I debated giving this five stars. I love retellings of traditional tales, and these are indeed excellent.
However, having recently re-read Tanith Lee's similar collection (Red As Blood), I realize that I personally somewhat prefer Lee's take.
Carter has apparently stated that her intention here was not so much to "re-tell" the story, but to "to extract the latent content from the traditional stories." Probably because of that, there are a great number of rather vague (if not innocent) maidens here, to whom things happen, or who do things without seemingly actively considering their actions. In most of these stories, a woman finds herself in a difficult position, which then must be resolved. Often, it is resolved in an extreme or ethically ambiguous manner, sometimes resulting in a happy ending, sometimes tragic, but the reader doesn't see a moment of struggle or decision, the result simply seems to happen.
It's interesting, because it actually points out how common it has become for retellings to insist that their female characters be feisty heroines, and reminds a reader that there is a lot of power in a tale where the things that happen are beyond a character's control.
This was the first work I'd read by Carter, with the exceptions of a few short pieces in anthologies, and I've already ordered another of her books.
However, having recently re-read Tanith Lee's similar collection (Red As Blood), I realize that I personally somewhat prefer Lee's take.
Carter has apparently stated that her intention here was not so much to "re-tell" the story, but to "to extract the latent content from the traditional stories." Probably because of that, there are a great number of rather vague (if not innocent) maidens here, to whom things happen, or who do things without seemingly actively considering their actions. In most of these stories, a woman finds herself in a difficult position, which then must be resolved. Often, it is resolved in an extreme or ethically ambiguous manner, sometimes resulting in a happy ending, sometimes tragic, but the reader doesn't see a moment of struggle or decision, the result simply seems to happen.
It's interesting, because it actually points out how common it has become for retellings to insist that their female characters be feisty heroines, and reminds a reader that there is a lot of power in a tale where the things that happen are beyond a character's control.
This was the first work I'd read by Carter, with the exceptions of a few short pieces in anthologies, and I've already ordered another of her books.
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