Tag Archives: Fairy tale/Myth

June 14, 2013 · 8:22 am

Raven Girl by Audrey Niffenegger

Raven GirlInternationally renowned for her two bestselling novels, The Time Traveler’s Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry, Audrey Niffenegger is also a splendiforous artist with double the graphic titles to her lauded name. Her fourth and latest is “a new fairy tale” with origins that begin with movement: “Awhile ago, Wayne McGregor [resident choreographer of London's Royal Ballet] invited me to collaborate with him to make a new dance. … [H]e would make the dance, I would make the story,” she explains in her ending “Acknowledgements.”

As fairy tales go, Niffenegger weaves shocking originality between the seemingly (deceptively) formulaic opening and closing: “Once there was a Postman who fell in love with a Raven,” the story begins; “Once there was a Raven Prince who fell in love with a Raven Girl. And they lived happily together ever after,” the final lines resound. In between is a human daughter who is birthed from an egg, the Cat who reports strange occurrences to the unbelieving Court of the Ravens, a plastic surgeon who speaks about “chimeras” and builds wings before falling to his own death, the Detective Boy who is carried off and never seen again, and a half Raven/human family that considers movie offers and the circus until a crowned stranger knocks at their door.

Niffenegger’s intricate etchings gorgeously embellish her fantastical tale – the first full illustration as the Postman’s shadow encompasses the young Raven as she looks up in troubled wonder is a haunting, lingering image. The detailed realism of the ravens – every feather, every wrinkle on the talons – sharply contrasts the more suggested, less fleshed out human figures who appear almost unfinished in comparison to their avian counterparts.

Niffenegger’s illustrations question the imagined and the real, flipping our expectations with regularity. “Fairy tales have their own remorseless logic and their own rules,” she writes. Presented on the page in words and art, Raven Girl is “ready to undergo its own transformation into dance.” The curtain rose last week in London … oh, to have had the wings to carry me there …!!

Tidbits: Click here for an interview with Niffenegger about the Raven Girl-Royal Ballet collaboration.

Click here for my interview with Niffenegger for the November 2010 issue of Bookslut.

Readers: Adult

Published: 2013

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May 1, 2013 · 8:41 am

The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino, translated by Rebecca Copeland

Goodness ChronicleAward-winning Japanese crime fiction writer Natsuo Kirino (Out; Grotesque) contributes to the latest installment of the “The Myths” series, originally published by Britain’s Canongate, in which contemporary writers retell myths. Previous volumes have included Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus and David Grossman’s Lion’s Honey: The Myth of Sampson.

Kirino here retells the eighth-century creation myth of Izanami and Izanaki – the original female and male gods whose union produced the Japanese islands – in a novel framing two sisters, one fated to become the next Oracle to serve the “realm of light,” the other who will serve the “realm of darkness.” Unwilling to accept her fate, Namima attempts an escape that damns her to Izanami’s Realm of the Dead. Readers will find echoes of Orpheus and Eurydice as well as Persephone and Demeter.

Verdict: Although inventive, the double narrative of sisters and gods – the former freeing, the latter bound to centuries-old history – never quite meshes, often feeling clumsily forced. Still, bestselling Kirino’s many devotees will likely provide a ready audience

Review: “Fiction,” Library Journal, May 1, 2013

Readers: Adult

Published: 2013 (United States)

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October 11, 2012 · 1:12 pm

Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin

Every once in a while, being formulaic can produce splendid results. Take Grace Lin‘s 2010 Newbery Honor book, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon – what made it so successful? Spunky, independent-minded young characters, intricately layered storytelling within the story, and, of course, Lin’s signature whimsical, illuminating illustrations.

Lin’s latest has all that … and more. Rendi, used to luxury and privilege, runs away in a fit of (well-justified) anger and finds himself working as a chore boy in Master Chao’s  humble inn in the tiny Village of Clear Sky. After a less-than-amiable start, he begins a tentative friendship with Peiyi, the innkeeper’s young daughter, who soon reveals that life at the inn is not without strife, especially of the emotional kind: Peiyi’s older brother is missing, Master Chao and the next-door neighbor Widow Yan can’t even be civil to one another, their animosity forces Peiyi to hide her friendship with Widow Yan’s daughter, who in turn is clearly suffering from lovesickness for a certain missing someone. What is causing all this sadness and resentment? And has no one else realized that the moon is missing? And why does only Rendi seem to hear the nighttime crying?

When a mysterious new guest, Madame Chang, arrives at the near-empty inn, Rendi and Peiyi are quickly drawn to her … especially to her stories. But for every story she tells, Rendi must repay in kind with a tale of his own. Stories and life soon intertwine, from which Rendi begins to distill new truths, especially about his own faraway family.

If Mountain was about thankfulness, this new companion title celebrates the restorative power of forgiveness. In our overcommitted, overscheduled lives that can too often blind us to our own insincerity and impatience (and worse!), we could surely use regular reminders of the magically healing potential of two (heartfelt) small words, “I’m sorry.” I’m sure my own family will tell you I have more than my fair share to share, ahem. Better get started …

For all of Grace Lin’s titles on BookDragon, click here.

Readers: Middle Grade

Published: 2012

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August 11, 2012 · 9:15 am

The Girl Who Loved Danger: A Steve Light Storybox by Steve Light

As the e-publishing world is shrinking our stories into little mobile devices, storyteller, teacher, and author Steve Light brings back some delightful heft with his new Storybox collection that features classic tales from around the world that your youngest readers can bring immediately to life … any way they choose!

One day in class, Light acted out Hansel and Gretel to his students using two figures he had carved; the children responded with “‘Where is the witch, the cottage, and the father?’” So Light “‘went home, carved all the other characters and props, put them in a wooden box, painted a ‘title’ on the box, and Storyboxes were born.’” Light currently has four available storyboxes: Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, and Little One Inch (originally a Japanese tale), and The Girl Who Loved Danger pictured here.

Each storybox slides open to a colorful booklet, in which Light offers his version of a story as a starting point: “I have changed them to how I like to tell a story. That is the liberty each storyteller is given.” Dig underneath, and your little ones will find all the props and tools to recreate the story or even make up their own. Light’s all-in-one goal is clearly to encourage and enable children’s imaginations: “The nature of a story is to excite, amaze, evoke thoughts and question and kindle a curiosity of the unknown.”

In this version of The Girl Who Loved Danger, a morality tale originally from the Congo, a curious little girl cannot give up her love of dangerous adventure. Warned about a deadly monster down by the lake, of course, she goes to find it. Along the way, she meets her ancestor bird from whom she receives a lucky feather. She gets swallowed up, as does a helpful man from her village, and then even her parents! Having that feather does indeed prove fortuitous, and the little girl comes up with an ingenious way to make friends with the hungry monster. Clever girl power all the way!

Intrigued? Put away the electronics, and think outside this imaginative box …

Readers: Children

Published: 2012

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August 7, 2012 · 2:22 pm

Maya and the Turtle: A Korean Fairy Tale by Soma Han and John C. Stickler, illustrated by Soma Han

In between “Long, long ago …” and “… happily ever after,” is a story passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter, as co-author and illustrator Soma Han writes in her “Author’s Note.” That in itself is a lovely tale indeed …

The mother/daughter bond here is strong, even in death: just before Maya’s mother passes away, she shares with Maya a prophetic dream that Maya, still a child, would someday grow up to be a princess. Maya is lovingly raised by her “father [who] did everything he could to make Maya grow up happy and healthy.” Her most constant companion is a turtle she names Boke-doongi, which means ‘lucky one.’

When illness strikes Maya’s father and he can no longer work, the small family can’t pay for food, much less medicine. Maya decides that she must go to the wealthy nearby village, and offer herself to the centipede monster who comes every year seeking a victim. For her sacrifice, the villagers reward her well, enough to save her father, before she must return to “the cursed place” where she awaits death. But faithful, devoted Boke-doongi will not, of course, allow such a tragedy to happen … and so the turtle seals Maya’s fate, and her filial courage is rewarded by the Emperor of heaven and earth, who tells her, “‘You must meet my son, the Prince …’”

The husband-and-wife team create their second title together (Land of Morning Calm: Korean Culture Then and Now), drawing on Han’s Korean heritage, and Stickler’s 13 years of Korean residency. Han, who is also a painter, sculptor, and mosaic artist, credits her mother and grandmother with the original story of Maya. To the couple’s credit, their version gets a 21st-century update: almost every page has a contextual note explaining something cultural, historical, or just downright tongue-in-cheek (“Why is the Prince riding on a dinosaur? ‘They are very strong,’ the Prince says, ‘and can walk long distances without getting tired.’”); and the multi-culti angle gets celebrated with a strikingly detailed, full spread – the royal couple is indeed flanked by “people from many lands,” many colors, many cultures and backgrounds. Hope springs eternal for world peace …

Like many age-old tales (especially of the Asian variety), the bottom-line lesson is loud and clear: filial piety gets rewarded – bigtime! That used to be a great way to get kids to obey … at least it was long, long ago. But uhmm … what was I saying about 21st-century updates …??!!

Readers: Children

Published: 2012

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June 8, 2012 · 3:07 pm

Jinchalo by Matthew Forsythe

By no means is Jinchalo your conventional manga/manwha/graphic work. Not to be going around in circles, but its title – which, in Korean, means something akin to ‘really?’ ‘is that for real?’ – works rather appropriately as a response to experiencing this adventure … you just can’t be totally sure what happened! According to the book’s front flap, creator Matthew Forsythe was “partly inspired by Korean comics and folk tales,” to which he was probably exposed when living in Seoul, where he was a kindergarten teacher (his bio also reveals he was a database programmer in Dublin and a motorcycle courier in London – no xenophobe, he!).

Virtually (English-)wordless with a smattering of Korean characters (signs on buildings, onomatopoeic additions, occasional nonsense compounds), Jinchalo is something akin to a Rorschach test, but surely more engagingly inventive. Ultimately, only you get to decide what you think you just ‘read’…

Here’s what I thought: A little girl protagonist – whose name, Voguchi, you would only know if you read that informative front flap – lives in a seemingly traditional Korean house in a remote village. She’s got quite the hefty appetite, in dreams as well as in real life. She’s willing to share, though, and gives a begging stranger who looms in the front door a bowl of rice. Having eaten everything, she’s sent by her father (grandfather?) to the nearest town to buy more supplies.

She encounters any number of unique beings, and during a run-in with a giant bird, inadvertently picks up the wrong egg … which soon enough hatches, and suddenly she’s eye to eye with the eponymous shape-shifter Jinchalo (again, another name you wouldn’t know without that very useful front flap!). Her journey home is filled with all sorts of surprises, not to mention some shape-shifting of her own [her transformation from adorable little girl to older woman, complete with the signature Korean old-lady perm and oversized-brim visor cap (you Koreans know what I'm talking about!!) is just too funny for words, all irony intended!]

Somewhat reminiscent of graphic artist/author Shaun Tan’s spectacular titles, Jinchalo is a shape-shifting treat for the imagination. Every time you read it, you’re bound to discover something new, something different. And you’ll soon enough be asking yourself, “jinchalo?”

Tidbit: Jinchalo has a companion text, Ojingogo, which I haven’t yet read, which for some reason is only available from used booksellers in the U.S., although readily available new in Canada. Yes, the publisher – fabulous graphic specialist Drawn & Quarterly – is Canadian, but most of their titles have not been stopped at the shared border. Hmmm … good thing for back door options!

Readers: Young Adult, Adult

Published: 2012

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June 3, 2012 · 2:33 pm

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

For a couple of days, I went back and forth with The Snow Child stuck in my ears (which the inimitable Debra Monk  – one of my favorite stage actors ever! – happens to narrate, oh wow!) and reading Ruta Sepetys’ between shades of gray on the page – NOT to be confused with that other Shades of Grey, egads, although I did actually feel a bit self-conscious carrying the gorgeous book around for fear others might mistake it for what it’s not! I didn’t intend to pair the two, but wrenchingly overlapping they certainly turned out to be: both are gasp-inducing debut novels, both are filled with snowy cold, both more-than-mention Russia and the Russian language, both have protagonists for whom drawing is a hugely important part of their identities … and their survival. Stay tuned for shades of gray.

Jack and Mabel have suffered a terrible loss they can’t get over: the death of their only child even before it had a chance to live. A decade later, in spite of all the drastic changes they’ve made in their lives – moving to homestead in frozen Wolverine, Alaska in 1920, far far away from everything they knew in family-surrounded Pennsylvania – the empty ache is enough for Mabel to consider suicide.

The couple’s cocoon of loneliness is tight, until two events begin to peel away the layers: their self-imposed isolation ends when they tentatively begin a relationship with another homestead family, the Bensons, with their three rambunctious sons and their hearty warmth; and their childless home begins to transform when they build a small snow girl one evening and find themselves enthralled in unexpected utter joy. As Esther and George Benson, and their youngest son Garrett, become more entwined in Jack and Mabel’s lives, so enters a little girl named Faina, who seems to have walked out of the snow and into their mourning hearts …

Mabel recalls a Russian fairy tale from her youth, about a childless old couple who built a little girl of snow who came to life … When Faina appears, Mabel and Jack are both mesmerized and afraid, hopeful and frightened, both for different reasons. She’s a magical secret, a chimerical creature, and yet she’s also a soothing bond, a precious gift … and maybe even the child for whom they’ve always been waiting. One day, she will softly share one of the most longed-for sentences a mother could ever hope to hear: “I wish to be the mother you are to me …”

Ah, but perhaps I’ve already said too much. Just know that Eowyn Ivey‘s first novel is an astonishing read, so quiet and controlled, and yet so resonating with raw emotion and forever love … most of all, Child is an unforgettable reminder that families can come together every which way – mixing tragedy, magic, and everything in between.

Tidbit: The book’s trailer, too, is gorgeously haunting … so simple, and yet so effecting. One tiny gripe: the only bit of color amidst the line drawings is a blue scarf, but it’s supposed to be RED! “Her sister had knitted them [scarf and mittens] in red wool …” Artistic interpretation gone awry??!!

Readers: Adult

Published: 2012

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May 16, 2012 · 10:30 am

The Wooden Sword: A Jewish Tale from Afghanistan by Ann Redisch Stampler, illustrated by Carol Liddiment

“One starry night in old Kabul …” a curious shah ventures forth from his palace dressed in servant’s clothing. Wondering if his subjects are happy, he stops at the home of a poor man and his wife, who readily invite him in to share what little they have.

The poor man turns out to be a shoemaker who makes a modest living, but always trusts that God will provide enough: “‘If one path is blocked, God leads me to another, and everything turns out just as it should.’” Impressed by the man’s faith, the shah decides to test its strength, throwing one obstacle after another against the poor man’s efforts to make a living.

Arbitrarily banned from shoemaking by the shah, the poor man becomes a water carrier, a woodcutter, then even a palace guard. Each night he’s visited by the royal-in-disguise; each night he warmly shares what little he has with his anonymous guest. But when the poor man’s salary temporarily eludes him, he must figure out how he and his wife will eat … not to mention their nightly visitor. The poor man’s wise, unwavering faith soon enough teaches the questioning shah that indeed “‘everything will turn out just as it should.’”

Described as a “passionate proponent of folklore for children” in her bio, Ann Redisch Stampler’s “Author’s Note” at book’s end offers an illuminating look at the origins of this Afghan Jewish tale. Because Stampler grew up with a “mean-spirited European” version, she was thrilled to discover this “beautiful” Afghan retelling.

In spite of today’s violent, uncertain climate in Afghanistan, Stampler’s adaptation is evidence of a time of “intermingling of Jewish and Muslim neighbors in Afghanistan through the centuries.” Her story reminds us that with wisdom and faith – regardless of religious origins, rules, regulations – such peace might someday return once again, with the Kabul night skies lit up with nothing more than shining stars …

Tidbit: As was pointed out to me (rather vehemently) by an Afghan American professor/scholar/author friend, “Afghani” is the name of the official currency of Afghanistan. When referring to people, by noun or adjective, the correct term is “Afghan.” Alas, that would mean “Afghani” is used incorrectly on the inside book cover and the ending “Author’s Note” … so hopefully this inspiring Afghan Jewish shah’s tale will merit a second printing sooner than later!

Readers: Children

Published: 2012

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November 22, 2011 · 4:36 pm

The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht

With the gushing acknowledgement of her debut novel – 2011 Orange Prize, 2011 National Book Award finalist, enthusiastic thumbs up from the New Yorker, New York Times, and too many starred reviews to count – Téa Obreht is already a renowned wunderkind.

Always curious about that level of fuss, I finally picked up the novel, and stuck it into my ears (narrated by veteran audible regulars Susan Duerden and Robin Sachs). Perhaps that’s where I went wrong … perhaps this is fiction meant only to be read, not listened to. Still, I’m compelled to out myself as quite possibly the only person on the planet who thinks the overwhelming hype surrounding Tiger’s Wife is more hyperbole than substance.

Here’s the story – three, actually, to be more precise: 1. Young Dr. Natalia takes a detour from her work at an orphanage across the border to collect the few belongings of her beloved grandfather who has unexpectedly died far from home; 2. Natalia’s grandfather shares his memories of “the deathless man,” a mysterious stranger who never aged and, no matter what, could never die; and 3. Natalia uncovers her grandfather’s childhood tale of the abused, deaf, mute woman known as ‘the tiger’s wife.’

So here’s what I ultimately got from the cleverly intertwining narrative strands: wunderkind Obreht (born in 1985, making her barely in her mid-20s) has no problem putting together gorgeous, mellifluous sentences. She will, without a shadow of a doubt, write even more amazing, more accomplished books in the years to come. But my bottom line … in spite of the gorgeous prose and the epic stories, Tiger’s Wife in the end, just didn’t move me.

No characters stood out as spectacular, in spite of the spectacular things that happened to many of them. The remembrances of things past – especially of war and the price of survival – felt too distanced and detached to resonate. Natalia’s grandmother is too shrill, her mother strangely absent, Natalia too self-absorbed in her endless ruminations about what might or might not be happening. Even the mythic characters of her grandfather’s childhood – the eponymous tiger’s wife, her desperately abusive husband, the legendary bear man, the wandering apothecary – hardly lived up to their potential uniqueness.

Perhaps three stories in one were too much for one novel. Which only proves Obreht must have the imagination for many more. My current disappointment aside, for now the waiting begins for what is surely to come …

Readers: Adult

Published: 2011

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November 20, 2011 · 5:17 pm

The Princess and the Peanut: A Royally Allergic Fairytale by Sue Ganz-Schmitt, illustrated by Micah Chambers-Goldberg

Quick: Growing up, how many kids did you know who carried epi-pens? I can’t think of a single child (I’m dating myself, I’m sure), except for silly me, but mine were for bee stings. That certainly is not the case now! Our daughter was always one of the many students with epi-pens stored with the school nurse for years (luckily, miraculously, she outgrew her peanut allergy in middle school).

As unique as I think our daughter is, she’s one of millions of kids in the U.S. with food allergies … exact numbers vary, but all agree that the prevalence of food allergies is definitely growing. Peanuts, of course, are at the top of the list for being the most common food allergy.

Thanks to author Sue Ganz-Schmitt, allergies get a royal makeover in one of the most cleverly entertaining re-inventions of a classic fairytale ever. Gorgeous, richly detailed illustrations from Micah Chambers-Goldberg imbue the story with utter charm and delightful humor.

A sweet, goofy prince is searching for the perfect princess. He has no luck until a lost stranger arrives at the castle on a late rainy night. She turns out to be allergic to the peanut hidden under many mattresses (because the castle is just plain out of peas), and a doctor is rushed in with a dose of epinephrine. The princess quickly recovers, the prince recognizes his soulmate (and vice-versa) and gives up even his favorite snack– peanut butter – to remain close by her side. He makes sure to wash his hands when he asks for hers (in marriage). The castle goes all peanut- and tree nut-free and everyone is sure to live happily ever after.

Younger readers will definitely enjoy the adventure, but adults just might have even more fun: the creators both have a subversive, multi-layered sense of humor and really know how get you to giggle and guffaw right along (no spoilers here; you deserve to discover the glee all on your own). The final two pages of the book are helpfully filled with useful information for parents, teachers, caregivers as a necessary reminder that food allergies are never a laughing matter.

Readers: Children

Published: 2011

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