The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales

Like so many short story collections, some standouts, some that didn't work for me. I was a little disappointed that it was fairy tale retellings, not actually new fairy tales, but it was still worth the read. ( )

This is the tale of two women who must bear their burdens for the betterment of those around them. Because men cannot help themselves around her beauty, Amira must imprison herself high on a glass hill to keep all of her potential suitors at bay. Tabitha must wear out seven pairs of iron shoes to break her husband's curse. Neither questions their situation on their own, but when they cross paths and tell each other their stories, they learn not only about the value of perspective but also about assumptions and misconceptions as well as the power they both have to control their own destinies.

There is something about a well-written adaptation of a fairy tale that I always enjoy. Reimagining and reinventing a classic story invokes considerations of perspective and innovation, and it is not easy to retell an existing story in an original way. But here readers get the gift of not only one excellent retelling but two intertwined tales that gain additional layers of meaning through the juxtaposition of each woman's story. ( )

18 stories. I skipped the last 5. I've learned I don't like Fairy Tales. It took 15 stories (and countless years ;) to cement it.

My favorites of the ones I read:
-- The Briar and the Rose - Marjorie M. Liu -- 4.5 I'm very impressed by the talent of this author. She retold the Sleeping Beauty story in a very cool way. A witch has stolen the body of beautiful princess Rose. The witch loves beauty above all. With that beauty she targets wealthy men to pay the bills etc. She has a bodyguard, our hero, a Brienne of Tarth type. One day a week the witch locks herself in a tower, drinks some strong drug that is meant to make her sleep deeply. Rose starts waking on these day and this is when the bodyguard learns Rose is in there.

-- Badgirl, the Deadman, and the Wheel of Fortune - Catherynne M. Valente -- 4* I had some wrong assumptions about this author. I thought she only wrote in poetic prose. She didn't in this one until the very end which was completely acceptable based on where the character's head was at. This was a dark story and very well done. I was so worried about the little girl :/ [Not a 5 for me, I reserve that for a story I'd read again].
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In the Desert Like a Bone - Seanan McGuire -- started, dnf we are not a good match. men are the wolves, the desert is the woods.
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Underground - Karin Tidbeck -- 3* I loved the author comments which I recommend reading first if you are not familiar with Prince Hatt Underground (East of the Sun, West of the Moon). Father gives daughter to man, against her will, to keep a promise. She must stay with him, never looking at him, so he doesn't have to marry "the countess". The author loved the story as a child but re-reading as an adult, she is like wtf?! Author says: "She immediately sets off to save the prince when he faces the same fate he has already subjected his wife to." So the author goes about having the girl save herself and because she is a good person, she saves him also but not because she has to.
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Even the Crumbs Were Delicious - Daryl Gregory -- DNF got about half way. Based on Hansel & Gretel and one twist is, instead of candy on the walls, it's wallpaper with precut acid papers hung. That was done as a "shrine" to the former home owner and maker of the acid. Kids break in, eat the walls, start tripping. One is OCD-cleaning the other stuck in a box because he thinks he is tiny... I'm bored. If this description sounds fun to you please don't let me dissuade you. I'm just not into it. P.S. pen = cell phone *huh!?*
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The Super Ultra Duchess of Fedora Forest - Charlie Jane Anders -- 3* The author recommends reading The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage which is the tale that inspired her story. https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm023.html Wow! So weird yet interesting! Onto CJA's story... I was happy to read it and she did a good job interpreting the original and adding more details especially about those forged papers LOL. She says, "... on another level, it's about an unconventional family, and what happens when they pay too much attention to the opinions of outsiders." wow! *hat tip*
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Familiaris - Genevieve Valentine -- DNF "She wanted to tell a story that could lock the door" (that is a sentence in the story) yeah no. I skimmed and still, yeah no. I don't want to decipher or sit in confusion.
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Seasons of Glass and Iron - Amal El-Mohtar -- DNF This winning story is available for free here: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/seasons-glass-iron/ Mythology. I like the author's note describing what the story is about but I couldn't read it. I'm not in the mood for dreamy. I'm in the mood for concrete, solid stories to follow. I guess I shouldn't be reading fairy tales.
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Penny for a Match, Mister? - Garth Nix-- 2* Little interest in the story. author misremembered the original story. He based his re-telling on revenge. Bad guys committed a murder during a full moon. A bridge is opened and the blood is an offering. The thing that crosses uses the victim's sister to take revenge on the murders. The out of town investigator plans to use the sister in future endeavors.
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Some Wait - Stephen Graham Jones -- 1* Too ambiguous for me. Based on Pied Piper In the original the piper lead the mouse out of town. In this version a [computer] mouse leads the children out of town.
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The Thousand Eyes - Jeffrey Ford -- 2.5* Felt like one of a hundred Stephen King stories I've read. I don't know the source fairy tale perhaps if I did, I would of enjoyed this re-telling more. artist is painting a series of local bars but is missing the mysterious one that you only learn about in mysterious ways. snaps a picture against the rules. whenever he finishes the painting he hears the mysterious voice calling him away so he scrapes off the paint and always leaves it unfinished
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Giants in the Sky - Max Gladstone -- DNF Format was unenjoyable for me. I do love the Jack in the Beanstalk story which this story is based on. SF twist.
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The Other Thea - Theodora Goss -- 3* Too YA for my taste. A girl's shadow was removed by her caretaker grandmother when she was young as a way to remove her friskiness. She has to get it back. The author's note is good "... I believe we must all connect with our shadows if we are to live deeply and creatively, to our full potential"
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Skipped:
When I Lay Frozen - Margo Lanagan
Pearl - Aliette de Bodard
The Tale of Mahliya and Mauhub and the White-Footed Gazelle - Sofia Samatar
Reflected - Kat Howard
Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik ( )

Five stars for Amal El-Mohtar's story Seasons Of Glass And Iron (which is the only sorry I've read from this book). I really enjoyed it! ( )

As with most short story anthologies, this one is a mixed bag. Some of the stories I liked, some of them I didn't like. However, in this case, some of them I *really* didn't like. Also, I couldn't help but notice that with a couple of exceptions (out of eighteen) the stories were all retellings of Western fairy tales. While I do like retellings where I know the original material, I thought there was so much more room for exploration of other cultures in this book of supposedly "new" fairy tales.

I did enjoy a few of the stories a lot ("Reflected" by Kat Howard, "The Other Thea" by Theodora Goss, "Pearl" by Aliette de Bodard, and "Seasons of Glass and Iron" by Amal El-Mohtar which I'd read before) and some of the stories a little ("The Briar and the Rose" by Marjorie M. Liu, "In the Desert Like a Bone" by Seanan McGuire, and "Giants in the Sky" by Max Gladstone which I felt almost went over my head) but there were some I just didn't like at all ("Even the Crumbs Were Delicious" by Daryl Gregory, "Badgirl, the Deadman, and the Wheel of Fortune" by Catherynne M. Valente, and most especially "When I Lay Frozen" by Margo Lanagan which I liked even less after I read the author's notes afterward). ( )