Bonnie’s Comments (group member since Jan 18, 2020)

Bonnie’s comments from the Once Upon a Time... group.

A few notes about Spinning Silver:
- I liked that the young women in the tale saw needs, stepped in to address and take the lead.
- The switch between various points-of-view were neat and brought depth to the story. The one POV that annoyed me was the youngest brother's.
- I wanted more closure on Chergnoble. Did he end up an ember in a tiny container?
- Good for Miriyam and her happily ever after. She was a practical, clever, go-getter and I appreciated that. However, can you be either a practical, go getter or a vulnerable softie? Seems like a moral of the story might be how to balance.
- I didn't read the traditional Rumpelstiltskin. Was this re-visioning quite different?
- The setting in Russia and characterization of the Jewish culture was interesting. I wasn't put off by it, but I wondered if it played too much on sterotypes... or was that a moral within the story and I completely missed it?

I'm sorry to hear about your grandbaby. Sending well wishes.

Finished last night. Will post thoughts sometime this week. I really like Novik's style, but it does get tedious a bit. I found Uprooted to be the same.

Lisa wrote: "Awesome, Bonnie!
I freely admit that I didn't re-read the Villeneuve version again this time, as I have read it so many times it's kind of crazy. But I'm like you, it's my very favorite tale and m..."

Thanks, Lisa!

Cheryl wrote: "Oh, wow, I sure thank you for those 'shocking' tidbits! I also wish my copy would come in at the library....

Off to your website now!"

Awesome! Hope you discovered a new BATB the check out. Cheers!

I love Beauty and the Beast. It's my favorite fairy tale, and I guess I started appreciating it when Disney released their tale in the 1990s. Several years ago I started a blog to capture all of the "Beauty and the Beast" retellings I've covered. It also caused me to want to read the original, so I appreciate that we are discussing it this month.

There were quite a few things I was shocked to see in the original tale by Madame Barbot de Villeneuve. Shocked in the, I want to know more about that tidbit, kind of way. For example:
- Beauty is the daughter of a fairy!?! This is a missing opp for Disney and retellings. There's a lot of fairy lore and juicy drama just waiting to be built out from the original tale.
- The Beast woos Beauty in her dreams, as her "Beloved Unknown." She doesn't fall in love with the Beast! She feels indebted to him for the loot he gave to her and her family.
- The Beast/Prince is without a name. Well, all of the characters are. It does keep them situated as allegories, which was an original point of the tale, I suppose.
- There's a Good Fairy and Evil Fairy influence. Again, I wanted to know a whole lot more about that.
- The Beast's mother is not about to let him marry the lowly daughter of a merchant, even though she saved his freakin' life. Rude, and not indicative of current-day fairy tale expectations. But it does speak to the social mores at the time of writing.

I enjoyed the original version by Mme. Villeneuve more for the sub-plot of a deeper, vicious soap opera in the fairy empire. I was prepared for a simple, moral rich fairy tale. Nope. More like As the Fairy World Turns.

There are plenty of fun renditions of "Beauty and the Beast." If you're interested in options, please visit me at https://www.theborrowedrose.com.

I also blogged about my take on Mme. Villeneuve's original at https://www.theborrowedrose.com/2019/....

Cheers all!

Nightshtand: Eyes of the Void
Non-Fic: Still working through Caste

A Beauty & the Beast selection, my favorite! Enjoy!

What a great choice for book club! and the recipe is fun. Thanks for sharing!

I'm curious as to how "A Crown of Snow and Ice" compares to the original fairy tale. A review of the original is on my list.

I usually have a few going, too. I'm early into Rosemary and Rue, the Four Agreements and need to pick another one.