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oyceterAnyone familiar with Datlow and Windling's anthologies of retold fairy tales for adults (starting with Snow White, Blood Red) will be familiar with the general type of story in this anthology. However, since it's the second of their anthologies for children (it seems to be marketed to a younger age group than YA), there's definitely not nearly as much as the blood and horror and sexuality in their anthologies for adults.
I got this because I am a completist and because I love fairy tales. I was fairly entertained by the anthology but not particularly blown away by any of the stories. My favorites all seemed to be ones that took fairy tale imagery and translated them to modern psychological concerns, much as Buffy does with horror. While I generally don't like modern day fairy tale analogues, my two favorite stories in the collection were both retellings set in the present day.
The first was Lois Metzger's "The Girl in the Attic," a retelling of Rapunzel that rewrites the figure of the wicked stepmother and the tower into something about motherhood and the expectations that parents have of their children and vice versa. It was a little story, but I liked it. I also liked the title story, Katherine Vaz's "My Swan Sister," which has the image of what happens to the final swan brother at its core. It's another small story on loss and the inability to stem loss, and never having enough time.
The others I was rather fond of were Neil Gaiman's poem on Arabian Nights, which reminded me of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
rilina's short story, something about the importance of story, of the act of storytelling and its importance, Tanith Lee's take on Sleeping Beauty, in which the sleeping princess actually has a hundred years to explore the world.
The rest of the stories sometimes felt a little too stretched for the fairy tale parallels, and they just didn't sit right with me. Ah well. It also may be because I've read so many retellings, or so it feels. Anyhow, I still think one of the best retold fairy tale short stories are in Emma Donoghue's Kissing the Witch.
ETA: fixed tag
I got this because I am a completist and because I love fairy tales. I was fairly entertained by the anthology but not particularly blown away by any of the stories. My favorites all seemed to be ones that took fairy tale imagery and translated them to modern psychological concerns, much as Buffy does with horror. While I generally don't like modern day fairy tale analogues, my two favorite stories in the collection were both retellings set in the present day.
The first was Lois Metzger's "The Girl in the Attic," a retelling of Rapunzel that rewrites the figure of the wicked stepmother and the tower into something about motherhood and the expectations that parents have of their children and vice versa. It was a little story, but I liked it. I also liked the title story, Katherine Vaz's "My Swan Sister," which has the image of what happens to the final swan brother at its core. It's another small story on loss and the inability to stem loss, and never having enough time.
The others I was rather fond of were Neil Gaiman's poem on Arabian Nights, which reminded me of
rilina's short story, something about the importance of story, of the act of storytelling and its importance, Tanith Lee's take on Sleeping Beauty, in which the sleeping princess actually has a hundred years to explore the world. The rest of the stories sometimes felt a little too stretched for the fairy tale parallels, and they just didn't sit right with me. Ah well. It also may be because I've read so many retellings, or so it feels. Anyhow, I still think one of the best retold fairy tale short stories are in Emma Donoghue's Kissing the Witch.
ETA: fixed tag
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Fri, May. 6th, 2005 03:32 am (UTC)I agree -- that's a marvelous book.