Recently, as of the last year or so, I have taken a deep interest in fairytales. They are tales with such depth and meaning and have changed over the years. I made them the topic of my dissertation where I created my own fairytale and it was the uttermost fun. I hope to share my fairytale at a later date when I have graduated etc.
My personal reading has been linking with my dissertation, what a blessing this has been. It has made things a little easier. One of the many books I have been reading is Emma Donoghue's Kissing the Witch. The book I will be reviewing in this blog post.
Kissing the Witch is a collection of modern-day retellings of traditional fairytales. The collection was released in 1993. In total there are thirteen tales inside of the collection. Each with the most wonderful imagery and descriptions. Kissing the Witch is an unbelievable collection that kicks original fairytale ass! The reinvention of tales we knew as children with a whole new spin, and not for children. The tales are sexy and of a queer kind. I enjoyed every page, it isn't a long collection maybe a hundred pages or so. I read the collection on my kindle and I read the whole thing in one sitting. I was gripped!
My number one favourite story from the collection is The Tale of the Voice. The original was the Little Mermaid written by Hans Christian Anderson, or more popularly known Disney made a film The Little Mermaid. This retelling was closer to the original version than the Disney, but I adored it. This collection is quite romantic, and not child friendly.
I also really enjoyed The Tale of the Shoe, Cinderella but from a feminist perspective. I love the ending of this one, Cinderella doesn't run away with the prince and instead falls for the fairy godmother. It would be this tale I would recommend to the masses.
They are the first fairytale's I have ever read with queer characters and sexual relationships. I'd call these grown-up fairytales, not too different from Angela Carter's collection The Bloody Chambers. This collection is about women taking control of their own lives and situations, whereas in traditional fairytales this isn't usually the case. I loved this collection, it was fun and refreshing,
