James Finn Garner

These stories, for anyone who appreciates the satire, are hilarious. As one who loves fairy tales and has many of them memorized, I felt every change and "pc upgrade" knock brazenly at my funny bone. At the same time, of course, one realizes (as with most satire) that the ridiculousness is not that far off -- this is, after all, only a few steps farther than the sanitation of the Victorians or the early edits of the Brothers Grimm themselves, historical moments that enabled the show more "stories-for-children" designation that now defines fairy tales. In all seriousness, take a minute to compare the Disney versions to Garner's laughable and delightful spoofs -- not that different, are they? Fun to read and fun to realize. :) show less

This is obviously the wrong season to be reading holiday books, but I'm very much anti-Christmas so anytime of year is the perfect time to read about a more enlightened holiday season! Garner's prose is simple, engaging, and quietly witty, which really sets him apart from some of the other writers of satirical holiday stories. I thought his interpretation of Dickens' Christmas Carol was particularly well done, since it gave readers the expected cycnical take on the story, but twisted the show more finale to be far less predictable. People may change, even the old Scrooge, but even with carefully planned crash-immersion therapy people act in unpredictable ways and are able to continue taking advantage of the system! show less

What a hoot! My favorite was Snow White and the Vertically-Challenged Bearded Men. I think it was the mother-of-step who was morally out of the mainstream until she learned to accept her natural body image. Or perhaps it was the prince's involuntary suspension from phallocentric activity (impotence) that sold me. But then again the Frog Prince who was a real estate developer was good too. As was the Pied Piper of Hamalin, retained to rid the town of trailer-park trash. It was funny!

I originally read this collection when I was a kid - it seemed to go hand in hand with the surge in popularity during the 1990s for modernized fairytales, and I read all of them that I could get my hands on - and it still holds up to re-reading it 20-odd years later. Political correctness never goes out of style (or in some cases, mocking political correctness, as this collection sometimes seems to), and it's always nice to see stereotypes turned upon their heads. The bears turning on show more Goldilocks is one of the most memorable moments from the collection, but I think the story that made me laugh the most is when the Emperor (of invisible clothes fame) manages to turn his kingdom into a clothing-optional society. Take that, dress codes! show less