If you thought you enjoyed fairytales before, just wait until you read this book. The tales inside challenge our conception of these timeless tales. They channel your initial love of the worlds and the characters, and revise them, breathing new life into them. Written beautifully, they are an absolute pleasure to read.
Summary
I can give no comprehensive summary of this book, because it’s an anthology, but if you love the classics, you’ll be a fan. If you love new stories you’ve never heard of, you’ll be a fan. And if you love just plain good stories, you’ll be a fan.
Review
My favorites were “Underground” by Karin Tidbeck, “Seasons of Glass and Iron” by Amal El-Mohtar, “Some Wait” by Stephen Graham Jones, and “The Briar and the Rose” by Marjorie Liu. Among those are a truly fabulous Belle figure who does not let responsibility entrap her, a fantastic story of the friendship between two heroines, a great twist on video games that result in a horror story retelling of the Pied Piper, and two phenomenal protagonists who are patient and in love.
Like with any anthology there are some I did not enjoy as much, but the ones I did enjoy made it all worthwhile. I highly recommend you picking up this book because a) it is a beautiful cover, b) there are some true gems here and c) the others do not fail to challenge the conventions of fairytales. Each of these stories take the care and time necessary to produce a wonderfully written story. All in all this is a wonderful, inventive, and inspiring anthology that dares us to wonder what our favorite stories would be like with a little imagination.
You should pick up The Starlit Wood on Amazon (US), or add it to Goodreads. Check out the lists of authors and see if any strike your fancy. If even one does, read this. You’ll be surprised what you find inside. Some stories have made me instant fans and I’ve recently picked up their other books.
Discussion
What fairytale would you rewrite?
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