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A review by conjurerachel
Cinder the Fireplace Boy and other Gayly Grimm Tales by Ana Mardoll
4.0
Ana Mardoll masterfully weaves the stories that we know into familiar, glittering reminders that we all deserve a happy ending in this collection of retold fairytales, Cinder the Fireplace Boy.
I don't know how xie did it, but xie perfectly captured the feeling of reading these stories for the first time as a child, particularly with Rapunzel, The Frog Prince, and Cinder. Staring each story with a list of used pronouns, Mardoll threads updated lessons about consent and gender. It's such a relief to read an old narrative style with these themes. Not only that, but xie writes it well by also sprinkling familiar world-building from the general folklore. (ie. Salt and pure water as protection against a faery.)
If anything, I wish xie had written more, going beyond Grimm's usual canon and - hopefully - might one day turn some of these into full-length novels. Hint, hint... Much like Mardoll's previous anthology, No Man of Woman Born, this is an excellent primer on how fairytales can be rewoven and a testament to xir work.
NetGalley provided an ARC. All opinions are my own.
I don't know how xie did it, but xie perfectly captured the feeling of reading these stories for the first time as a child, particularly with Rapunzel, The Frog Prince, and Cinder. Staring each story with a list of used pronouns, Mardoll threads updated lessons about consent and gender. It's such a relief to read an old narrative style with these themes. Not only that, but xie writes it well by also sprinkling familiar world-building from the general folklore. (ie. Salt and pure water as protection against a faery.)
If anything, I wish xie had written more, going beyond Grimm's usual canon and - hopefully - might one day turn some of these into full-length novels. Hint, hint... Much like Mardoll's previous anthology, No Man of Woman Born, this is an excellent primer on how fairytales can be rewoven and a testament to xir work.
NetGalley provided an ARC. All opinions are my own.