The Bloody Chamber (1979)

There are certain books that, when I finally get around to reading them, leave me wondering how the hell I managed to reach the age I have without having done so before. This collection was definitely one of those. Because I love fairy tale retellings and reworkings, and Angela Carter's are -- rightfully, it turns out -- regarded as standout examples

Only it turns out they're even more than that. I found this collection absolutely stunning. Carter's writing seems to weave a dark, complicated magic of its own. Which is all the more impressive because, in some of these stories, there were moments when I stopped, pulled back a little, thought about the kind of language she was using to tell her tale, and realized that, honestly, it all feels like it ought to be a little... overwrought. Purple, even, in places. And yet, holy crap, does it somehow work to just pull you along, somehow. The language, the imagery, the familiar fairy tale elements and the way they twist and transform into shapes that are completely unexpected and yet somehow don't feel as if they should be unexpected... It all seems to work to completely bypass the rational part of my brain and inject something wonderful and disturbing directly into my veins. And yet, I have the very strong feeling that I could probably revisit these stories any number of times, with or without my analytical brain fully engaged, and find something new to think about in them every time.

It's a rare and incredible thing when I finish a work of fiction and find myself just sitting there saying wow out loud for a little while afterward. This collection did it for me twice: once when I finished "The Lady of the House of Love" (a vampire tale with echoes of Sleeping Beauty), and then again when I finished the whole collection.

Wow. ( )

Wolves, fairy tales, princesses, castles, beauties, beasts. That may sound like your thing or not at all (me more the latter) but Angela Carter is such a wizard with language and narrative that she seduces you into caring. Not always but better than just about anyone. I would totally read more of her stuff. ( )

I have yet to find a short stories collection that I really love. I was hoping this would be the one. The first three stories were pretty good and I enjoyed them. The middle three not so much, pretty boring. The last three were just plain weird. I can't say I really liked the writing style either though so that probably didn't help. I'm not sure what the style is, gothic maybe? Anyway just an ok read for me. ( )

So I read this for The Dead Writers Society 2016 Genre Challenge for September 2016 and also decided to include this for Halloween Bingo 2016 Scary Women (Authors) square. After hearing how bad the book I chose for that bingo is, I already see a DNF in my future, and as you guys know, DNFs don't count for the bingo.

I finished this collection in about 2.5 hours. I would have finished it faster, but I was half asleep while reading, and had to go back through other parts again just to refresh myself.

I thought all of the stories had a dark bent and sexual element to the story. I thought the writing was a bit much in the first story, "The Bloody Chamber" but it definitely evoked more Gothic writing so I got why the author chose to do that. That was hands down my favorite story of the collection. There was more depth in this story and I loved the dark bent on Bluebeard's Wife which is already freaking dark to begin with.

"The Bloody Chamber" (5 stars)-An update to Bluebeard. I really liked the story, but I really don't get how the young wife and her husband met.

"The Courtship of Mr. Lyon" (5 stars)-An update to Beauty and the Beast. I kind of hated Beauty in this one.

"The Tiger's Bride" (3 stars)-Color me confused. I am still trying to figure out the fairy tell aspect of this one. I just gave up. It felt like another twist to Beauty in the Beast.

"Puss-in Boots" (3 stars)-This one was fairly long and I was bored throughout. Definitely one of the weakest stories.

"The Erl-King" (3.5 stars)-The most lyrical of all of the stories. I liked it, but really couldn't figure out the fairy tale one it was linked to. And since I had the longest week of my life, didn't try to look too hard.

"The Snow Child" (1 star)-Creepy and pretty gross. This is the author's take on Snow White.

"The Lady of the House of Love" (3.5 stars)-Seemed to be a mix of Jack and the Beanstalk along with Sleeping Beauty. I needed a rebound after Snow Child.

"The Werewolf" (3 stars)-Take on Red Riding Hood. The lice parts were so gross.

"The Company of Wolves" (3 stars)-This was okay. I just got tired of reading about wolves after the preceding story and the next story after this one.

"Wolf-Alice" (3 stars)- Once again an okay story.

I honestly only had two stories that I thought were really good, with the remaining ones being just okay to meh. ( )

Alone in the woods
Red fights off a hungry wolf
what a boss ass bitch. ( )