Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Twisted Classics

There is nothing more rewarding for a written classic then when one brave author’s steps up and tells the tale over again - this time with some new added flare.

I know there are some (like me) who love to devour the new twist on an old tale, but there are others who think that classics should remain just that, classic.

I’m reading Jackson Pearce’s take on Hansel and Gretel. One that I’m not sure many have tried to rewrite. She’s done beautifully and I find myself captivated and giggling every time she’s intertwined the old story and added her new fresh twist.



“Candy. On the ground, yellow candies. Ansel was following them, slicing around trees while the twins followed along desperately, eyes focused on finding the next piece, the trail back to the part of the forest they knew.”

This tells you she decided simple bread crumbs wasn’t enough, Ansel is a new take on Hansel, and why is he with twins?

I wish I had a want or need to write a fairytale but instead I’ll leave it the others who imagination runs wild with ideas of fresh new ideas for those wonderful tales we grew up with.

What’s your favorite retelling? Have you read Sweetly? You should!

21 comments:

Laura Pauling said...

I haven't read Sweetly but I read her first one on Red Riding Hood. I don't love fractured fairy tales - totally depends on how they're written. I don't have a strong desire to write them either!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I don't think I've read many retellings.

Laura S. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Laura S. said...

I haven't heard of this. It looks good! I've read a couple of Gregory Maguire's retellings for adults and they're good.

I really enjoyed Ella Enchanted and Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. The former is a Cinderella twist and the latter a Snow White twist. Both books are so imaginative and clever!

Anonymous said...

I don't mind twists on fairy tales - it's all the retellings of stories like Pride & Prejudice and Jane Eyre that annoy me. And I will admit that recently, seeing yet one more Cinderella retelling has had me rolling my eyes. Hansel and Gretel, though, that one is less prone to reshaping, so that is one I would probably enjoy.

Meredith said...

I love fairy tale retellings! I'm reading Cinder right now, and it's so much fun. I'll have to read this one!

Nicole Zoltack said...

I have a lot of retellings on my tbr list.

Matthew MacNish said...

I've been watching a lot of the movie versions of re-tellings lately, but I haven't read any of the books. I wonder why.

Carolyn V said...

Oooooo, that's one book I'm going to have to read! I love fairy tale retellings. So cool.

Liv Rancourt said...

My favorite collection of reworked fairy tales is Transformations by Ann Sexton. I read it in college but the imagery has stuck with me (many many years).
;)

Patti said...

I love retellings as well that's probably why I like the tv show Once Upon a Time.

Anonymous said...

Haven't heard of this one. May have to check it out sometime in the future. My TBR book list is soooo long!

Unknown said...

I'll have to admit, I haven't read any retellings, even if they do interest me. I think my biggest fear is that it will warp my favorite tale too much and I won't like it. That happened with The Looking Glass Wars, which I eventually just had to pretend was a completely different story from Alice in Wonderland. It's the only way I can get through some new versions of an old classic.

That said, this cover rocks and I am curious why Ansel's with twins!

Jennie Bennett said...

I really Love Shannon Hale's version of The Goose Girl. Really good read if you haven't heard of it!

S.P. Bowers said...

I agree that I'm more hesitant about the retellings of Jane Eyre and Austin books.

I once started a retelling of a Russian fairy tale. I bet I still have that somewhere....

Kelly Polark said...

That is one creepy cool cover.
I love how there can be so many wonderful retellings, but each one unique!

Belle said...

I love the new re-telling of Sherlock Holmes books on the TV and in the movies. That character never gets old.

Angela Brown said...

If nothing else, I completely creeped out and loving the book cover at the same time. That is some great use of elusion.

Cynthia J. McGean said...

Sounds interesting.

When it comes to retelling folktales and fairytales I say, "Why not?" After all, the "originals" were retold in many different forms when they were part of the oral tradition. It wasn't 'til the Grimms, and folklorists like them, began recording these stories that we started to think there was "one" right version.

Maurice Mitchell said...

It's really popular to retell fairy tales as horror nowadays. I think it touches on primal fears.
@ Kelly I was going to say the same thing about the cover.
@Belle I just started watching Sherlock and it is pure genius.

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