wickedlyethan's review against another edition
1.0
As a Post-Modern analysis of the fairy-tale of Sleeping Beauty, perhaps "Briar Rose" succeeds. As a story, however, it fails entirely. Boring, repetitive, ugly, and written to repel those without thesis-paper minds, one gets the feeling that you can never be smart enough for Mr. Coover, who delights in his ability to write the same sentences over and over again with little changed but ever-winding syntax. Had he cut the length in half and chosen to tell the tale of Briar Rose, instead of deconstructing it and leaving the pieces on the ground, much as a child does with toys, we would have a decent story, not the pretentious thought-experiment that is Robert Coover's "Briar Rose".
mandyherbet's review against another edition
5.0
Robert Coover is a master at the fairy tale rewriting - while this was a quick read initially, it's going to take some time and rereading to decipher his many techniques and ideas. I love how he has managed to incorporate all the different versions of the Sleeping Beauty tale - the Basile and Perrault versions with the 'what happens after happily ever after' in particular. Well worth a read!
versmonesprit's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
This was going to be my first Coover, but then I began with Spanking the Maid because I thought it would pale in comparison to Briar Rose. What a misjudgement!
Don’t get me wrong, Briar Rose has phenomenal writing at times. And maybe had I read it first, I would have loved it too, but after such a profound and allegorical book like Spanking the Maid, Briar Rose was too obvious, too shallow.
It did begin with immense promise, with emotional and tender characterisation, with the symbolism of the slumber and the dream; but then became too obvious, too repetitive in a way that unfortunately did not offer any depth. Perhaps there’s something to be lauded in the way the characterisation of the princess goes from tender to almost hateful, since the book deals primarily with the generation of violence, the compulsive desire to destroy beauty.
Though I feel like everything from this to the possibilities offered by The Woman Longing (a “trope” I love beyond measure) was a missed opportunity. There was so much more length to go for Coover, but he didn’t. Depth of meaning was sacrificed in favour of beauty of writing, which itself was not fully attained (at least for me) because the myriad reimaginings of the fairytale offered very little language (or meaning, for that matter).
If you remove the middle, I think you have the perfect, emotional, melancholic story. Briar Rose could be that AND profound, and I wish it were.
Don’t get me wrong, Briar Rose has phenomenal writing at times. And maybe had I read it first, I would have loved it too, but after such a profound and allegorical book like Spanking the Maid, Briar Rose was too obvious, too shallow.
It did begin with immense promise, with emotional and tender characterisation, with the symbolism of the slumber and the dream; but then became too obvious, too repetitive in a way that unfortunately did not offer any depth. Perhaps there’s something to be lauded in the way the characterisation of the princess goes from tender to almost hateful, since the book deals primarily with the generation of violence, the compulsive desire to destroy beauty.
Though I feel like everything from this to the possibilities offered by The Woman Longing (a “trope” I love beyond measure) was a missed opportunity. There was so much more length to go for Coover, but he didn’t. Depth of meaning was sacrificed in favour of beauty of writing, which itself was not fully attained (at least for me) because the myriad reimaginings of the fairytale offered very little language (or meaning, for that matter).
If you remove the middle, I think you have the perfect, emotional, melancholic story. Briar Rose could be that AND profound, and I wish it were.
sunnybopeep's review against another edition
4.5
Honestly? Despite all of the horrible things that just continuously happen over and over and over in this book, it was super cathartic and just what I needed.
A postmodern masterpiece? Nah.
But it’s a really fun exercise in twisting a fairytale that is beautifully written!
A postmodern masterpiece? Nah.
But it’s a really fun exercise in twisting a fairytale that is beautifully written!
redeyedandhungry's review against another edition
1.0
I don't know what he's done but Robert Coover should be arrested for whatever he did that inspired him to write this.
sarainfantasyland's review against another edition
3.0
A rather unsettling re imagining of Sleep Beauty. No idea what was "real" or what was a dream with an open ending that left me rather unsatisfied.
The point got itself across though; sitting around dreaming and waiting for the "one" to rescue you doesn't do much good at all.
The point got itself across though; sitting around dreaming and waiting for the "one" to rescue you doesn't do much good at all.
thebookaneer's review against another edition
2.0
This is a very odd story. It isn't even really a story. It is more of a post modernist exploration of the quest for a sleeping beauty.
There are three characters: the Prince, the Beauty, and the Old Crone. The action: the Prince is struggling through the briars, his confidence waining as the thorns thicken, and he obsessively turns over and over his mission, his destiny, the possible outcomes, and the reasons why, eventually drowning in his thoughts.
The Beauty sleeps and dreams of "princes" waking her with odd and disturbing sexual acts - her father, dead princes, a gang of drunken peasants etc. She believes they are all trying to remove the thorn from her, which pricks her in a hidden place. She is comforted by her frequent trips to the safety of the kitchen/ nursery/ her parents room (in the dream state it can be all at once), where she speaks with the Old Crone, the fabled fairy responsible for her pricking. The author claims Sleeping Beauty has no memory, but she has memories of remembering, so (I assume) is left with a constant state of deja vu. She knows she is asleep, and is trapped in this dream-thick stasis.
The Crone tells stories of other Sleeping Beauties to the sleeping princess, each story a mixture of actual Sleeping Beauty stories, and other tales of horror. It never ends well for the princess, as she is raped, killed, eaten, and/ or neglected in every story. It is unclear whether the Old Crone is torturing her for fun, corrupting her innocence to spoil her for the waking world, or preparing her for potential disappointment. It is revealed that the Crone is both the Good Fairy and the Bad Fairy, and even she is unclear which gift was kinder: endless sleep, or death as an innocent.
The reader takes the lazy river through each of their stream-of-consciousness. Nothing really changes. The characters each hit a breaking point, but then they give up. You get the impression that they are all trapped here, and the story will constantly cycle back to where we found them at the beginning -- maybe with a new prince, after this one, too, dies in the thorns.
And there are no quotation marks. Post-modernism drives me crazy that way.
All in all, it is an intriguing exploration of archetypes: what it means to be the questing prince, what it means to be the sleeping beauty, what it means to be the old crone. However, if you are looking for a coherent narrative, this is not the book for you. If you want incisive poetry, go forth and enjoy.
There are three characters: the Prince, the Beauty, and the Old Crone. The action: the Prince is struggling through the briars, his confidence waining as the thorns thicken, and he obsessively turns over and over his mission, his destiny, the possible outcomes, and the reasons why, eventually drowning in his thoughts.
The Beauty sleeps and dreams of "princes" waking her with odd and disturbing sexual acts - her father, dead princes, a gang of drunken peasants etc. She believes they are all trying to remove the thorn from her, which pricks her in a hidden place. She is comforted by her frequent trips to the safety of the kitchen/ nursery/ her parents room (in the dream state it can be all at once), where she speaks with the Old Crone, the fabled fairy responsible for her pricking. The author claims Sleeping Beauty has no memory, but she has memories of remembering, so (I assume) is left with a constant state of deja vu. She knows she is asleep, and is trapped in this dream-thick stasis.
The Crone tells stories of other Sleeping Beauties to the sleeping princess, each story a mixture of actual Sleeping Beauty stories, and other tales of horror. It never ends well for the princess, as she is raped, killed, eaten, and/ or neglected in every story. It is unclear whether the Old Crone is torturing her for fun, corrupting her innocence to spoil her for the waking world, or preparing her for potential disappointment. It is revealed that the Crone is both the Good Fairy and the Bad Fairy, and even she is unclear which gift was kinder: endless sleep, or death as an innocent.
The reader takes the lazy river through each of their stream-of-consciousness. Nothing really changes. The characters each hit a breaking point, but then they give up. You get the impression that they are all trapped here, and the story will constantly cycle back to where we found them at the beginning -- maybe with a new prince, after this one, too, dies in the thorns.
And there are no quotation marks. Post-modernism drives me crazy that way.
All in all, it is an intriguing exploration of archetypes: what it means to be the questing prince, what it means to be the sleeping beauty, what it means to be the old crone. However, if you are looking for a coherent narrative, this is not the book for you. If you want incisive poetry, go forth and enjoy.
narcon_27's review against another edition
1.0
I don't know what he's done but Robert Coover should be arrested for whatever he did that inspired him to write this.
readcover2cover's review against another edition
2.0
This is a postmodern retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but I couldn't get into it. It was short, but I didn't finish it, so I'm not sure if I should count it. I read almost half and then skimmed the rest (very, very quickly), so I'm going to count it. :)