The Jewel of my Library
|
Not for nothing is Angela Carter my favourite author. She was first recommended to me when I was a callow young lass of 17. But it took me a year or two more before I finally got a taste of her work, when we studied one of the stories in this collection (the Werewolf) for a university module.
I was entranced from the very first sentence "It is a northern country; they have cold weather, they have cold hearts." Carter's baroque prose is often akin to lying on velvet and drinking pearls, or sometimes like scraping scraps of bloodied meat from a bone. Dense and flavoursome, her narrative style seems to spring directly from the fantastical worlds it conveys.
The stories here are retellings of familiar (and some less familiar) fairytales. In one sense, they are modernised, but it would perhaps be more correct to say that they in fact strip away the sanitising and tinkering of centuries to get back to the dark, psychological undertones of the stories in their original form.
Wonderfully evocative, these fairytales are certainly not for children, and I can guarantee that you'll never be able to read Little Red Riding Hood or Beauty and the Beast in quite the same way again.
|
|
|
dark and beautiful
|
Carter reworks traditional European folk/fairy tales here, exploring their dark and cautionary nature; her stories dig into the darkness of the pre18th/19th centuries tales, as well as mirroring the ones of that time, theres therefore many layers to what she creates, she just adds (in a successful way) to subjects that are already complex. I love how she gives preconceived stories and morals a little twist, giving it new life and making it her own and much more. Her stories are written beautifully, they just flow, catching you up in a wonderfully dark and sensual rhythm that you loose your self in. I suppose what Carter does is make what is simple in the children's fables complicated. In the Bloody Chamber the girl does the sensible thing and it very nearly gets her killed, the `right' choice opens up a new and dangerous world of sex and death. Her characters contrast strongly with fairy tale stereotypes, giving women power in their desires and nature.
In terms of what she looks at: vampires, werewolves, feral children etc these are all things that are steeped in ambiguity and mystery and they are things that are looked at time and time again because authors and readers alike like to delve into the possibilities that such things hold. If you like these reworking of fairytales I would recommend looking at Marina Warner's writings and Paula Rego's Nursery Rhymes and art.
|
|
Excellent skill, based upon a false premise and poorly delivered
|
Carter is an excellent writer. Her skill shines throughout each short story in 'The Bloody Chamber'; her use of voice is superb, the adaption of traditional fairy tales to meet the expectations of a modern audience has been pulled off well, the juxtaposition of traditional with modern vocabulary is stark and the exciting symbolism rounds off the characteristics.
However, what is the most frustrating thing about this collection of stories are the questions and contradictions raised. Is Carter writing as a feminist [second-wave feminism], or is she writing as a post-feminist [third-wave feminism]? Does Carter support or deplore the degragation of male figures in literature, and conversely does she view female diminution or empowerment as a better method for highlighting her stance towards feminism? The lack of consistency is not a cause for reflection or interest, it isn't something deliberately done to promote thought.
Overall, the novella of short stories is an example of self-indulgence for Carter. Due to the lack of semantic and moral consistency, the book cannot show anything new, and it cannot properly change our opinions.
|
|
|
Beautifully sensuous fairy tales
|
This book contains a number of re-tellings and re-interpretations of classic fairy-tales. Some - like 'The Bloody Chamber' (Bluebeard) or Puss-in-Boots - are directly linked to one tale, others - like the 'Lady of the House of Love' - are amalgamations of various stories (Sleeping Beauty and the vampire myth) or yet again others ('The Erl-King') seem to have nothing to do with any tale (the story has little to nothing to do with Goethe's poem of the same name).
All of them however are told in a language that shows what you can do with English. The language is sumptuous and sensuous, a feast and delight. Carter is an epicurean with words and feeds them to the reader on a silver plate. She has the knack of finding descriptions that match the mood precisely. A rare artform, now as ever.
The stories themselves are all original and often told with sly humour and innuendo. These are not fairy tales for children, but are adult camera obscuras showing a world fairy tales attempt to paint over, a world of sudden and sharp loss of innocence, a loss inevitable and predictable, but surprising and poignant nevertheless.
A must have [and if you enjoy the book, try the film 'The Company of Wolves' which is based on the story by Carter of the same name].
|
|
|
Little Red Riding Hood and the Lone Wolf......
|
This great collection of short stories by the late Angela Carter focusses on the theme of familiar fairy tales and legends that includes Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves with a provocative element and mind-inflicting twists. The gist of these dark tales, written in fantastic prose venture on the chemistry between human and beast(s) and of their self-discovery of inner thought as well as their physical conformations. This book can be read over and over as the language woven within it's plot reaches a point where there are many possiblities for the characters-the innocent maiden and the beast can go from, and for the reader being left in a wild sense of wanting to know more.
So be prepared to be propelled through one heck of a rollercoaster as from the first few pages, even every sentence containing a unique word will immediately have an impact in this implicit and bloody fest of a book.
I accidentally came across Angela Carter's works, as i have never heard of her, and will definitely be amongst my collection including S.K., James Herbert, Dean Koontz. Highly recommended for horror fans.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada