Snow White and Rose Red
Patricia C. Wrede
Snow White and Rose Red live on the edge of the
forest that conceals the elusive border of Faerie. They know enough about
Faerie lands and mortal magic to be concerned when they find two human
sorcerers setting spells near the border. And when the kindly, intelligent
black bear wanders into their cottage some months later, they realize the
connection between his plight and the sorcery they saw in the forest. This
romantic version of the classic fairy tale features an updated introduction by
its editor, Terri Windling.
Review
Of all of the fairytales collected by the Grimm
Brothers one had always stuck out as my favourite, that of Snow White and Rose
Red. I can't explain exactly what about it that captured my interest, though it
might have been the heroines of the storyline. Something about two sisters who
vary so much yet are the best of friends have always attracted me (I wrote many
stories when I was younger of fraternal twin girls; one dark of hair and the
other light). So whenever I find an adaptation of the tale I find myself having to read it.
Finding an adaptation of this story is very rare
however, for good reason, it is incredibly hard to adapt (I myself have an
adaptation) due to its episodic nature and the fact that there are two heroines
instead of one.
To say the least, when I found that Patricia C.
Wrede, author of the Frontier Magic series that I absolutely adore, had long
ago written an adaptation of my favourite fairytale, I put out a request for it
at my library immediately.
At first, while reading it, I wasn't sure if I
liked it all that much. Wrede made the decision to have it take place in
Elizabethan times, complete with Shakespearean-type dialogue which made it a
hard read, especially since I was reading it only a few chapters at a time.
When I sat down to read it for a long run, however, I found this was no longer
a challenge and I was completely sucked in by the world.
The greatest thing I loved about this book is the
bringing of everything together. Every chapter began with an excerpt from the
original Grimm tale, and as we got closer and closer to the known climax of the
fairytale the excerpts seemed to get smaller and it became obvious that all the
characters were being brought together for one final confrontation, reminding
me very much of a Shakespeare play.
The book was also very close to the original
fairytale, as much as I think possible while still creating a seamless story
that makes sense. I also enjoyed the inclusion of Faerie and historical
Elizabethan figures (And of course one can never say no to the presence of
Robin Goodfellow), as it let my mind connect the story into the real world and
mythology. I also think that Wrede did a fair job of explaining why some
characters did what, as in the original fairytale not many reasons are shown to
why characters are in the situations they are.
In Depth Spoiler Review
I enjoyed immensely how everything wrapped up in
the end. There were some points where I wondered if, for instance, Joan's
meddling would have actually caused the widow harm, even if her daughters had
been married away and thus no longer in danger, but as with this Grimm
fairytale it is happy endings for everyone good and punishment for those who
caused mischief.
The other thing I enjoyed was the use of John, as
Hugh's brother. In the original fairytale, almost as if an afterthought, there
is a line that says: And Rose Red married his brother; out of the blue. They
are given no courtship and it is much of a disservice to Rose Red that is
probably the thing I like the least in the original tale. So to see Wrede
giving the brother a proper character, role and courtship was truly gratifying.
It also pleased me that it really didn't upset the tale at all too much, though
it's not a perfect retelling (and really, who wants that?) it sticks to the
general outline, taking some things to metaphor which I found cool.
Overview
Overall I recommend this to any fairytale lover (or
anyone who loved Goose Girl by
Shannon Hale), any lover of Elizabethan language and stories about Faerie. It
is not however traditional Patricia C. Wrede style, so I wouldn't pick this up
for the sole reason that she is the author (though I do believe she is a
masterful one).
The dialogue is hard to get used to at first, but I
feel it does more of a service than a disservice to the book, so I recommend
you to continue reading it if that is distracting you.
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