A Short Review of The Sleeper and the Spindle, by Neil Gaiman
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The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
According to the the front jacket text, "You may think you know this story. There's a young queen about to be married. There are some good, brave, hardy dwarfs..."
What happened after for Snow White, right? Almost. Wait as there's also " a castle, shrouded in thorns; and a princess, cursed by a witch, so rumor has it, to sleep forever." Ahh, Sleeping Beauty, right? But there is a sleeping sickness spreading slowly across the mountains between the two stories, and Snow White's, aka the young queen, kingdom is threatened, and a princess needs rescuing. The young queen postpones her wedding and, as heroes do, "She called for her mail shirt. She called for her sword. She called for provisions, and for her horse, and then she rode out of the palace, towards the east" (21).
But this is a Neil Gaiman retelling of these two stories, and what the young queen finds behind the wall of thorns isn't quite might be expected. Yes, a beautiful young princess sleeps there, cursed by a witch, or a fairy or an enchantress (there is some disagreement about this detail). But there is also dark magic, "which twists and turns and glistens and shines" (front jacket), and there are choices to be made. "There are always choices" (66)
As always, Neil Gaiman is amazing. So is the illustrator of The Sleeper and the Spindle., Chris Riddell. These rich, lush illustrations are part of the story's text, a visual of the narrative.
Recommended.
View all my reviews
The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil GaimanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
According to the the front jacket text, "You may think you know this story. There's a young queen about to be married. There are some good, brave, hardy dwarfs..."
What happened after for Snow White, right? Almost. Wait as there's also " a castle, shrouded in thorns; and a princess, cursed by a witch, so rumor has it, to sleep forever." Ahh, Sleeping Beauty, right? But there is a sleeping sickness spreading slowly across the mountains between the two stories, and Snow White's, aka the young queen, kingdom is threatened, and a princess needs rescuing. The young queen postpones her wedding and, as heroes do, "She called for her mail shirt. She called for her sword. She called for provisions, and for her horse, and then she rode out of the palace, towards the east" (21).
But this is a Neil Gaiman retelling of these two stories, and what the young queen finds behind the wall of thorns isn't quite might be expected. Yes, a beautiful young princess sleeps there, cursed by a witch, or a fairy or an enchantress (there is some disagreement about this detail). But there is also dark magic, "which twists and turns and glistens and shines" (front jacket), and there are choices to be made. "There are always choices" (66)
As always, Neil Gaiman is amazing. So is the illustrator of The Sleeper and the Spindle., Chris Riddell. These rich, lush illustrations are part of the story's text, a visual of the narrative.
Recommended.
View all my reviews
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