#retelings

[petrichorsmemory]

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo

This book was quite refreshing. I’m normally not a fan of short stories collections, but this one was really good. Apparently I’m one of the few of people who didn’t mind that they were retellings with a twist of western fairy tales and not completely original stories. That may be my favourite part actually.

Not all of the stories have had the same effect on me but all of them were good in my opinion.

My favourites were: the last two, The Soldier Prince & When Water Sang Fire (which made me scream with shock when I realized that it’s a origin story of Ursula from Little Mermaid at the very end). I just love the stories that show the characters from known popular stories in slightly different light. Also did Darkling make a cameo in the last one? They never said his name but his mother was a witch and his appearance would match.

This book was on TBR list for a very long time and I’m so happy that finally picked it up.

I still need to read The Tailor and The Demon in the Wood, to had read all of the realised books in the Grisha Verse, but I hope to accomplish this, this year and before anything else is realised. I don’t know why I was postponing it this long, as I read the the Grisha Trilogy and The Six of Crows Duology two years ago.

[hkafterdark]

I saw your list of retellings, thanks for all the recommendations! What is your opinion on Angela Carter, if you've read any of her? Her anthology The Bloody Chamber is the only collection of retellings that I've read, and I'm sort of wondering if any of the books on your list are similar to it.

I haven't read it/her but just from glancing at the wiki page, I think "My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me" is kind of along similar lines. Gregory Maguire's retellings might also be of interest.