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classygigi's review
4.0
She is a very interesting author and I really enjoyed reading her works. They made me think and kept me entertained at the same time.
dknippling's review
4.0
A collection of all of Angela Carter's tales.
Each one of these stories is so dense as to be a novel packed up in a portmanteau. To unpack them is a great deal of work. For example, in order to understand the John Ford story, you have to know that there was both a director of Westerns named John Ford, and a playwright around Shakespeare's time named John Ford. Or at least be willing to stop and research same.
I can't give these five stars--the three unpublished stories at the end made me realize that she probably edited all her stories practically to death to make them that dense--but when I step back from the actual marks on the paper, the tales she's telling are wonderful, fascinating, and inventive. I just wish she'd told them at their natural length.
Each one of these stories is so dense as to be a novel packed up in a portmanteau. To unpack them is a great deal of work. For example, in order to understand the John Ford story, you have to know that there was both a director of Westerns named John Ford, and a playwright around Shakespeare's time named John Ford. Or at least be willing to stop and research same.
I can't give these five stars--the three unpublished stories at the end made me realize that she probably edited all her stories practically to death to make them that dense--but when I step back from the actual marks on the paper, the tales she's telling are wonderful, fascinating, and inventive. I just wish she'd told them at their natural length.
zephonsacriel's review
I have technically been reading this, in spaced out bursts, since last year. Don't know when I started, but I decided that I should actually add this to my GoodReads. I will update this review accordingly until I finish.
What I've Read So Far:
"The Man Who Loved a Double Bass." A story that seems simple at first, about a musician who greatly admires the titular instrument, but it is actually unsettling. Was just a tad bit confused with some things. 3.5/5 stars.
"A Very, Very Great Lady and Her Son at Home." Another story with an unsettling end. A woman recounts her complicated upbringing. But perhaps her upbringing has so disturbed her she can't conceptualize who is who and what is what. 4/5 stars.
"A Victorian Fable (With Glossary)." Wasn't really sure what the story was here. I think this is more Angela Carter playing with language. Fun for the writer, not the reader. 2/5 stars (Sorry, Angela!)
"A Souvenir of Japan." Inspired by Carter's time in Japan with her then-lover, Sozo Araki, who was not faithful to her. Part of her experiences in Japan helped her forumalte her thoughts on patriarchy and gender--which would later go into her novel [b:The Passion of New Eve|34338703|The Passion of New Eve|Angela Carter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487507163l/34338703._SY75_.jpg|398273]. This story seems to be Carter realizing that patriarchy is everywhere, but also her love letter to her time in Japan. 4/5 stars.
"The Executioner's Beautiful Daughter." Holy crap...That ending. An unnamed society, possibly somewhere in Central Asia or the Caucasus (we don't know), that has a huge taboo against incest; something that haunts their history. In the beginning, the titular executioner kills his own son for committing such a taboo with his own sister. But we soon learn that those who hold all the power can commit such taboos; and the most seemingly innocent acting and looking individuals are not always forced into it. A tough subject matter that will disturb some. 5/5 stars
What I've Read So Far:
"The Man Who Loved a Double Bass." A story that seems simple at first, about a musician who greatly admires the titular instrument, but it is actually unsettling. Was just a tad bit confused with some things. 3.5/5 stars.
"A Very, Very Great Lady and Her Son at Home." Another story with an unsettling end. A woman recounts her complicated upbringing. But perhaps her upbringing has so disturbed her she can't conceptualize who is who and what is what. 4/5 stars.
"A Victorian Fable (With Glossary)." Wasn't really sure what the story was here. I think this is more Angela Carter playing with language. Fun for the writer, not the reader. 2/5 stars (Sorry, Angela!)
"A Souvenir of Japan." Inspired by Carter's time in Japan with her then-lover, Sozo Araki, who was not faithful to her. Part of her experiences in Japan helped her forumalte her thoughts on patriarchy and gender--which would later go into her novel [b:The Passion of New Eve|34338703|The Passion of New Eve|Angela Carter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487507163l/34338703._SY75_.jpg|398273]. This story seems to be Carter realizing that patriarchy is everywhere, but also her love letter to her time in Japan. 4/5 stars.
"The Executioner's Beautiful Daughter." Holy crap...That ending. An unnamed society, possibly somewhere in Central Asia or the Caucasus (we don't know), that has a huge taboo against incest; something that haunts their history. In the beginning, the titular executioner kills his own son for committing such a taboo with his own sister. But we soon learn that those who hold all the power can commit such taboos; and the most seemingly innocent acting and looking individuals are not always forced into it. A tough subject matter that will disturb some. 5/5 stars
kali76's review
3.0
It's hard to give a star rating to an omnibus of an author's entire collected short stories, where there are obvious standouts (5+ stars) such as "The Bloody Chamber" and "Black Venus", while the rest left me a little underwhelmed.
becky2309's review
4.0
This is a great collection of magical, gothic and more ordinary tales. The reason I don’t give it 5 stars is that some of the stories are not that interesting as the others are. However for the most part the tales in this collection of all her tales are really great and engaging. I particularly loved the bloody chamber and other stories section (where she rewrites traditional fairy tales in her own original way) but there are also other great original tales such as Lizzie’s tiger, Peter and the wolf, The scarlet house, and the snow pavilion.
yeahnaar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
There are some decent stories in the collection, but the writing feels dated. The pacing is quite bad and the short stories tend to lack a hook or intrigue. It’s mildly enjoyable but not worth the effort
chriscarpenter's review
mysterious
reflective
4.25
Beautifully written but occasionally too disturbing for my taste.
wordcommando's review
5.0
This book is a treasure. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a great deal about writing from it. Not just for Horror/Fantasy writers--Carter is one of the top short story writers of the century.
kmthomas06's review
4.0
I used one of Carter's stories in my thesis back in undergrad and I always meant to come back around and read the rest of her works. Taken as a whole, they can be a bit overwhelming but there is no denying, the woman could write a creepy, gothic fairy tale re-visited like no other. I think the stories from The Bloody Chamber were my favorite though; there she was in full-on fairy tale mode and I don't think anyone could retell a fairy tale like Carter.