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Loading... The Armless Maiden: And Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors (edition 1996)by Terri Windling (Editor, Contributor)
Work InformationThe Armless Maiden: And Other Tales for Childhood's Survivors by Terri Windling (Editor, Contributor)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Sometimes you have to read someone else's story in order to face your own. This book was that for me. Diverse collection of stories (plus a few poems and personal recollections) by authors who understand that hell is for children and that you can never escape your childhood, only survive it. Many retellings of fairy tales. I read this over a long period of time, so I don't remember details on all the entries, but there was only one piece that I disliked. Most of the stories were of girls but there were enough of boys that I didn't feel like they were being ignored, as they tend to be when dealing with matters of this nature. Highly recommended for all "survivors." I'm a big fan of Terri Windling, and make an effort to seek out her anthologies. Thus, I got this one. I'd heard rave reviews of it - people saying "This is the one that made a difference in my life!" I was a bit quizzical about that, because for me, that was 'Bordertown.' And for me, it remains Bordertown, although I can see why other people might need this book more. I was lucky enough to always be wanting to run 'to' - not having to run 'from.' This book is on the theme of child abuse. It's kind of a rough read - not that any one of the stories is so particularly awful, but when read all in one go - that's a lot of child abuse. It's emotionally difficult. Terri Windiling's personal, autobiographical essay about why she chose to do this anthology is powerful, touching, and almost shockingly revealing. As with any anthology, some of the stories are much better than others, but overall, it's a very good anthology. Contents: The armless maiden ;The hero's journey /Midori Snyder Bedtime story /Lisel Mueller Allerleirauh /Jane Yolen Snow White to the prince /Delia Sherman She sleeps in a tower /Tanith Lee Briar rose (sleeping beauty) /Anne Sexton In the house of my enemy /Charles de Lint Fear of falling /Susan Palwick Princess in Puce /Annita Harlan The stepsister's story /Emma Bull The session /Steven Gould The mirror speaks /Jane Yolen The juniper tree /Peter Straub Dolls /Guy Summertree Veryzer This is us, excellent /Mark Richards Saturn /Sharon Olds The twelve-windowed tower /Silvana Siddali Now I lay me /Sharon Olds Now I lay me down to sleep /Ellen Kushner Reading the Brothers Grimm to Jenny /Lisel Mueller Knives ;Scars /Munro Sickafoos The pangs of love /Jane Gardam Brother and sister /Terri Windling The face in the cloth /Jane Yolen Their father /Gwen Strauss The chrysanthemum robe /Kara Dalkey Watching the bobolinks /Caroline Stevermer The boy who needed heroes /Kristine Kathryn Rusch Wolves /Sonia Keizs Wolf's heart ;The story I hadn't planned to write /Tappan King Gretel in darkness /Louise Gluck The lily and the weaver's heart /Nancy Etchemendy Silvershod /Ellen Steiber The lion and the lark /Patricia A. McKillip The iron shoes /Johnny Clewell The green children /Terri Windling Guardian neighbor /Lynda Barry The little dirty girl /Joanna Russ Donkeyskin /Terri Windling In the night country ;A matter of seeing /Ellen Steiber Surviving childhood /Terri Windling Dream catcher /Will Shetterly. This collection of re-imagined traditional folk and fairy tales is harrowing, painful, even horrifying as the layers of sparkles and pixie dust are peeled back to expose truths. These stories tell us about the terrors of childhood and growing up -- the lies, the abandonments, the abuses -- using the symbols and motifs common to these very familiar stories. Intense and powerful. I cannot praise this collection highly enough, nor give sufficient warning to those who are easily triggered by such accounts -- the retelling of The Little Match Girl, perhaps my least favorite of the Hans Christian Anderson tales, stays with me still in this new version that turns the pathetic original on its head. no reviews | add a review
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.087660852054Literature English (North America) American fiction By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Speculative fiction Fantasy CollectionsLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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