douche.
Alright, so this story might have made me soften a little towards Heathcliff. It gave him a little more personality and reason for his emotions than any other retelling of Wuthering Heights I’ve read so far. But it only made me soften, not completely thaw towards the capital douche.
What would happen if Sleeping Beauty’s prince was just a bit off on his timing? How would the two star crossed lovers meet and live their happily ever after?
This was such a beautifully bittersweet storyline. Sleeping Beauty (the Disneyfied version) has always felt a little bittersweet to me. After all, a mistake on her parents’ behalf curses her to a hundred years in sleep. A hundred years in which her loved ones, friends, acquaintances are all unable to live their lives. And it is just the single kiss of a man who is fighting brambles which saves her. In this retelling, Wredeasks just what would happen if the prince were too early or too late? What would happen if the fairy tale just didn’t quite happen the way it was supposed to?
I’m a big believer in destiny. I like the idea that you have
a soul mate and that there is someone out there for you. I love when I’m
reading the idea of being pulled towards a certain moment or person in time. But
I’ve never really thought about what happens when you’re a little too excited
and you just don’t quite manage to get the timing down pat. What happens when an
impulsive young fool decides that he should ignore everything that has been
laid out before him. And it’s this idea that makes the storyline so
bittersweet. It made me love the ending and clutch this book to my chest with a
happy little sigh.
Title: Words Like Pale Stones Author: Nancy Kress In: Black Thorn, White Rose (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Fairy tales, Retellings Dates read: 6th May 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Prime Books Year: 1994 5th sentence, 74th page: He had made me forget for a few minutes what awaited me in the morning.
A young peasant girl has a boastful mother. But, when that boasting gets her into trouble, she finds that things are going to go very, very wrong.
Rumpelstiltskin is one of my preferred fairy tales. There is just something about it that I love, and the fact that it was has been used across many of the different retellings and TV series that I have watched makes it even more thrilling. Which meant that having a Rumpelstiltskin story to open the collection Black Thorn, White Rose made me really happy. It was a great, slightly darker start to these adult fairy tale retellings.
Most stories of Rumpelstiltskin paint the young woman as an
innocent, and one that falls in love with the prince. Although she still begins
this story as an innocent, the prince isn’t so… pure. Actually, he’s a class A
a-hole. And then there’s the fact that she is supposed to give up her first
born. But, as in all good retellings, the reason why she gives up her first
born isn’t quite what is expected. Actually, I really wasn’t sure why she was riding
off with her child in readiness to give him away until the very last moment.
And even now, I’m not sure that I like the way in which it ends…
Snow White, Blood Red is a brand new collection of fairy tales. But be warned. It is not a collection for the faint-hearted. Or even one to lull the innocent towards the sleeping realms of dreams. For Snow White, Blood Red is a modern book of wonders: a boundless expanse of nightmares, lusts and fables for the grown-up child in us all.
Through richly imaginative retellings of existing fairy tales, twenty-one of the world’s top fantasy authors recreate the full mythical, magical, mind-bending power of humankind’s oldest fables. Prepare to be seduced by stories that bite – stories that are frightening, erotic, dark and compelling. Because as Terri Windling reminds us in the introduction: ‘Something still stirs inside us when we hear those old, evocative words: Once upon a time.’ Only this time, in this world, there is no happy ending…
I’ve had this book on my wish list for a very, very long
time. So, when I finally managed to find a second hand copy and get it
delivered to my door, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it. After all, I
love fairy tales, I like stories with a dark twist, and I’m fascinated by
retellings and the ways in which people are able to twist and turn classic
themes to fit a more contemporary or recognisable setting. Which makes this
kind of the perfect short story collection to sit on my shelves.
Some of the stories in this collection are kind of dark and
twisted. Some are incredibly sexual. And some are just a great, contemporary
retelling that makes childish fairy tales far more relatable. I got goosebumps reading
some of these stories. While others left a smile on my face. You know it’s a
fantastic collection when it takes you through the rollercoaster of emotions
and leaves you feeling incredibly happy at the close of the last page.
Anybody who loves fantasy, horror or fairy tales, this is a
great collection to add to your shelves. It is one that I won’t be getting out
of my head anytime soon, that’s for sure…
Title: Breadcrumbs and Stones Author: Lisa Goldstein In: Snow White, Blood Red (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Fairy tales, Retellings, War Dates read: 12th April 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Signet Year: 1993 5th sentence, 74th page: There was no reason for us to stay.
A Holocaust retelling of Hansel and Gretel. A story filled with sadness and tragedy.
It’s kind of obvious from the title of this short story that
this is a retelling and tale of Hansel and Gretel. But it wasn’t the kind of
retelling that I was expecting. From beginning to end this was a bit of a
surprise. Immediately I thought that this tale would be one in which the parent
would betray her child (like in the original fairy tale).
The parallels drawn between Hansel and Gretel and the
Holocaust are intense. Especially the use of ovens, betrayal and the sacrifice
of children. It is a kind of heartbreaking story. Just like the original tale. Hansel
and Gretel is kind of one of the most horrible fairy tales that I’ve ever had
the pleasure of reading. And the Holocaust is one of the most tragic tales of
modern history. Mix them together… and wow, what a powerful, potent and very
uncomfortable short story. But one that I can’t wait to read again and again
and again.
From Master Anthologist Ellen Datlow comes an all-original book of weird tales inspired by the strangeness of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.
Between the hallucinogenic, weird, imaginative wordplay and the brilliant mathematical puzzles and social satire, Alice has been read, enjoyed, and savored by every generation since its publication. Datlow asked seventeen of the most brilliant and acclaimed writers working today to dream up stories inspired by all the strange events and surreal characters found in Wonderland.
I began my obsession with Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in childhood, but kind of forgot about it until the last year – when I finally got around to reading the original story! And then my obsession began to take a bit of a turn for the… well, obsessive… so I bought this collection as soon as I found it. And opened the page within days of receiving it.
This collection takes all of the many aspects of Alice in
Wonderland and turns them around and around until your dizzy. From cute poems,
to horrific ideals about Alis and retellings
of particular aspects of the original. This collection of short stories and
poems has it all. And it is just impossible to put down!
My only piece of advice with this amazing collection is to
maybe not read these tales when you’ve been drinking. I tried a few times and it
just makes you feel incredibly tripped out. And confused. And just not really
sure where reality is situated… kind of like the original.
Earth and Skye 