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Available
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Collection
Publication
Tachyon Publications
Description
"Fantasy icon Jane Yolen (The Devil's Arithmetic, Briar Rose, Sister Emily's Lightship) is adored by generations of readers of all ages. Now she triumphantly returns with this inspired gathering of fractured fairy tales and legends. Yolen breaks open the classics to reveal their crystalline secrets: a philosophical bridge that misses its troll, a spinner of straw as a falsely accused moneylender, the villainous wolf adjusting poorly to retirement. Each of these offerings features a new author note and original poem, illuminating tales that are old, new, and brilliantly refined."--
User reviews
LibraryThing member quondame
Perfectly competent retellings. And what's the point. I just can't get Jane Yolen - whatever she's aiming at, it isn't my viscera. Over the years I've picked up novel after story collection laced with little poetic gems that sparkle and leave me indifferent. Competent and clever, wily even, but not
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to my nose, stinky gutsy. Show Less
LibraryThing member MickyFine
A collection of short stories that riff, retell, and fracture fairy and folk tales from a variety of cultures and countries. Yolen is a skilled hand and the majority of these stories utterly tickled my fancy. My personal favourite was "Sleeping Ugly" in which the sleeping princess trope is
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revisited. I also enjoyed the notes included at the end of the volume on the origins of each of the stories (many of which have appeared in other publications or collections previously) although I could take or leave the poems included for each of these notes as I'm not a big poetry reader. Recommended if you enjoy a good fairy tale retelling. Show Less
LibraryThing member keristars
I often enjoy Jane Yolen's fairy tales in other anthologies, and they are very good amongst the genre, but I struggled to keep motivated to finish all the stories in this book. I often have that problem with short story collections, finding that I'd rather read one or two here and there, spread out
I can't say exactly what makes these stories all feel the same to me. I read about half, maybe more, and there are different themes, tones, and effects, but overall just felt a little ploddingly the same. Maybe it's the narrative voice and Yolen's personal vocabulary all running together? I didn't dislike any of them, I just gradually found my reading pace slowing down (I excitedly devoured the first few! because I love fairy tale retellings!) until it was due back at the library and I just couldn't believe that I would finish before the next due date if I renewed the checkout.
Something that I did dislike about the book - but not the stories themselves - is the conceit of "fractured tales" and pairing each previously-published story with a little history or anecdote related to it and a poem that may or may not be directly related to the story. This is fine, but many of the little add-ons made me wonder why Yolen bothered, and why I bothered flipping to the back of the book to refer to them. Maybe it would have made more sense to put the add-ons directly after the related story, instead of sticking them all in the appendix. Maybe putting them in the appendix was so they'd be easier to skip. I don't know.
I didn't like any of the poems I read and I didn't like the Jane Yolen I met in the little anecdotes.
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over years until I've read them all. This is especially the case when the stories all have the same feel.I can't say exactly what makes these stories all feel the same to me. I read about half, maybe more, and there are different themes, tones, and effects, but overall just felt a little ploddingly the same. Maybe it's the narrative voice and Yolen's personal vocabulary all running together? I didn't dislike any of them, I just gradually found my reading pace slowing down (I excitedly devoured the first few! because I love fairy tale retellings!) until it was due back at the library and I just couldn't believe that I would finish before the next due date if I renewed the checkout.
Something that I did dislike about the book - but not the stories themselves - is the conceit of "fractured tales" and pairing each previously-published story with a little history or anecdote related to it and a poem that may or may not be directly related to the story. This is fine, but many of the little add-ons made me wonder why Yolen bothered, and why I bothered flipping to the back of the book to refer to them. Maybe it would have made more sense to put the add-ons directly after the related story, instead of sticking them all in the appendix. Maybe putting them in the appendix was so they'd be easier to skip. I don't know.
I didn't like any of the poems I read and I didn't like the Jane Yolen I met in the little anecdotes.
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LibraryThing member JennyNau10
I jumped at the chance to read this early. I love all fairy tales, even those who have been re-imagined with new endings. Jane Yolen is a masterful storyteller and keeps the stories dark yet charming which is a difficult balance. There are stories from Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers
They remind of the old Fractured Fairy Tales. There is a Snow White located in West Virginia and many other tales from around the world. I read an advance copy on my kindle and I’m pre-ordering it to add it into our geography studies.
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Grimm, Native American stories, Greek Mythology, Japanese folk tales, Celtic mythology and more. They remind of the old Fractured Fairy Tales. There is a Snow White located in West Virginia and many other tales from around the world. I read an advance copy on my kindle and I’m pre-ordering it to add it into our geography studies.
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LibraryThing member jnmegan
Jane Yolen has been a prolific writer of books and short story collections for all ages since 1969. She has tackled both fiction and nonfiction, and is well regarded as an authority on literary traditions and archetypal themes. Her latest collection, How to Fracture a Fairy Tale, contains
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twenty-eight stories that reimagine classic tales culled from fairy tales, legends, mythology, and folklore from a variety of cultures. In her introduction, Yolen describes her method of “fracturing” as a creative experiment in reexamining the stories through a modern prism. Some of Yolen’s reworkings contain subtle changes, while others contain major overhauls in terms of their point-of-view, setting, mood and moral underpinnings. A couple of her versions also combine tales to create something entirely new. Yolen includes an appendix to the book with information about the origins of the stories, descriptions of her recreation methodology, and sources of inspiration for the revisions. These notes are as fascinating to read as the stories themselves, providing a unique view into Yolen’s process and demonstrating her extensive knowledge on the subject. Some of the tales in the collection are easily recognizable while others are more obscure, but all are delightful and entertaining. Typical collections of short stories with wide-ranging styles usually have some variation in terms of quality, but it would be difficult in this case to identify any weak entries. How to Fracture a Fairy Tale honors the stories and their cultural importance while refreshing them and widening their potential audience. Modern adult readers will enjoy seeing their childhood favorites polished and renewed by Yolen’s skillful hand. Show Less
Awards
Locus Award (Finalist — Collection — 2019)
Original publication date
2018-11
DDC/MDS
| Fic SF Yolen |