Sara's reading log

I am a book hoarder and reader. My main genre is SF, but I also love magic realism, fantasy and general fiction. Favorite authors are Iain M. Banks, Ursula K. LeGuin, Haruki Murakami, José Saramago, Isaac Asimov, Ben Aaronovitch and more. My rating system is based on five stars. I rate books based on my expectations and what a books aims to be. This means that the brilliant 'Fahrenheit 451' gets five stars because I thought it would be good, people said it was good, and it was good, but 'A Closed and Common Orbit' also gets five stars because in its series, in its style, I really enjoyed it and was not disappointed.

How to Fracture a Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen

  • Started on: 2018-09-24
  • Finished on: 2018-10-01
  • Read in: English
  • Rating: ****-
  • Genre(s): Fantasy

Note: I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

Even though I own several works by Jane Yolen (thanks to Humble Bundle) I hadn’t read anything by her before. I was still intrigued by this work up on NetGalley and couldn’t resist requesting it. I’m glad I did, because I think I found myself a new writer whose style I love.

How to Fracture a Fairy Tale is a collection of previously published short stories, all in the realm of fairy tales. However, these aren’t the ones you know and love from bedside story time. These tales are fractured and changed. Some have a different viewpoint (Granny Rumple, in which Rumpelstiltskin is a Jewish money lender), some are a bit (or a lot) more dark (Allerleirauh and The Gwynhfar) and some are just a short bit (Once a Good Man). The stories are accompanied by notes and poems, one for each story. About half the poems have been published before, the rest are new to this collection.

If you don’t know Yolen’s style, based on this book alone, I’d compare her to Neil Gaiman. Like Gaiman, she uses existing stories, myths and legends and weaves her own tale, and like Gaiman, she is a storyteller. Not surprisingly, one of the stories was even written for an anthology Gaiman was making of Sandman inspired stories (but did not end up in it). If you are looking for fairy tales with a twist, for stories that could be told at the fireside, for something on a cold winter night, look no further than this collection. Four out of five stars from me.

  • Started on: 2018-09-24
  • Finished on: 2018-10-01
  • Read in: English
  • Rating: ****-
  • Genre(s): Fantasy

Note: I received an Advance Reading Copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review.

Even though I own several works by Jane Yolen (thanks to Humble Bundle) I hadn’t read anything by her before. I was still intrigued by this work up on NetGalley and couldn’t resist requesting it. I’m glad I did, because I think I found myself a new writer whose style I love.

How to Fracture a Fairy Tale is a collection of previously published short stories, all in the realm of fairy tales. However, these aren’t the ones you know and love from bedside story time. These tales are fractured and changed. Some have a different viewpoint (Granny Rumple, in which Rumpelstiltskin is a Jewish money lender), some are a bit (or a lot) more dark (Allerleirauh and The Gwynhfar) and some are just a short bit (Once a Good Man). The stories are accompanied by notes and poems, one for each story. About half the poems have been published before, the rest are new to this collection.

If you don’t know Yolen’s style, based on this book alone, I’d compare her to Neil Gaiman. Like Gaiman, she uses existing stories, myths and legends and weaves her own tale, and like Gaiman, she is a storyteller. Not surprisingly, one of the stories was even written for an anthology Gaiman was making of Sandman inspired stories (but did not end up in it). If you are looking for fairy tales with a twist, for stories that could be told at the fireside, for something on a cold winter night, look no further than this collection. Four out of five stars from me.