“Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot.”
– Neil Gaiman
Thanks to Nymeth for putting this one on her blog, which is where I saw it!
Author: cherylmahoney
I'm a book review blogger and writer. I have published four novels, The Wanderers; The Storyteller and Her Sisters; and The People the Fairies Forget; and The Lioness and the Spellspinners. All can be found on Amazon as an ebook and paperback. In my day job, I'm a Marketing Specialist. Find me on Twitter (@MarvelousTales) and GoodReads (MarvelousTales).
Retelling Cinderella on Screen
When I did my Fairy Tale Round-up for Cinderella a few weeks ago, I forgot a perfectly lovely movie. Beedrill pointed it out, which sent me off to Netflix to request a disc and re-watch Ever After.
It’s a charming retelling of Cinderella, starring Drew Barrymore as Danielle, a smart young woman trodden-down by her stepfamily. Set in Renaissance-era France, there’s no magic but plenty of whimsy, and definitely a fairy tale feel. The plot is pretty standard fare, but the characters really shine.
Danielle is a wonderful Cinderella, well-read and keenly aware of the injustices of the society around her. I do wonder a little why she never set out to find a place away from her stepfamily, but this is mostly justified by her circle of friends among the servants and her obvious attachment to her home. There’s also an interesting dynamic between Danielle and her stepmother, the Baroness, as Danielle longs for acceptance from “the only mother she’s ever known.”
The stepfamily is wonderful–the Baroness is nasty, demanding, and selfish, while bemoaning how hard she tries and how little everyone around her appreciates all that she does for them, and can’t everyone just put in a little more effort, please. It reminds me a bit of The Devil Wears Prada, actually. The older stepsister, Marguerite, is beautiful but horrid and self-absorbed, while the younger stepsister, Jacqueline, is a sympathetic if largely passive character.
Danielle’s friends among the servants are mostly minor characters, but it’s so nice that they exist–so many characters, Cinderellas and others, seem to be utterly alone in the world, which just isn’t realistic. Danielle’s friends collectively serve the role of fairy godmother, with some help from Leonardo Da Vinci.
Danielle’s prince is Henry, and if there’s an implausible aspect of the story it’s in what Danielle sees in him. He’s handsome enough, and he’s a prince of course, but in the beginning of the story he’s also arrogant and immature. He grows rapidly under exposure to Danielle’s philosophy and far more mature view of the world, so I suppose he does seem to have potential. They have a good chemistry so I believe she likes him…I’m just not always sure why!
There are some excellent funny moments in here, especially involving Da Vinci, or the stepfamily. There’s also a sequence near the middle involving a group of gypsies that I don’t want to spoil for anyone…so I’ll just say it’s wonderful!
Any criticisms…well, the dialogue is remarkably formal at times. It’s occasionally off-putting, though mostly I think it works with the style of the movie. The post-ball timeline is very unclear and it’s hard to tell how much time is elapsing between events. I’m also a bit doubtful about how quickly they contrive to hold royal weddings, and the apparent ease with which people can get in or out of royal engagements… But all of those are minor points, far secondary to the drive of the story.
This movie reminds me a little of Robin McKinley’s Beauty. It’s not anything too radical or innovative, but it’s a lovely retelling with a strong heroine and a sweet romance. And any comparison to a McKinley book can be considered a high compliment!
Lords and Ladies and Witches and Elves
I just read my first book for my Summer in Discworld challenge: Lords and Ladies
It’s a very loose retelling. There are fairies and royalty and a group of rustics who are trying (without much success) to put on a play. Beyond that, there’s not much resemblance to the Bard’s story. Pratchett’s story focuses on three witches–Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick. They’ve just returned from a trip abroad (a previous book), and Magrat is due to marry King Verence (which she’s almost sure she wants to do). Meanwhile, there are mysterious crop circles popping up in fields, on heads of hair and in bowls of porridge; there are strange stirrings between the multiverses; and an ancient force is trying to break through from another world. Unfortunately, as Granny and Nanny know, elves are not nearly as nice as people want to believe…
The plot here is mostly just a vehicle for the characters–and they’re wonderful characters. Granny Weatherwax is a stiff old crone, in the most literal sense, terrifying for her sheer willpower more than for her magic, and fiercely protective of her kingdom and people. Nanny Ogg is ever cheerful, ever comfortable and good-natured, utterly incapable of being embarrassed no matter the circumstances and at home everywhere…but you somehow get the impression you don’t want to cross her either. Magrat is sweet and plain and lacking self-confidence–at least until she gets some inspiration from history.
There are a host of good supporting characters as well. Verence was originally trained to be a Fool and somehow wound up king (also a previous book), and is very sure that he can learn all he needs to about running a kingdom, handling people and getting married by reading the right books. The group of rustics don’t stand out individually (especially since they’re all known as Weaver the thatcher or Carpenter the baker or Baker the butcher, and so on), but they’re funny in their jumble–and they’re the closest connection to the Shakespearean play. The Wizards from Ankh Morpork’s Unseen University come to town for the wedding, and I liked them better than I have in any previous books–they’re finally starting to emerge as individuals to me. My favorite, though, is the Librarian, who loves books and happens to be an orangutan (a spell gone very wrong).
And the elves, well…they are actually genuinely frightening. It’s not at all a horror book, and I wouldn’t exactly say any parts are scary–but the concept of the elves, these smiling, beguiling people who see humans as animals, and wreak havoc and inflict pain for the fun of it…it’s quite a frightening concept.
I do have a few small criticisms. The book takes a good fifteen pages to get going properly. Pratchett likes to do philosophical prologues, and this book went through a whole series of scenes like that before we got to the witches (though Death had a good scene in this first section). The point of view jumps about wildly, which sort of bothers me but only in an academic way. It didn’t actually interfere with my reading, it was just something I noticed every so often and my literary instincts got upset. More difficult was his lack of speech tags in some places, so I had to go back and count lines to figure out who was talking.
But those are small criticisms. I enjoyed the book: there was some beautiful writing, excellet character development, good tension and, of course, humor. I wouldn’t classify it as a favorite Discworld volume, but I liked getting to know the Witches better, and I expect to continue reading their stories–though I haven’t decided whether to go back to the beginning, or keep going backwards!
Author’s Site: http://terrypratchettbooks.com/
Other reviews:
SF Reviews
The Wertzone
The Incurable Bluestocking
Anyone else?
Saturday Snapshot: Johnny Depp
I wish I could give you an actual snapshot of Johnny Depp…but I’ve never met him. Still, seeing as it’s his birthday today, I thought I’d make him the theme of my Saturday Snapshot. So I’m giving you a glimpse into my fandom. 🙂
This is my Pirates bookshelf, with all four movies, some books on historical pirates, and a couple biographies. They’re all presided over by a Captain Jack Sparrow action figure, and a doll McDonald’s put out for the second movie–and I managed to buy the doll without actually buying any food from them. It turns out they will sell the toys separately.
This is my most expensive item. Somewhere I have a paper certifying that it’s an authentic signature. I blame my friend for this purchase–we were in the store, she decided to buy an autograph first, and then of course I succumbed to temptation!
I’m not exclusively a Captain Jack fan. Here’s my Johnny Depp movie collection. Other favorite characters include Roux in Chocolat, J. M. Barrie in Finding Neverland, and while I don’t exactly love Sweeney Todd, I find his movie to be a remarkably cathartic experience.
I must say, this all looks fairly reasonable. But then…I didn’t show you the two boxes of magazine clippings and movie reviews! 🙂
I know the rest of you must have favorite actors too. Tell me about your fandoms! And check out At Home with Books for more Saturday Snapshots.
Fairy Tale Round-Up: Beauty and the Beast
One of my favorite fairy tales is “Beauty and the Beast.” If you read the original by Jeanne Marie Leprince de Beaumont, it has as many weirdnesses as any other fairy tale. But it also has a heroine with more spirit than most (and who likes to read!) and a romance with at least the potential for more depth.
The story is pretty consistent, about a girl who goes to live with a Beast to save her father’s life. She sees past the Beast’s forbidding exterior to fall in love with him, breaking the spell and turning him into a handsome prince. And usually there are roses in it somewhere! In the original, the Beast is kind of scary and manipulative, not to mention far too attached to his flowers. But the retellings are some of my very favorite stories…
Beauty by Robin McKinley was probably one of the first fairy tale retellings I ever read. It’s a beautiful book that’s as much about Beauty, her family and her own growth as it is about her romance with the Beast–which is still quite sweet. The non-magical world feels very real, and even the enchanted castle, while appropriately magical, has a somewhat homey feel. It’s a cosy book, sweet and lightly humorous.
McKinley returned to the story for Rose Daughter, another (unrelated) retelling. This version is gorgeously written, and far more surreal. If Beauty is all pastels and greens and browns, Rose Daughter is all vivid scarlets and purples and strange shadows. The Beast’s castle is truly another world, where rules of magic supercede little things like the rules of physics. I didn’t like the romance quite so well and there was a lot about roses, but it’s still an absolutely lovely book.
I’m not as fond of La Belle et La Bête, Jean Cocteau’s 1946 movie version. It has a very surreal feeling too, but to some extent that kept me at a distance from the story. The characters felt too much like archetypes and some parts were unexplained–and I don’t think it was a problem of the French dialogue. The sets and effects are wonderful and it’s a landmark in fairy tale films, but it’s more interesting as an academic view than as simple entertainment.
I do love the much lighter Disney Beauty and the Beast. It has gorgeous scenery, excellent songs, and wonderful characters. Belle, the Beast and the assortment of talking objects are all delightful characters, and the plot is much improved by the introduction of Gaston as a convincing villain. This may be my favorite Disney cartoon (though there’s some stiff competition out there!)
Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier is a much looser, more mature retelling. Caitrin comes to the castle to work as a scribe, fleeing her abusive family and an unwanted suitor. She meets Anluan, crippled in body and even more so in spirit, and learns about his family curse that populates the fortress with ghosts. It’s “Beauty and the Beast” only in the broad strokes, but there is an enchanted mirror and a curse to overcome–even though it’s really more about finding strength within than it is about meeting requirements to break a spell.
I’d love to find more good “Beauty and the Beast” retellings! Any suggestions?
Tales of the Marvelous 