Tales from the Tower
edited by Isabelle Carmody and Nan McNab
Published: April 2013
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Genre: Fairy Tales, Short Stories, YA
Paperback: 306 pages
Rating: 4
Amazon | BarnesNoble | Goodreads
Margo Lanagan (Tender Morsels), Rosie Borella, Isobelle Carmody, Richard Harland (Worldshaker), Margaret Mahy (The Seven Chinese Brothers), and Martine Murray (Henrietta There's No One Better) have taken inspiration from stories that have shaped us all, tales like "Beauty and the Beast," "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," and "The Snow Queen."
This collection carries universal themes of envy and desire, deception and abandonment, courage and sacrifice.
Characters are enchanted, they transgress, they yearn, they hunger, they hate, and, sometimes, they kill.
Some of the stories inhabit a traditional fairytale world, while others are set in the distant future.
Some are set in the present and some in an alternative present. The stories offer no prescription for living or moral advice and none belong in a nursery.
Tales from the Tower series:
The Wilful Eye
The Wicked Wood - just released August 2013
Quote to note:
Hyacinth roamed to and fro, addressing her unseen audience. 'Will the apple be sweet or rotten inside? The point is, darling, you have to bite it before you find out!' She turned abruptly and twinkled at Gerda. 'You need a kind of openness to really live life!'
-Eternity by Rosie Borella, page 122
My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): bewitching
It was such a treat to read these modern day made fairy tales. Some tales got dark - but not too.
Even more special were the afterward sections after each tale. It comprised of comments by the author about their individual piece and the original fairy tale it is based on.
* review copy courtesy of publisher
* part of event: Fairy Tales in Bruges iv
