brits_got_books's review
1.0
Couldn't finish. Got over 100 pages in. Like the premise. Some stories better written than others. Didnt care for the commentary at the end-would have been better at the end of each story.
rachel_abby_reads's review
3.0
I like Jane Yolen's writing and use of language. Short stories are necessarily more efficient, so words mean so much more. For each short story, she includes a comment on the origin of the story and how she tweaked it, and an original poem on a similar theme.
tearsofphoenix's review
DNFed at 69%
Sadly, I couldn't make it through this one despite my love for fractured fairytales and my excitement of trying a book by JY. I guess I like knowing which fairytales I am reading and how it has been twisted. I felt unfamiliar with most, it was as if the author broke them completed and then remade them. I just found that it wasn't for me as it might be for other people. I shall still be looking forward to try another book by JY.
I recieved eARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley.
wordsareweapons's review
4.0
Thank you to net galley for providing a copy for review.
I've never read anything by Jane Yolen before but I really liked this collection of fairytales. She put such a unique spin on some well known classics. There were also some from other cultures that I had never read as well. I'm going to break this down and highlight some of my favorite stories from the book.
The Bridge's Complaint: This was so unique. It's a twist on the billy goats story but told from the perspective of the bridge. It was interesting having a story from the POV of an inanimate object.
Happy Dens: In this story we have a retirement home for the famous wolves from Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs, but we get to hear their sides of the stories.
Slipping Sideways Through Eternity: This was a tale centered around Elijah (from the old testament) and the effects of the Holocaust. I really enjoyed this one and liked how it shows how consequences can be felt through the generations.
Cinder Elephant: This was a fun quirky take on the Cinderella tale.
I really enjoyed this collection. If you like to see classic fairy tales and fables flipped on their heads I recommend checking this book out.
I've never read anything by Jane Yolen before but I really liked this collection of fairytales. She put such a unique spin on some well known classics. There were also some from other cultures that I had never read as well. I'm going to break this down and highlight some of my favorite stories from the book.
The Bridge's Complaint: This was so unique. It's a twist on the billy goats story but told from the perspective of the bridge. It was interesting having a story from the POV of an inanimate object.
Happy Dens: In this story we have a retirement home for the famous wolves from Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs, but we get to hear their sides of the stories.
Slipping Sideways Through Eternity: This was a tale centered around Elijah (from the old testament) and the effects of the Holocaust. I really enjoyed this one and liked how it shows how consequences can be felt through the generations.
Cinder Elephant: This was a fun quirky take on the Cinderella tale.
I really enjoyed this collection. If you like to see classic fairy tales and fables flipped on their heads I recommend checking this book out.
narjarules's review
4.0
Multiple short, fractured fairy tales, mostly from Europe with some Asian and Native American tales.
The bonus treasure of this anthology is the last section of poems and story inspirations.
It was great insight for unfamiliar tales.
Also, the book reminded me a lot of Jim Henson’s The Storyteller sprinkled with more modern retellings. In that it they are a lot closer to the originals than the Disney versions.
With so many short tales, the book can be enjoyed during mental work breaks.
The bonus treasure of this anthology is the last section of poems and story inspirations.
It was great insight for unfamiliar tales.
Also, the book reminded me a lot of Jim Henson’s The Storyteller sprinkled with more modern retellings. In that it they are a lot closer to the originals than the Disney versions.
With so many short tales, the book can be enjoyed during mental work breaks.
ks27's review
4.0
Good for fans of the classic fairy tales and those who love twisted stories. I can see this studied in a classroom setting for folklore and fairy tale scholars as easily as I can see it on a casual reader’s bookshelf.
kieralesley's review
4.0
This was my first encounter with Yolen’s work and it was a delightful surprise.
This collection gathers fairy tales from across Yolen’s lengthy and prolific career that are all twisted or ‘fractured’ in some way from their original telling. The stories range across cultures and traditions, some familiar but many new to me and the ‘fractured’ versions presented here so enjoyable that I’m curious to find more true versions. The fractures themselves take different approaches: new points of view, inversions on concepts, puns, shifts in time and place.
Yolen refers both narratively and as a narrative aside to telling stories to children and it comes through. Her stories are designed to be told. The stories feel designed to be read or performed out loud – they have the feel of an oral tradition. Proper storytelling, with all eyes on the teller and a fire nearby.
My favourites were:
The Bridge’s Complaint
The Moon Ribbon
Granny Rumple
One Ox, Two Ox, Three Ox and the Dragon King
One Old Man, with Seals
Great-Grandfather Dragon’s Tale
Godmother Death
Not all of the stories were hits for me. Some felt too quick, the takes too shallow or I found myself skimming because the story hadn’t quite hooked me. The problem with having lots of, mostly quite short pieces, running on a similar narrative theme and tone is that it can read a bit same-y. You also have this feeling of ‘I liked it, but it wasn’t as good as this other one I just read’. It’s not that the collection is uneven per se, it’s more that there’s a lot of similar material back to back and I found myself getting fatigued. The really good ones still cut through and were enjoyable, but towards the end I was done rather than wanting it to keep going.
I liked the short notes on the fractures at the end of the book, though I would have perhaps found them more valuable placed after each story, rather than collected at the end with the poems. It felt a bit like an afterthought and by the time I was reading them it had been a while since I had read the story they were referring to.
On the whole, though, a nice collection of twisted fairy tales and a great sampling of Yolen’s voice and work.
An advance copy of this book was kindly provided by Tachyon Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This review was first published on Chapters in Flux: (http://www.chaptersinflux.com/book-review-how-to-fracture-a-fairy-tale-by-jane-yolen/)
This collection gathers fairy tales from across Yolen’s lengthy and prolific career that are all twisted or ‘fractured’ in some way from their original telling. The stories range across cultures and traditions, some familiar but many new to me and the ‘fractured’ versions presented here so enjoyable that I’m curious to find more true versions. The fractures themselves take different approaches: new points of view, inversions on concepts, puns, shifts in time and place.
Yolen refers both narratively and as a narrative aside to telling stories to children and it comes through. Her stories are designed to be told. The stories feel designed to be read or performed out loud – they have the feel of an oral tradition. Proper storytelling, with all eyes on the teller and a fire nearby.
My favourites were:
The Bridge’s Complaint
The Moon Ribbon
Granny Rumple
One Ox, Two Ox, Three Ox and the Dragon King
One Old Man, with Seals
Great-Grandfather Dragon’s Tale
Godmother Death
Not all of the stories were hits for me. Some felt too quick, the takes too shallow or I found myself skimming because the story hadn’t quite hooked me. The problem with having lots of, mostly quite short pieces, running on a similar narrative theme and tone is that it can read a bit same-y. You also have this feeling of ‘I liked it, but it wasn’t as good as this other one I just read’. It’s not that the collection is uneven per se, it’s more that there’s a lot of similar material back to back and I found myself getting fatigued. The really good ones still cut through and were enjoyable, but towards the end I was done rather than wanting it to keep going.
I liked the short notes on the fractures at the end of the book, though I would have perhaps found them more valuable placed after each story, rather than collected at the end with the poems. It felt a bit like an afterthought and by the time I was reading them it had been a while since I had read the story they were referring to.
On the whole, though, a nice collection of twisted fairy tales and a great sampling of Yolen’s voice and work.
An advance copy of this book was kindly provided by Tachyon Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This review was first published on Chapters in Flux: (http://www.chaptersinflux.com/book-review-how-to-fracture-a-fairy-tale-by-jane-yolen/)
bookishwiccan's review
4.0
Finished this over the weekend; another relatively quick read. Thoroughly enjoyed it and suggest it for anyone who wants a quick read between books in a series, or a quick stand-alone.
jkropik06's review
DNF @ 35%. Nothing wrong with the book, it’s just not for me. I thought I was really enjoying it, but I don’t want to force myself through and give it an undeserved bad rating.
thewoollygeek's review
5.0
Loved it, fairy tales for the modern woman. Those tales you thought you knew didn’t happen the way you thought. These tales were inspired and brilliant. I loved the feminist twists. A great read
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion