Donna Jo Napoli

Zel is the very creative retelling of the fairy tale classic, 'Rapunzel." In Napoli's version Zel and her mother live in isolation in the Swiss countryside, far away from human contact. Mother does her very best to give Zel everything she needs in the hopes of binding Zel to her forever. As her daughter reaches maturity mother realizes Zel will have an important decision to make, marry and raise a traditional family, or follow in her mother's footsteps and sell her soul to become a witch. show more Afraid Zel will make the "wrong" decision Zel's mother locks Zel in the tower everyone knows from the traditional story. Napoli does a clever job at including small details from the original story including the obsession with lamb's lettuce.
The very first thing I noticed about this book was its voice structure. Zel is told from the point of view of three different characters: Zel (in third person present), Konrad (in third person present), and Zel's mother (oddly enough, in first person present). In the beginning I wanted to complain about it, but by the end of the third chapter I found it ingenious. Through Zel's mother's thoughts you get the incredibly twisted psychology of love and obsession. The story wouldn't have been as dark and dangerous if all voices were the same. We needed to see mother's reasoning for locking Zel away in the tower. This psychological insight allowed us see the story from a different angle and not lean on the original story of Rapunzel. show less

American author Donna Jo Napoli and British illustrator Christina Balit join forces in this marvelous collection of ancient Egyptian myths published by National Geographic. Beginning (appropriately enough) with creation, Napoli discusses the complex and interrelated pantheon of Egyptian gods and goddesses, from the sun god and creator Ra, to Ra's children Shu (god of wind) and Tefnut (goddess of moisture), and Shu and Tefnut's children, Geb (god of the earth) and Nut (goddess of the sky). show more From this third generation came the most famous gods and goddesses, Set (Seth), Aset (Isis), Usir (Osirus), Nebet Hut (Nepthys) and Heru Wer (Horus the Elder). The story of Set's betrayal of Usir, and of Aset's grief and her search for her brother-husband, is laid out, as is the birth and coming of age of Heru Sa Aset (Horus the Younger). Other deities discussed include Inpu (Anubis), Tehuti (Thoth), Hut Heru (Hathor), Sekhmet (Sachmis), Nit (Neith), Khnum (Chnoumis), Sobek (Souchos), and Bastet (Bast). The book concludes with a discussion of ancient funerary practices, and how the beliefs concerning death and rebirth involved many of the deities. A list of deities, timeline, afterword, and list of sources are all included at the rear, in the extensive back matter...

One of five such mythological collaborations between Napoli and Balit - other titles include: Treasury of Greek Mythology, Treasure of Norse Mythology, Tales from the Arabian Nights and Treasury of Bible Stories - Treasury of Egyptian Mythology is an immensely informative and engaging work, providing a wonderful introduction to a subject about which I, despite my interest in folklore and mythology, know fairly little. Although familiar with some (although by no means all) of the figures here, the only story I already knew was the one involving Set, Usir and Aset. It's interesting to note that Napoli uses the original Egyptian names for these figures, rather than the Greek ones - Usir rather than Osirus, for instance. Except for Ra and Bastet, which are the same (or practically the same) in both languages, I was more familiar with the Greek names (Anubis, Isis, etc), and was not even aware before picking up Napoli's book, that these were not the original names, but ancient Greek approximations. The stories themselves are fascinating, beautiful, and often mystifying. As Napoli notes in her afterword, many of these deities overlap, in terms of their areas of power and influence, so it is much more difficult to name an Egyptian god or goddess as the definitive sun god, or sky god/goddess, or goddess of childbirth, in the way one might do in other belief systems. I appreciated the discussion in the author's note about sources used - both Egyptian and Greek - and the difficulties involved in sorting out a belief system with scores of overlapping deities, and stories retold in diverse ways across various regions of Egypt, and over the course of millennia.

Although a great lover of folklore and mythology, I initially sought this collection out because I am a great admirer of the artwork of Christina Balit, whose illustrations here do not disappoint, in their beauty and enchantment. I understand that a number of other reviewers have criticized Balit for making her figures too light-skinned, and while I do not subscribe to the Afrocentrist fallacy regarding ancient Egypt - namely, that it was a sub-Saharan black civilization - I do agree that the figures could have been darker - more of the light reddish-brown one sees in so much artwork from this civilization. Leaving that one issue aside, I absolutely loved the visuals here - the vibrant colors, the stylized compositions, the use of golden accents - and was satisfied on an aesthetic level. Although published for children, this is certainly too complex of a book for the very young, so I would recommend it to middle-grade readers and above, who loves mythology, or have an interest in ancient Egypt. show less

Zel is the retelling of the class fairy tale Rapunzel but this book isn't for kids. It's a deep look at what can happen when natural human longings become evil. Set in 16th-century Switzerland, the book alternates between prince Konrad, Zel, and Zel's mother's point of view. The book answers all the questions that the original Grimm's story never answered for us. Why did that witch want Rapunzel in the first place? How did she get her up in the tower if there was no door? Why didn't Rapunzel show more hate her mother for causing her to become a lonely prisoner? The book expounds upon the utter isolation and realistically portrays the dismal effects on Zel's spirit from being locked away in a tower. This book will cause you to think on a deeper level than you ever have before about an old, familiar tale. It's truly romantic but at times dark. show less

The Magic Circle is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel, from the witch’s point of view. Donna Jo Napoli is a talented writer, and the witch’s sympathetic, tortured first person POV is excellent throughout. However, this is genuinely the darkest, most disturbing fairy tale retelling I’ve ever read, and I can’t say I personally enjoyed my time reading this. I loved reading Grimms’ Fairy Tales growing up, but this particular book would’ve given me terrifying nightmares as a kid. I show more think The Magic Circle would appeal most to readers who like their fairy tales VERY dark and disturbing (and heavy on the demons and psychological agony). show less