From reflections on jazz and Japan through vigorous refashionings of classic fairy tales to stunning snapshots of modern life in all its tawdry glo...
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reviews
Jan 06, 2008
Adam
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This is a complete collection of Carter’s excellent short from her sadly short career. Her work takes stock imagery of our imagination (legends and historical figures) and plunges it into her surreal and gothic imagination and re-imagines, demythologizes, or makes it utterly unrecognizable. Resembling the work of Borges, Dineson, Brothers Grimm, Burroughs, Hoffman, and Poe but still really being unique and in her own voice. Highlights include “Loves of Lady Purple”, “The Tiger Bride”, “Fall Rive
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Dec 28, 2007
Elan
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an ex-lover gave me the gift of angela carter, and when she did, she confessed that every time she opened her copy of "burning your boats" that she found some new story she had not read before. shortly after that, i got my own copy of the collection. i've had it for several years, travelled with it, kept it close to my beds and my toilets, and the same seems true for me. i am forever falling in love with this book, forever reading tales of werewolves and purple-madam-puppets and tig
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Jun 12, 2010
Lisa
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I first encountered Carter in an English class, where I was required to use a school of literary analysis to analyze one of three given texts (I choose Carter's "The Tiger's Bride.") I selected feminism (although I almost chose deconstruction!) and found that this story changed my personal life and how I view sex and my sexual relationships. So, I had to buy the book. This review will pertain primarily to "The Bloody Chamber" section of this book, which contains her collect
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Jul 27, 2011
Angela Carter is a wonderful writer, but the short story form is not her forte. There are some good stories in this volume, but there are rather more meandering, pointless, plotless pieces of prose. Many of these non-stories are not unenjoyable to read because the quality of her prose is so fantastic, if occasionaly overripe. Salman Rushdie says in the introduction that he thinks Carter has entered the canon and will be remembered for the Bloody Chamber. I think that's shite. I enjoyed the Infer
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Jun 18, 2011
Michelle
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Okay, so first a disclaimer. Angela Carter makes me feel a little uncomfortable and she's okay with that. I'm okay with it too, because she is a good writer, and because she does not shy away from disconcerting topics and strong, often anti-typical female characters.
Burning Your Boats is a collection of all of her short stories. Topics covered include incest, murder, Edgar Allan Poe, Lizzie Borden, Vampires (not in a "Twilight-y" way), Wolves, Japan, and Puppets. But the reaso More...
Burning Your Boats is a collection of all of her short stories. Topics covered include incest, murder, Edgar Allan Poe, Lizzie Borden, Vampires (not in a "Twilight-y" way), Wolves, Japan, and Puppets. But the reaso More...
Dec 09, 2010
Suna
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Well I enjoyed it, but as I hadn't realized that this book incorporated anthologies I'd already read, it wasn't the glittering treasure trove I'd hoped for.
The absolutely smashing introduction by Salman Rushdie far outstrips some of the stories in this book. Heresy, I know.
For starters, The Bloody Chamber keeps coming out on top as The One, with Fireworks as a very close second, so nothing elated me as much as these sets of stories did.
And then there were sto More...
The absolutely smashing introduction by Salman Rushdie far outstrips some of the stories in this book. Heresy, I know.
For starters, The Bloody Chamber keeps coming out on top as The One, with Fireworks as a very close second, so nothing elated me as much as these sets of stories did.
And then there were sto More...
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Dec 09, 2008
Ciara
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i was first introduced to angela carter in college, when we did a writing exercise contrasting her verbose prose against the clipped, controlled style of lorrie moore (another author i like a lot). after reading carter's novella the bloody chamber (included in this collection) for the exercise, i decided to seek out more of her writing. this is a collection of her short stories & novellas, which are mostly perverse & feminist-minded updates of classic fairy tales. "the bloody chamber"
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Feb 06, 2008
Anuar
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This book is kind of dark for me. Nevertheless, I still find this collection of short stories by the late Angela Carter, fascinating. As a first time reader of her book, I initially find the subjects covered in these stories were somewhat bewildering and difficult to fathom. Her outright openness on the subject of sexuality, mysticism, fantasies, folklore, etc, can be overwhelming at first. Her style of writing soon grows on you though. Her play on well known tales from the past told in a ne
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Dec 27, 2007
Felicity
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If I had only one word to describe Angela Carter, I think I might go with "audacious". One lonely adjective, however, never satisfied Carter or me.
Carter's imagination is dark, elemental and disturbing, and it wends its way through a rich intellectual landscape. I happen to share Carter's interests in certain motifs, themes and tropes -- fairy tales, folklore, the ocean and forest in myth, and others -- and the rich variety of topics, settings and structures in the collecti More...
Carter's imagination is dark, elemental and disturbing, and it wends its way through a rich intellectual landscape. I happen to share Carter's interests in certain motifs, themes and tropes -- fairy tales, folklore, the ocean and forest in myth, and others -- and the rich variety of topics, settings and structures in the collecti More...
May 20, 2009
Never heard of Angela Carter until an oblique mention in a recent Telegraph article, but I was feeling froggy and thus jumped up on it (Amazon 2009-05-20). Seems to have some strong reviews here, as well as some weak ones; we'll see how it goes. Mmmm, speaking of which, I want to reread some of Ms. O'Connor's stories tonight or tomorrow.
Feb 21, 2011
Krista
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WARNING: Angela Carter uses disturbing, dreamlike and at times very sexual images in her fiction so if that bothers you stay away.
That said, I enjoyed reading some of her short stories again. I was introduced to Carter and her lush prose in my 500 level Lit Theory class. I suppose my professor wanted to use Carter as an example of feminist theory. Or maybe it was deconstruction...(guess I should have paid more attention! Believe it or not I got an A in that class.)
Carte More...
That said, I enjoyed reading some of her short stories again. I was introduced to Carter and her lush prose in my 500 level Lit Theory class. I suppose my professor wanted to use Carter as an example of feminist theory. Or maybe it was deconstruction...(guess I should have paid more attention! Believe it or not I got an A in that class.)
Carte More...
Sep 14, 2011
Erin
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These stories are dreadful and uncomfortable. You find yourself reading against your better judgement as the dread greets you and sticks around until the end. I am personally not a huge fan of "dark" retelling of already dark folklore and fairy tales, or so I've been learning after reading this and Fables in the same week. But, she is a remarkable author, despite me making my "ugh ew what no gross really?" face while reading her stories.
Oct 04, 2009
Orionisisgray
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This collection includes a number of juicy treats, including The Bloody Chamber series of dark fairy tale reworkings from the gothic, bizarre, feminist master of the macabre. What a pleasure. Angela does have a tendency to go WAY over the top sometimes, but not so in these short stories. I think the format gives her a chance to shine. Like Haruki Murakami says, some writers are just short story writers, the way some runners are just sprinters.
Sep 18, 2008
Ollie
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Reading a short story by Angela Carter is the equivalent of visiting a friend who has travelled the world and now lives by herself in an apartment filled with cats, trinkets and incense. Some days, as you sit in this friend's living room, waiting for her to brew some exotic tea, the scent of burning incense lulls you into a reverie, the way in which the sunlight hits the smoke gives her living room a mysterious feel. At other times, your friend makes the mistake of lighting too many incense stic
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Apr 19, 2011
David
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This is probably, hands down, one of the best collections I have every read. Carter's prose makes Nabokov's look downright clumsy. Her stories are an electric mix of fairy tale and feminist punk rock. No offense to Neil Gaiman, but a mediocre story from this collection could bite the head off the best in any of his collections. I'm just sad that this is it as far as her short fiction goes. On to the novels.
Oct 29, 2011
Christopher
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If she were alive today, they would say, "Bad woman! Bad!" because of her lack of compromise on textual aesthetics. When she was alive, they said, "Bad woman! Bad!" because aesthetics of her characters. You can't just like Angela Carter. You can't say, "Oh! this was a good book..." You have say, "Even though I oppose the idea of marriage, I would wed this collection."
Jan 03, 2009
Megan
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I kind of love Angela Carter right now. Maybe you'll dismiss this review because I'm such a fan of retold fairy tales and, umm, introductions written by Salman Rushdie (one of my all-time faves) ... but I really enjoy Carter's writing and I even liked the stories that weren't related to fairy tales.
Some of the stories in this collection are better (or worse) than others, but I was pretty happy with all of it.
Some of the stories in this collection are better (or worse) than others, but I was pretty happy with all of it.
Jun 30, 2009
Jesse
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Carter's short stories are peerless, and this little beast houses all of them. Taking it off the shelf and reading a story or two from time to time restores my faith in the world and in writing. All hyperbole aside, Carter is one of the most brilliant authors of this or any other age.
Sep 12, 2010
Gisela
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Angela Carter deveria ser de leitura obrigatória.
Neste volume estão reunidos todos os seus contos, dos quais destaco os que foram anteriormente publicados como [book:The Bloody Chamber|49011, contos de fadas para adultos.
Fabuloso...
Neste volume estão reunidos todos os seus contos, dos quais destaco os que foram anteriormente publicados como [book:The Bloody Chamber|49011, contos de fadas para adultos.
Fabuloso...
Mar 11, 2009
Lord
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I don't really know how to describe my love for Angela Carter. Her work is magical and hilarious, horrific and heart-warming all at the same time. Her imagery is so vivid and her descriptions so exact you feel that her writing can create all the senses to come straight from the page and into reality. Also, judging by her frequent mention of cats, I can definitely assume she was a crazy cat lady. This = one more reason to adore her.
Oct 26, 2010
Theresa
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I can't give Angela Carter anything less than five stars, even though some of her writing is so dense you need a machete to hack through it.
Jan 20, 2011
Msmurphybylaw
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I went ahead and bought the book. I pick it up in-between great books and shitty ones to help me shift my attitude.
I don't recommend reading it as a whole. It is very dense and the little genre's need ample time to simmer.
Angela Carter packs so much life into shorts that I am lifted out of my mind long enough to gain perspective on whatever it is that I am into at the moment.
I need that shift often so I keep this book at my bedside.
Ah! Japan...time to visit.
I don't recommend reading it as a whole. It is very dense and the little genre's need ample time to simmer.
Angela Carter packs so much life into shorts that I am lifted out of my mind long enough to gain perspective on whatever it is that I am into at the moment.
I need that shift often so I keep this book at my bedside.
Ah! Japan...time to visit.
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Dec 17, 2009
Saranna
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Another favorite anthology! Angela Carter has a unique voice and her work is surreal, but visceral at the same time.
Jul 30, 2011
Julie
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The Tiger's Bride, The Bloody Chamber and In the Company of Wolves are my favourites. I'm in love. xo
Dec 15, 2011
Anna
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All the reviews described a book that was right up my alley, but.... I just couldn't get into it! I don't know why. While it was beautifully written, there just wasn't enough meat to the stories to hold my attention. Finally, I decided it was just time to move on.
Jun 30, 2009
Bill
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What the short story was made for. She makes the Grimms look 1 dimensional.
