Susan Hated Literature

Author: Patricia McKillip
ISBN: 1904233074
DDC: 813.54
Winner of the World Fantasy Award

They said later that he rode into the village on a horse the color of buttermilk, but I saw him walk out of the wood

Rois has always been a little fey; wandering the woods barefoot while her sister and father work at home. Her mother died when she was a baby. But from the moment she sees Corbett Lynn she is obsessed, both by him and his past. And the curse that is said to haunt his family. She knows there is some secret there, and she wants to know what it is.

Corbett himself if the subject of much gossip in the village. Years ago his grandfather’s body was found, with his father no where to be seen. The villagers presumed the son had killed the father, and the stories are full of the curse left by the elder Lynn. But each story gives a different version of the curse. Now that a Lynn has returned speculation increases, and Rois is determined to uncover the truth.

I enjoyed this book, more for the language than for any plot line or character. Not that either of those elements are badly portrayed, but they aren’t gripping. Rois, the first person narrator, is interesting in her own way. Never enthralling. And the story of a family curse didn’t really interest me at all. However once the fantasy element comes along and the winter woods come alive the book also comes to life.

In many ways this a fairy-tale. The story of a stranger who wins the heart of a young girl, but is under a spell. But it isn’t that simple, because Rois’s sister Laurel also seems to falling in love with Corbett, despite the efforts of her fiancée Perrin. And Corbett isn’t whom he seems to be, and with winter on its way, the season of his curse, Rois must work hard to understand what is going on.

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ISBN: 0060987529
Author: Gregory Maguire

First line:
Hobbling home under a mackeral sky, I came upon a group of children.

A retelling, a reimagining of Cinderella, Maguire here attempt to create a more realistic picture, through the eyes of the “ugly stepsisters.” There are no pumpkins turning into golden carriages, and no fairy godmothers, instead we get a mother and her two daughters fleeing England for Holland and the security of their grandfather’s house. But he is dead, and Margerrethe is forced to beg as she attempts to feed her children. When she gets work as a housekeeper/cleaner in an artist’s house, it is only her first step up society’s ladder so that she can ensure her children never go hungry again.

Mostly told by Iris, a plain but intelligent girl, we soon learn all about Clara, the beautiful possible changeling that we now know as Cinderella.

Overall I quite enjoyed this book. Iris is an interesting character, and although none of the others quite seem to match her reality they are all entertaining. Clara is a bit of a mystery, why she never wants to leave the house, why she believes herself a changling.

But in the end it always seems to be wanting to be more than it is, a fairly entertaining story. The book seems to want to say something profound, about beauty, and life. But it doesn’t achieve it.

Salon | Rambles | GregoryMaguire.com | Green Man

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ISBN: 0698119606
Author: Robin McKinley
DDC: 813.54

This is a collection of four short novellas, two of which are retellings of old fairy tales, the other two are originals. At least I think they are, I haven’t heard or read any other versions of them. The four stories are:

• The Stolen Princess
• The Princess and the Frog
• The Hunting of the Hind
• The Twelve Dancing Princesses

The lack of characterisation was off putting, but I still enjoyed the writing in this book. McKinley has a lovely style that just lets the words flow creating wonderful scenes and worlds. I didn’t devour this book at all, still, the stories are interesting, my favourite was The Hunting of the Hind and I’m sure that any fans of McKinley would enjoy this book.

Both the original and retold stories are almost simplistic in their plots, but that is to be expected with fairy tales and stories inspired by them. I did however notice that the writer of the blurb may not have actually read the stories. The blurb says that in the world of The Stolen Princess Linadel lives in a world where princesses are stolen on there 17th birthday, but that isn’t actually true. Yes, teenage girls are stolen, but they don’t have to be princesses, and not every princess is taken.

Enough of the giving out about the blurb though, this is a well-written collection, and although they won’t be listed among my favourites I still enjoyed reading it.

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