Red as Blood and White as Bone

Had to reread this a few times just to see if I was approaching the story a little harshly.
Sadly, nope. It's like an ice-cream cone on a sunny day, started out with promise, left in the heat to melt but you still gobble it down because ... it's ice cream.

1. The first act is really good and builds to the obvious ending of the Princess and the Prince. The moment the author mentions wolves the jig is up.

2. The second act is rushed and falls flat like a pancake. And then, the end, where the narrator seems to be talking to the elusive powerful keeper of stories - it seems like a sprint to the end pushing every character aside and toppling over the finish line banner.

Of course, this is barely a novella and as such it would not have enough show more development - but bollocks to that as there are plenty of short stories that are impactful and lasting and speak volumes in 17 pages or even more. This is the curse of this particular author. Having sampled several works already including another novella, her work takes off with gusto and draws you into the world of the characters quickly. Then comes the key part - the middle and it seems to always be a muddled mess or just plain boring and finally the ending, as if to make up for this ...seems a bit much.

I will keep reading your books madam - I will find another gem like "The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter"

Until then, this one is not it. show less

This was nice. A short fairy-tale-ish fantasy about a barely-literate little girl in Interbellum Hungary who grows up with only a single book: a collection of fairy tales. And so she believes them completely and views herself as a minor character in someone else's fairytale (she's a scullery maid at a castle). Later, this perspective blends nicely with how the Second World War is treated as the almost-mythological narrative of Good versus Evil it has become now. Well done!

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone short story. I borrowed this ebook from the library.

Thoughts: I am a big fan of Theodora Goss, she has a beautiful and very unique writing style. Some of the ideas she comes up with are amazing and creative and she never shies away from the dark aspects of a story either. This is true of this fairy tale as well.

This is the story of a kitchen girl who yearns for fairy tales to be real. Then one night a ragged woman stumbles into the manor and the girl finds out that maybe fairy tales are real, just not in the way she imagined.

This is an incredibly quick read but worth it if you are a fan of fairy tales. I liked that the story was set in a more modern time (during one of the World Wars though I show more wasn’t clear on which one). This ended up being an interesting blend of fairy folklore and political commentary of the time. I enjoyed how a book of fairy tales given to a young girl spun out into this young girl becoming the woman she becomes.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed this short read. Goss did a wonderful job of blending fairy tales and war politics in a magical and slightly sad way. Goss never disappoints me and I look forward to reading more of her short stories in the future. show less

Available for free, here: http://www.tor.com/2016/05/04/red-as-blood-and-white-as-bone/

I love Theodora Goss, and this story does not disappoint...

Although the story's set at the lead-up to a World War, the life of an orphaned peasant girl in Eastern Europe doesn't differ much from how girls lived - or endured - in medieval fairy tales. Sent as a charity case from a convent to servitude at a Baron's manor, Klara is frightfully unaware of the larger world outside her circumscribed quotidian existence. But a book of fairy tales given to her by a travelling poet has given her dreams. Therefore, when a stranger arrives, naked and desperate, at the kitchen door, Klara assumes a fantastic tale of royalty in hiding.

However, as bloody show more consequences spin themselves out, Klara's fancies might not be as far-fetched as one might guess. Ancient folklore and modern politics mesh beautifully in a tale that is both sad and magical. show less

This one gave me crazy chills. I loved it, I loved it, I loved that it started in a little fairy-tale-nothing-town and ended up being part of our world, and I loved that the narrator turned out to be telling a story and asking for something at the same time, and I loved that she just wanted a small part in a fairy tale. I loved the princess, even if it was easy to guess what she was and why she was there.

Overall, most excellent, highly recommend.

Available for free, here: http://www.tor.com/2016/05/04/red-as-blood-and-white-as-bone/

I love Theodora Goss, and this story does not disappoint...

Although the story's set at the lead-up to a World War, the life of an orphaned peasant girl in Eastern Europe doesn't differ much from how girls lived - or endured - in medieval fairy tales. Sent as a charity case from a convent to servitude at a Baron's manor, Klara is frightfully unaware of the larger world outside her circumscribed quotidian existence. But a book of fairy tales given to her by a travelling poet has given her dreams. Therefore, when a stranger arrives, naked and desperate, at the kitchen door, Klara assumes a fantastic tale of royalty in hiding.

However, as bloody show more consequences spin themselves out, Klara's fancies might not be as far-fetched as one might guess. Ancient folklore and modern politics mesh beautifully in a tale that is both sad and magical. show less

Dark and moody as the black forests at its heart, this story unfolds in the eastern European country of Sylvania in the 1930s. Klara, a peasant girl turned kitchen maid at a noble’s castle, spends her life daydreaming about fairy tales. Handsome princes, disguised princesses and romantic balls are as familiar to her as the potatoes under her hands. One day, when she finds a naked woman desperately seeking shelter at the kitchen door, Klara has no doubt that this woman is a princess in need of aid. And she has arrived at just the right time to attend a grand ball at the castle. But what if Klara is in a different kind of fairy tale from the one she imagined?

To see the review on my blog, please visit:
show more target="_top">https://theidlewoman.net/2016/12/28/short-stories-from-tor-com/ show less