Review of "Tender Morsels" - Joint Winner of 2009 World Fantasy Award

US Hardcover of Tender Morsels. Illustration by Jody Hewgill

First, the news: "Tender Morsels", the novel length retelling of the Grimm's fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red by Australian author Margo Lanagan, was just announced as the joint winner of the World Fantasy Award this past weekend (the other winner was "The Shadow Year" by Jeffrey Ford). You can read her reaction on her blog HERE and see the full list of nominees and winners HERE.

Now the review:

Many are not surprised at seeing "Tender Morsels" win and I know why. Lanagan's novel has an unusual balance of being beautifully written without drawing attention to the fact.

Here's a taste of her prose (my aim here is to give you some context for all the discussion that comes next):

The girls were two flames at which she warmed herself to humanness, having long been something else—stone, perhaps; dried-out wood. Their perfect trust that the happy times would continue—she watched it and she sipped it as some small birds sip nectar, and she began, if not to perfectly trust it herself, at least to hope more strongly, at least to look beyond the beauties of the immediate season to the plans and practicalities demanded by the next—or the next several years, maybe? Maybe.

Trade Paperback Cover for Tender Morsels (coming Feb 9th, 2010). Illustrator unknown.

In case you know nothing about the book there are three main points about it:

1) It's a retelling of the Grimm's fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red
2) The use of language is gorgeous
3) It's dark content has made it a very controversial addition to the YA genre

I'll begin by saying this: The writing is beautiful, unexpected, quietly poignant and it draws you in. The way Ms. Lanagan uses language is so unique - not at all the way people normally put words together - yet it doesn't feel in the slightest bit forced. I unconsciously slowed my reading down so I wouldn't miss anything.

Ms. Lanagan's handling of the story is to be admired. "Tender Morsels" has rewritten my mental image of the fairy tale in many ways and the passages which deal directly with events of the Grimm's story now seem to me as if they couldn't be any other way. I won't go into a synopsis as I presume you know the fairy tale but to give you clues I'll pose a couple of questions: Did you ever think to ask why a mother of two young daughters lived isolated and alone in the middle of a wood? Did you ever wonder how two girls born to the same woman could be so different in almost all aspects including looks and temperament?

UK Hardcover. Illustrator unknown.

Though I'd heard amazing things about Ms. Lanagan's work for some time and was keen to read a novel-length retelling of a rarely tackled tale, I was put off for the longest time by two things. Firstly, all I really heard about "Tender Morsels", usually coupled with a brief and grudging respect for the writing, was the controversy; how dark and possibly inappropriate the subject matter/context of the story was for young adults to read. I never found myself in a mood to deal with reading about issues of rape, incest and abortion among other dark things so it kept sliding down my to-be-read pile.

Secondly was my awareness of the different covers. The first two I saw were so different from each other it seemed people didn't know what to make of the story. The first one I saw was this one below.

UK/Australian Hardcover of Tender Morsels Illustration by Jerry Caniglia

It felt so dark to me, it reinforced the idea the book wouldn't be something I'd enjoy. I should explain here that I usually read dark stories quite happily. Edgy urban fantasy, dark fantasy, thrillers and suspense that border on (but aren't actually) horror, vampires and monsters of all kinds - bring them on. But when it came to this fairy tale, perhaps because none of the above-mentioned issues are even hinted at in the Grimm's text (unlike Donkeyskin or The Golden Hands/Armless Maiden in which the issues of violence, abuse and incest are clearly part of the story) I think I worried that the 'darkness' was gratuitous. Quite frankly I didn't want to read a story in which some writer indulged in sordid descriptions of pain, abuse and confusion just to garner attention.

The range of different awards being won, along with the cover at the head of the post (which is the second cover I saw and the one sitting in bookstores in the US), changed my perception somewhat. I do think the illustration at the top of the post by Jody Hewgill does a great job at capturing the folktale aspects of the story and the layered, fairy tale nature of the telling. It definitely influenced me adding it to my must-read pile.

I can't remember what finally prompted me to pick up the book, other than a challenge to myself that I should see what the fuss was about, knowing I could put it down should I ever decide enough was enough, but I'm so glad I did. It now among my favorite fairy tale retellings and has been given a place on my 'books I love' shelf.

Australian Paperback Cover of Tender Morsels. Illustration by RuudVanEmpel
(alsoseehere)

Yes, the book does deal with all those issues people are talking about. Yes, you have to wonder whether YA is the right category for this book (clearly YA is a complex genre way beyond preppy high school stories and romantic vampire love interests - "Lord of the Flies" anyone?) but this is what struck me: The scenes which deal with these controversial issues are so matter-of-factly dealt with and somehow gently blunt that you understand exactly how Liga (the main character) feels about every situation. Some is so sadly normal that in some ways it's barely focused on. Other things aren't completely understood by the character and are light on the specifics so it's only from a more aware perspective that we understand what's happening. This doesn't mean it's emotionally distant though - the opposite is true. When Liga finally comes to terms with her past it's a very 'true' scene with great emotional impact.

This excellent article HERE explains Ms. Lanagan's perspective on dark issues in children's literature and why she wrote what she did. And this interview HERE explains more about her process of writing the book and dealing with various characters and subjects.

"Tender Morsels" is hard to describe other than to say my lasting impression of the book is magical, sweet and complicated and anyone that can give me that after taking me through the horrors Liga had to endure is a masterful story teller (expect some discomfort - the first sentence and opening scene specifically clues you in to the fact this isn't a sugar and spice book). For all the darkness in Liga's story and particularly the early scenes, it is the light and magic that remains. It is very true in this case that the light is all the more bright and sweet for the darkness it is pitted against. While you can't forget what Liga went through to bring her two daughters into the world you still have the sense of magic and of fairy tale in it's truest sense.

I haven't even touched on the bear aspects in this book. Bear Day, on which the author writes an additional note in the back of the book, is based on the journée de l'ours (pictures at this link by the way) held every February in a place called Prats de Mollo la Preste (in the Pyrenees) and holds that same combination of raw earthiness and magical wonder the entire book holds. The character of Ramstrong, who is transformed into a bear and retains his gentle dignity, is one of those I'll remember always. He's a pleasant (and healing) contrast to most of the male characters that come before him. Later scenes in which two 'bear-affected' youths bond over tragic events are surprising and touching. Somehow it never seemed important to me that the bear of the fairy tale was a bear as opposed to some other large wild creature. After this novel it now feels that 'bear-ness' is integral to the story.

Soon-to-be-released Australian Cover of Tender Morsels.
Illustration by Shaun Tan, winner of 2009 World Fantasy Best Artist Award.

The new Australian cover (shown above) does a great job of capturing the general feel of the book for me - comforting but with serious teeth and claws. It's not for everyone but then I've never met a book that is. I would suggest reading some excerpts for yourself - lovely ones like the excerpts I posted above and gritty ones (you can find one of the darker passages HERE) - before making up your mind whether or not to pick up a copy.

As much as I adored the novel, I do have some issues with it. I could have done without the details of the cloth men's actions in particular and I have issues with things like the POV juggling and the odd lack of follow-up caused by not returning to various character's POV at key points. There's also the odd, abrupt ending which seemed so at odds with the rest of the book I reread the last chapter to see if I missed something yet overall it's one of those books that stays with you - in a good way. It doesn't have answers, a call to arms or great insights into rehabilitating oppressed and abused women but that's OK because instead it does the same thing fairy tales do: it tells you there's a way to survive, that there are alternatives to being eaten, no matter how tender a morsel you are. It tells you the truth.

Other reviews of "Tender Morsels" (favorable and not so favorable) you may find interesting, are linked below:
Things Mean A Lot
My Fluttering Heart
Locus Online
Fyrefly's Book Blog
The Zen Leaf

Note: There is a list of editions for this book HERE.

Once Upon A Week

Note: I apologize for posting this mid-week but I only found out about the event yesterday afternoon.

Fairy tale books are getting recommended and reviewed by blogs participating in a special cross-blog event called "Once Upon A Week". There are other fairy tale related activities happening too.

The event is being hosted by NotNessie at "Today's Adventure" and her blog has all the links you need to get you started in finding all the recommended reading, reviews, blogger interviews, give-aways, memes and more that are happening this week.

Here are the review links so far. Please contact NotNessie directly if you wish to post and participate:

1.	A Curse Dark As Gold	2.	Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
3.	Princess of the Midnight Ball	4.	Ash
5.	The Baldwin Project, A Website Review	6.	Forest Born
7.	Beastly	8.	Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
9.	Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale	10.	The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, by A.S. Byatt
11.	Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale	12.	Ash Review and Author Interview
13.	Politically Correct Bedtime Stories	14.	Ice, by Sarah Beth Durst

For Thursday she even has a contest to win one of her recommended fairy tale retellings. To qualify people have to rewrite a fairy tale with themselves as one of the characters (which is chosen for you). Details are posted HERE so anyone interested can get writing.

You can find all the information, fun and participants at the Once upon A Week posts for "Today's Adventure" HERE. It's a great way to find fairy tale loving writers and readers and some great new blogs to boot.

Hansel and Gretel:The Graphic Novel & Other Retold Fairy Tales by Graphic Spin (Stone Arch Books)

I found this graphic novel reviewed at The Graphic Classroom and though it came out last year it's very appropriate for the end of Hansel & Gretel week.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the review, which is aimed particularly at teachers and parents:

I always wondered: (as a child reading/or being told the story of Hansel & Gretel) could this happen to me, too? How would I survive if I were left alone to my own devices? Which brings me to this graphic novel version of the classic tale and I can say that this Stone Arch version, adapted by Donald Lemke and illustrated by Sean Dietrich, is strange and odd and creepy in every way you would want the story to be. HANSEL AND GRETEL make good use of the graphic novel format as we see the fragility of the situation etched on the faces of the kids.

...One huge bonus to the Stone Arch fairy tale collection is that in the back of the book, there is a nice overview of where and how the story originated (in this case, the Grimm Brothers may have heard the story of Hansel and Gretel from a woman named Henriette Dorothea Wild, Germany, in the 1800s). The book also features three discussion questions, three writing prompts and then urges readers to explore more about the story on their own. These additions are a nice touch for teachers and students using graphic novels in the classroom.

You can read the rest of the review which looks at the content, the artwork and the suitability for children and for use in the classroom HERE.

The book is by Stone Arch Books graphic novel arm, Graphic Spin, and is one of a series of retold fairy tales. (You can find out more about Graphic Spin and their Fall 2009 releases HERE.) Below are all the fairy tale covers I could find. You can find the amazon list - which includes the Spanish versions - HERE. There is also a complete set available through Stone Arch Books and Amazon.Personally, I love the range of illustrative styles and non-traditional (or non-Disney-esque) representations of the characters and stories. I'm putting a couple on my wishlist to check out the writing and interior .

Hansel and Gretel: The Graphic Novel is available at Amazon HERE.

Fairy Tales for Writers

Since I posted about writing fairy tale based fantasy this week, I thought I'd draw your attention to a fun little book of writing advice that uses fairy tales to impart writing anecdotes and insights: "Fairy Tales For Writers" by Lawrence Schimel.

It's actually a small book of thirteen, often funny, poems (don't worry - you don't need to love poetry to enjoy this one - it's very accessible for all types of readers). If you like metaphors, imagery and fairy tale archetypes you'll really enjoy it. The tales are used very cleverly to illustrate issues in writing.

One note: when I ordered this book a couple of years ago I was surprised to see how small it was when it arrived. The small size was deceptive. This is a very enjoyable (and useful) book and well worth its price.

Here's a review from amazon.com that says it all:

This small, slender, imaginative, hilarious, and all-to-true 30-page collection of poetry by Lawrence Schimel wonderfully and artfully reflects the almost archetypal hopes, ambitions, frustrations, passions, and processes of writing for publication. Here in a kind of poetic folklore format are 'the new writer who encounters a wolf along the path to publication'; the writing workshop member who must always be 'the fairest of them all'; the writer who for the sake of love gives up her own special voice; the shy, anonymous author who slips away before the end of the reading only to be remorselessly tracked down by the editor wanting to publisher her work. Everyone who has ever put pen to paper, and the tried to submit that paper to a publisher, will recognize the poetically expressed truths in Lawrence Schimel's superb little book, "Fairy Tales For Writers". As the last line on the last page of this marvelous little gem has it: "Sometimes there is a happy ending, even in publishing."

You can read a SF Site review HERE. Click HERE to see more details and order.

Disney's Rapunzel Cast & Story News + "Rapunzel's Revenge"

The big news the past few days has been the confirmation of the cast for Disney's Rapunzel. While I'm sad to hear Kristin Chenoweth will not be the heroine as was previously rumored, the new leading lady, Mandy Moore, has grown some decent acting chops in the past few years and her singing voice will sound more along the lines of the classic Disney heroine (get ready for lots of "Mandy Moore lets her hair down" headlines). Her leading man, who's name has now been revealed as "Flynn Ryer", will be played by Zachary Levi (best known for his appealingly nerdy-heroics in ABCs "Chuck").

Here's a quote from empireonline.com, which also reveals a little more of the plot:

Rapunzel. It's Disney's first computer-animated fairytale, and stars Mandy Moore as Rapunzel herself and Chuck's Zachary Levi as Flynn Ryer, a roguish bandit. Alan Menken's writing the music for another musical tale, and Moore will of course be doing her own singing. We were also assured that this particular damsel will not be sitting around waiting for her prince to rescue her, but instead uses her 70ft of hair as a tool, a means of escape and occasionally an Indiana Jones-style whip.

Note in the concept art above how her hair trails along the path. I'm wondering if they ever address the cleaning and tangling issue...

And from The Hollywood Reporter:

"Disney's new Rapunzel picks up with the princess, famous for her 70 feet of golden hair, after she's been stolen from her parents' castle as an infant and imprisoned. Now a teenager, Rapunzel escapes and goes on the run with a bandit, as her captor pursues them."

Anything sound familiar? Specifically the lasso skills of our long-locked heroine? (Please note: I'm not accusing Disney of plagiarism - if you spend some time musing over what to do with really long hair and "make a lasso" is bound to come up at some point!)
If you haven't heard of "Rapunzel's Revenge" by Shannon Hale (yes, the same Shannon who wrote a retelling of "The Goose Girl"), then you're about to. Her red-headed version (Disney is using the traditional 'golden', though it is a little on the strawberry side if development art is any indication) uses her tresses to both escape her situation and save a whole lot of people from a bad situation, Old West style!

Oh yes - and it's a graphic novel. Now, I must admit, this is the very thing that turned me off. I love graphic novels but I'm super-picky about what I read and the art in this GN just isn't in a style that appeals to me (please note: the artist, Nathan Hale - no relation to Shannon, did an amazing job but, personally, I would have liked to have seen the pencil renderings for the panels.) Here's a preview:Regarding the story, here's one of the Editorial reviews/summaries from Amazon.com:

This is the tale as you've never seen it before. After using her hair to free herself from her prison tower, this Rapunzel ignores the pompous prince and teams up with Jack (of Beanstalk fame) in an attempt to free her birth mother and an entire kingdom from the evil witch who once moonlighted as her mother. Dogged by both the witch's henchman and Jack's outlaw past, the heroes travel across the map as they right wrongs, help the oppressed, and generally try to stay alive. Rapunzel is no damsel in distress–she wields her long braids as both rope and weapon–but she happily accepts Jack's teamwork and friendship. While the witch's castle is straight out of a fairy tale, the nearby mining camps and rugged surrounding countryside are a throwback to the Wild West and make sense in the world that the authors and illustrator have crafted. The dialogue is witty, the story is an enticing departure from the original, and the illustrations are magically fun and expressive. –Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, New York Public Library

I took my time purchasing the book and then took even longer to read it, even though I love Shannon Hale's storytelling. I wish I hadn't waited so long. I really enjoyed it and even though I'm more of a 'woods and rivers' girl than a 'sand dunes and desert' gal I thought the Wild West context worked really well. In fact, I would have happily read more (there is a sequel coming by the way). You can find a lot more information about the graphic novel HERE and by clicking on the comic images in this post (the cover will take you to where you can purchase it).Here's an interview with Shannon in which she discusses her love of fairy tales and writing books based on them. "Rapunzel's Revenge" is discussed too and there's a brief preview of some of the artwork from the graphic novel.


After two popular renditions of Rapunzel cracking her braids into action, you DO have to wonder what the Rapunzel Princess costumes are going to be like when the movie comes out in December next year though...

New Retold Fairy Tales Anthology:"Terribly Twisted Tales"

There's a new retold fairy tales anthology out and it's a good one! As with any anthology, expect some variation in the volume but more than a few of these stories would easily fit with the Windling/Datlow Fairy Tale Series (which should already be on your bookshelf).

The book is:
"Terribly Twisted Tales" edited by Jean Grabe & Martin H. Greenberg

There are 18 short stories with quite a variety of authors and approaches. I promised I wouldn't write very much commentary so I'll just say I highly recommend this volume and wish there were more! (hint, hint Grabe/Greenberg!)

Here is Tor.com's review/overview

and here are some comments by a few of the writers on their included works:

Paul Genesee wrote "Revenge of the Little Match Girl"
Kelly Swails wrote "Three Wishes" (don't be fooled by her LJ blog title "Copyright Infringement"- it's her and she's very happy about her story!)
Michael A. Stackpole wrote "The Adventure of The Red Riding Hoods", which finishes the volume.

Circumnavigating Fairyland - New Book & Podcast from CM Valente

Catherynne M. Valente, award winning author of "The Orphan's Tales", is writing - and podcasting - a new YA book with the lengthy and whimsical, wonderfully olde-worlde title of:

"The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making"

After many enquiries as to whether the fairy tale book mentioned in her (very) adult book, "Palimpsest" was real, Valente took it upon herself to bring it into existence. It turns out she really likes writing Young Adult fantasy!

(From CMV's blog:)

This is a book about a little girl named September who gets herself a ticket to Fairyland on the back of The Green Wind and a somewhat cranky Leopard. There she discovers the realm of the capricious Marquess and the dangers of the Perverse and Perilous Sea. It is going to be something else.

In her blog, she talks about her process and discoveries as she writes it. She's also recording herself reading it and posting both the text of the chapters and the audio, week by week, podcast-style as the book is completed. It's completely free though donations are welcome.

You can follow her progress through her blog, week by week through the podcast and also via Twitter. Here's her announcement:

#Fairyland is live! Read girl's adventures w/ leopards, fairies, & customs agents! Read for free, pay if you can! http://tinyurl.com/mbpvur

There are wonderful echoes of "The Orphans Tale" evident already, which should make for a rich, enjoyable experience for the reader/listener and one that stands the test of time.