Anyone who knows me knows my obsession with fairytales and retellings that began all the way back in high school when we studied Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber. Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly offers us a retelling of Snow White, and we begin the novel with a beautiful girl in a deep dark wood, having her heart cut out and stolen by the huntsman, carrying out the evil queen's bidding.
Poisoned navigates an interesting space, it doesn't shy away from the darker elements of Snow White's story, yet in so many other parts it seems a story written for children (which makes sense, fairytales were sculpted to be cautionary tales for children). The core message of the novel is to not let Fear, who is personified in the story, take your heart. And that kindness is the ultimate form of strength. Therefore, it takes a classic, almost Disney-esque message and pairs it with some darker elements, which for the most part, worked for me.
I liked the atmosphere, the compelling writing. I liked the addition of backstories for the 'seven strangers' dwelling in a cosy cottage in the woods, and despite my arachnophobia, I appreciated the imaginative addition of Weber, a skilled spider-chef for our crew of heroes. I simultaneously loved and was disappointed by how familiar the story felt. In fairytale retellings, of course we love to curl up with characters and worlds that are familiar but perhaps I expected a little more deviation from the original meaning of the core text. I think maybe I was spoiled early on with Angela Carter's strange and shocking iterations and everything I read after that doesn't seem to change the story far enough or twist the original meanings. However, I must acknowledge that Donnelly and Carter are writing for very different audiences and I didn't go into this book expecting Carter's subversion and savagery.
Ultimately, this was a familiar and compelling read that definitely kept me cosy during the last few cold and windy nights but if you're looking for a book that reinvents the fairytale wheel, this one might not be for you.
Poisoned navigates an interesting space, it doesn't shy away from the darker elements of Snow White's story, yet in so many other parts it seems a story written for children (which makes sense, fairytales were sculpted to be cautionary tales for children). The core message of the novel is to not let Fear, who is personified in the story, take your heart. And that kindness is the ultimate form of strength. Therefore, it takes a classic, almost Disney-esque message and pairs it with some darker elements, which for the most part, worked for me.
I liked the atmosphere, the compelling writing. I liked the addition of backstories for the 'seven strangers' dwelling in a cosy cottage in the woods, and despite my arachnophobia, I appreciated the imaginative addition of Weber, a skilled spider-chef for our crew of heroes. I simultaneously loved and was disappointed by how familiar the story felt. In fairytale retellings, of course we love to curl up with characters and worlds that are familiar but perhaps I expected a little more deviation from the original meaning of the core text. I think maybe I was spoiled early on with Angela Carter's strange and shocking iterations and everything I read after that doesn't seem to change the story far enough or twist the original meanings. However, I must acknowledge that Donnelly and Carter are writing for very different audiences and I didn't go into this book expecting Carter's subversion and savagery.
Ultimately, this was a familiar and compelling read that definitely kept me cosy during the last few cold and windy nights but if you're looking for a book that reinvents the fairytale wheel, this one might not be for you.