In this retelling of Sleeping Beauty, Toadling is a homely person who has lived hundreds of years at a tower surrounded by thorns and brambles, wishing and hoping that no knights will come close to break the curse upon it. But when a young knight arrives searching for the source of an ancient story, Toadling is forced to reckon with the past, and more importantly, the present, specifically how to deal with this surprisingly bookish and gentle man.
T. Kingfisher has a wonderful way of looking at fairy tale tropes and forcing her readers to reexamine our own biases (in the gentlest and most humorous way possible) when it comes to the tales we all grew up with. Thornhedge is an excellent example of how to do that, and other fairy tale-twisters should use this as a guide going forward. A great short read.
No comments:
Post a Comment