A young boy searches for solace over the death of his mother within the pages of old books high in his attic bedroom. And then the books start whispering to him.
It's a fabulous book that journeys through so many different fairy tales I couldn't keep track. It was brilliant and imaginative. Plus I've got a thing for reimagining of fairy tales.
What is it about fairy tales that engages our imaginations? I've always loved them. In high school I played the witch in the famous mash-up of fairy tales, Into the Woods. I think there might've been too much going on for my small town with its small minds to really appreciate. There was more going on than even I could see at the time.
But my love of fairy tales didn't start there. In the third grade my teacher had us all write plays based on familiar stories and fairy tales. Cinderella and the cheerleaders, the Three Little Pigs was was the Three Little Pencils and the Big Bad Eraser--incidentally, I played the big bad eraser. No wonder I have an affinity for good villains.
There's just something about a fresh take on a good fairy tale. I was in the bookstore yesterday, and there was a whole shelf labeled "Not your average fairy tales". Even at the movie theaters there are new versions of old classics.
So what is it? What makes them so irresistible? Why aren't we satisfied with Disney's watered down Cinderella? Why are there so many versions of these tales from so many cultures? What drives us to take these stories and tell them over and over again?
I have a few ideas of my own, but I'd like to know what you think.
The dark tales from the Grimm brothers have inspired so many stories, I'm excited to see what the world will do with 500 more fairy tales.
No comments:
Post a Comment