A review by erintowner
How to Fracture a Fairy Tale by Jane Yolen, Jane Yolen

4.0

I read more short story collections in 2018 than during any other year of my life thus far. Most of them were underwhelming. Among those underwhelming short story collections was The Merry Spinster by Daniel Ortberg which got good reviews but was disappointing. So good to have the short story, especially the fairy tale retelling, redeemed for me by the master Jane Yolen. Some of the poems at the end of the book were enjoyable as well. My least favorite tales in this collection were the ones to do with religious source material. My favorite stories were "The Undine", "Mama Gone", "One Old Man, With Seals", "Sleeping Ugly", and "Happy Dens or A Day at the Old Wolves' Home". "The Gwynhfar" made me think. Overall I highly recommend this anthology to fans of good writing, clever plots, and folktales.