Still trying to digest this one by reading up on some secondary literature. I liked how whimsical and fantastical it was but there were also several aspects that seem offensive, overly brutal, possibly sexist and racist. The academic angle makes me reconsider these aspects as intentional, satirical and even subliminally feminist (something I’ve come to expect of Carter’s work). I like to be challenged by my books every now and then but I also wish this novel had focused less on the uncomfortable sexual encounters (and rape) and more on its scientific dissection of magic and subversion of common fairy tale tropes.