Reviews

probably more like a 3.5— carter's rendition of classic fairy tale stories are frankly quite beautiful. it hits you with a punch in ways that are incredibly vivid, incredibly reflective, incredibly feminist, and— at times— incredibly erotic. i initially read "the bloody chamber" in high school, but we never read anything in the collection beyond that story. thus, to conclude my summer of horror readings, i honestly couldn't think of any better ending than revisiting an old book to see what i used to believe were the important aspects of the stories and what i believe them to be now. it also serves as a way for me to test how my interactions with the horror and gothic genre has evolved, so pretty neat!

that being said, i think this time reading it in full has given me a stronger sense of carter's capabilities as a writer and as a storyteller. each story left me thinking about a lot. considering the more feminist aspects of this text, she approaches far beyond what i expected it to: from detailed accounts of performativity within gender roles, to characters that openly embrace the "wild" regardless of the costs, even to leaving me thinking about how masculinity and femininity are both two sides of the same coin vastly effected under the patriarchy (a move that most feminist writers and thinkers barely consider!). i rate this a 3.5 because, as is the case with all short stories, some left me feeling great and others not so much. i also think that it would have been a better experience for me had i actually read most of these stories in their original forms, since carter adapts a kind of writing style that seems to replicate that (great for symbolism, but hard for accessibility). overall, i think it is worth the read if you're up for it. in particular, i liked "the bloody chamber," "the courtship of mr. lyon," "puss-in-boots," "the snowchild," and "the lady of the house of love"

Content Warnings

jamiezaccaria's review against another edition

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4.0

This was a beautifully-written collection of modern and artistic fairy tale adaptations. Angela Carter can write, that's for sure. My favorites were "The Bloody Chamber" and the "Lady of the House of Love."