Books 9/18/04
I think perhaps I’m not supposed to read Tokyo Suckerpunch by Isaac Adamson. This is the second time I’ve tried to start it, and the second time I’ve gotten completly distracted from it. I’m going to have to decide if I’m actually going to get to it in the near future, seeing as I’m borrowing it from a friend who is being extremely patient in not getting it back. Anyway, Mr. Adamson, it’s not you, it’s me.
I got distracted, predictably, by another in the fairy tale series edited by the wonderful Ms. Datlow and Ms.Windling. This time I went for the first in the series, Snow White and Blood Red. The stories in this collection are more sad, more grim than those in the later books. A large number of them deal with child abuse. Seeing as many fairy tales deal with children in dangerous situations, that’s not really suprising (for example, Red Riding Hood’s wolf being interpreted as a sexual predator isn’t too big of a stretch). Some of the stories however, were pleasantly startling in their interpretations. Rapunzel became a story of the cycle of abuse, as the witch, in an attempt to sheild Rapunzel from the abuse she herself suffered at the hand of her father, abuses her just the same. The Neil Gaiman story “Troll Bridge” whlie not about abuse was poignant and meloncholy and beautiful. Overall, a great collection.
I just started The Aspen Papers, Turn of the Screw and Two other Stories by Henry James. I’ve read Turn of the Screw before, and am looking forward to reading it again. So far The Aspen Papers is great.
Current Total: 91
Just Finished: Snow White, Blood Red ed. by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
Currently Reading: The Aspen Papers, Turn of the Screw and Two other Stories by Henry James