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A review by apalershadeofwhite
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, as expected! Below I will give my thoughts on each individual story.
Despite it being terribly slow to begin with, I devoured this book in one sitting! I really enjoyed enjoyed the symbolism and repetition throughout the book. The majority of this symbolic repetition was through the colour white; specifically, white poiret and white roses.
Carter's story contain themes and content of: torture, murder, infidelity, exhibitionism, beastiality, necrophilia, human exchange (possible trafficking), and puberty. Not for the faint of heart!
〰️❌〰️
The Bloody Chamber: Definitely a slow-going story with an egregiously long beginning, but 25 or so pages in, I became really interested in the plot. The revelation of her husbands secret room and the dare to defy him and his orders had me reading line after line with no stopping me. It's just such a shame that the first approximately 25 pages were so, for lack of a better word, boring.
The Courtship of Mr Lyon: naturally, I was quite excited for this story as I am very fond of similar ones about Beauty and the Beast. This story, being much short than the previous, and therefore not possessing an agregiously slow beginning, was much easier to read and be dive into. I was very interested in the notion that Beauty chose to stay at the Beast's house not because he ordered her to like the previous tales (as Mr Lyon, in his beast form, simply suggested the idea). This, in my opinion, was an interesting take on female agency in medieval literature and contrasted greatly will the previously story.
The Tiger's Bride: again, a story I thought I would enjoy because of its resemblance to the age-old Beauty and the Beast tale. This one surprised me, as with the last one, at the interesting take on female agency. However there is little to no female agency in this tale; contrastingly with the previous one. Also, the metamorphosis at the end was really startling and not something I expected at all.
Puss in Boots: this one was quite fun to read as it was very comedic and absurd; there was even rhyme in some places. This was definitely not my favourite story, but it was really fun and comical to read.
The Erl-King: this story is definitely my favourite of the bunch. The imagery was so rife with colour and substance that I couldn't get enough! Also, as a side note, I really enjoyed the reference to Christina Rossetti's 'Goblin Market'.
The Snow Child: good use of repetition and imagery, but the ending was shocking and not in a good way.
The Lady of the House of Love: so beautifully melancholic and dreadfully macabre.
The Werewolf: short and sweet. Well, less sweet and more gruesome. Fast-paced, action-like heroine, amazing retelling.
The Company of Wolves: Definitely another odd one. However, I was very fond of the heroine / protagonist and her female agency. The piece was littered with beautiful imagery and symbolism.
Wolf-Alice: another odd story, but a good one to end with. This story was so odd that it was amazingly interesting. The plot was winding and confusing but ultimately quite entertaining.
Despite it being terribly slow to begin with, I devoured this book in one sitting! I really enjoyed enjoyed the symbolism and repetition throughout the book. The majority of this symbolic repetition was through the colour white; specifically, white poiret and white roses.
Carter's story contain themes and content of: torture, murder, infidelity, exhibitionism, beastiality, necrophilia, human exchange (possible trafficking), and puberty. Not for the faint of heart!
〰️❌〰️
The Bloody Chamber: Definitely a slow-going story with an egregiously long beginning, but 25 or so pages in, I became really interested in the plot. The revelation of her husbands secret room and the dare to defy him and his orders had me reading line after line with no stopping me. It's just such a shame that the first approximately 25 pages were so, for lack of a better word, boring.
The Courtship of Mr Lyon: naturally, I was quite excited for this story as I am very fond of similar ones about Beauty and the Beast. This story, being much short than the previous, and therefore not possessing an agregiously slow beginning, was much easier to read and be dive into. I was very interested in the notion that Beauty chose to stay at the Beast's house not because he ordered her to like the previous tales (as Mr Lyon, in his beast form, simply suggested the idea). This, in my opinion, was an interesting take on female agency in medieval literature and contrasted greatly will the previously story.
The Tiger's Bride: again, a story I thought I would enjoy because of its resemblance to the age-old Beauty and the Beast tale. This one surprised me, as with the last one, at the interesting take on female agency. However there is little to no female agency in this tale; contrastingly with the previous one. Also, the metamorphosis at the end was really startling and not something I expected at all.
Puss in Boots: this one was quite fun to read as it was very comedic and absurd; there was even rhyme in some places. This was definitely not my favourite story, but it was really fun and comical to read.
The Erl-King: this story is definitely my favourite of the bunch. The imagery was so rife with colour and substance that I couldn't get enough! Also, as a side note, I really enjoyed the reference to Christina Rossetti's 'Goblin Market'.
The Snow Child: good use of repetition and imagery, but the ending was shocking and not in a good way.
The Lady of the House of Love: so beautifully melancholic and dreadfully macabre.
The Werewolf: short and sweet. Well, less sweet and more gruesome. Fast-paced, action-like heroine, amazing retelling.
The Company of Wolves: Definitely another odd one. However, I was very fond of the heroine / protagonist and her female agency. The piece was littered with beautiful imagery and symbolism.
Wolf-Alice: another odd story, but a good one to end with. This story was so odd that it was amazingly interesting. The plot was winding and confusing but ultimately quite entertaining.