Carter has re-imagined familiar fairy stories to create the tales in The Bloody Chamber. In some the starting points are very recognisable and/or are pointed out in the title and for some I didn't recognise the original tale. There are a few stories which are similar; a couple take Little Red Riding Hood as a starting point, and it is interesting the way these have been curated, invariably the similar ones sit next to each other, which definitely affects your reading of them.
The stories are fascinating, some are graphic, dark and deep, others are lighter and funnier, but still with a dark undercurrent. All are compelling and beautifully written. Puss-in-Boots was my favourite, one of the lighter ones and a vibrant fairy-tale. Puss is imagined as a crude street cat who is valet to a young man, all is well until the man falls in love and adventure ensues. The title story is very dark and quite haunting and this is the story in which the language is most noticable. Carter's prose is visceral and she seems to have a huge passion for the crafting of scentences which are more than the sum of their parts.
I'm reading The Well of Loneliess by Radclyffe Hall now, the quality of prose is alot different to Carter's, but after reading short stories and collecting only fragments of a whole it's good to read this, which is following Stephen as she grows up and discovers life.
I'm reading The Well of Loneliess by Radclyffe Hall now, the quality of prose is alot different to Carter's, but after reading short stories and collecting only fragments of a whole it's good to read this, which is following Stephen as she grows up and discovers life.
