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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i understand what it was trying to do, but that was slightly too problematic for me
I heard of this book through the DVD commentary of the film "Candy," with Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish. The writer planted The Robber Bridegroom on Ledger's character's nightstand, which I never would have noticed on my own. The film mention piqued my curiosity, and honestly I'm amazed that I hadn't read any Eudora Welty up till now.
The novel is loosely inspired by the German fairytale collected by the Brothers Grimm and contains all the classic elements of great storytelling - mistaken identities, larger-than-life characters, a cruel and jealous stepmother, beauty and horror, sex and violence. Except this story turns each device on its head so that nothing is truly clear-cut and predictable. Welty's writing is breathtaking, visual and visceral in its descriptions, eerie and haunting and seductive all at once. The ending feels a bit abrupt, but overall it's an elegantly twisted, delightfully perverse fairytale.
The novel is loosely inspired by the German fairytale collected by the Brothers Grimm and contains all the classic elements of great storytelling - mistaken identities, larger-than-life characters, a cruel and jealous stepmother, beauty and horror, sex and violence. Except this story turns each device on its head so that nothing is truly clear-cut and predictable. Welty's writing is breathtaking, visual and visceral in its descriptions, eerie and haunting and seductive all at once. The ending feels a bit abrupt, but overall it's an elegantly twisted, delightfully perverse fairytale.
Not really sure what to make of that, but I can see why they made a musical of it.
Loved the fairy tale feel but cringed more than a little at the romanticizing of the antebellum South. I know that's part of the southern gothic flair, but being told your fairy story heroes 'keep a hundred slaves' is like a punch in the gut. Maybe that's what Welty was going for.
Leseeindruck
Es ist ein wirklich schön geschriebenes Märchen. Vor allem ist es relativ lang und man kann gut darin versinken. Den einzigen Kritikpunkt, den ich habe, ist das es an einigen wenigen Stellen für mich zu schnell und sprunghaft war. Sonst ist es ein wirklich gutes Buch. Ich kann mir vorstellen ein weiteres von ihr zu lesen.
PS: Das Cover ist wirklich hübsch, trotz der intensiven Farbe.
Es ist ein wirklich schön geschriebenes Märchen. Vor allem ist es relativ lang und man kann gut darin versinken. Den einzigen Kritikpunkt, den ich habe, ist das es an einigen wenigen Stellen für mich zu schnell und sprunghaft war. Sonst ist es ein wirklich gutes Buch. Ich kann mir vorstellen ein weiteres von ihr zu lesen.
PS: Das Cover ist wirklich hübsch, trotz der intensiven Farbe.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So disappointing. Racist toward native Americans, wonky prose, bad vibes. Was hard to finish even though only 180 pages.
I chose to read this for 2 reasons : I played Rosamund in the musical and had never read the book, and I'm trying to blow through some quick novels before the end of the year to meet my reading goal for the year.
This is a fun and wildly exaggerated fable that, admittedly, has some plotlines that haven't exactly aged well (I'll skip the spoilers, but think rape, fighting Inguns, boastful talk of owning 100 slaves...you get the idea).
That said, Welty's descriptions of the forests, the sky, and of nature in general are really stunning. The characters are painted quickly but clearly, and with comforting predictability (evil stepmother and her goat-man sidekick...handsome bandit...beautiful innocent daughter...). It reads much like a fable. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This is a fun and wildly exaggerated fable that, admittedly, has some plotlines that haven't exactly aged well (I'll skip the spoilers, but think rape, fighting Inguns, boastful talk of owning 100 slaves...you get the idea).
That said, Welty's descriptions of the forests, the sky, and of nature in general are really stunning. The characters are painted quickly but clearly, and with comforting predictability (evil stepmother and her goat-man sidekick...handsome bandit...beautiful innocent daughter...). It reads much like a fable. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have to admit - I enjoyed this novel more than I thought I would! It's a slim volume, with very easy to read prose, witty asides and interesting turns of phrases. It reads like a fairy tale, tall tale and parable all rolled up in one. The plot this story follows is very fanciful, full of mis-communications, unlikely coincidences, and meaningful imagery. While the story is inspired by The Robber Bridegroom, I feel there are also influences of the Greek myth Psyche and Eros and Beauty and the Beast. Which adds a lot of dimensions to the original fairy tales. There are many references to stories and characters I did not pick up on - Mike Fink and the Harp brothers are mentioned in the plot summary - but probably more frontier legends and stories that I am not familiar with. In this case, this story seemed rich with lore, and I thought it very interesting how the author wove all these elements together.
The story moves quickly, and in very unconventional ways. The things that happen are sometimes nonsensical, but very in the tradition of fairy tales. I thought it was a lovely, well-written, unusual story with very broad characterizations and an interesting twist on The Robber Bridegroom fairy tale. It takes a fairly dark tale, and makes it brighter and more hopeful.
The story moves quickly, and in very unconventional ways. The things that happen are sometimes nonsensical, but very in the tradition of fairy tales. I thought it was a lovely, well-written, unusual story with very broad characterizations and an interesting twist on The Robber Bridegroom fairy tale. It takes a fairly dark tale, and makes it brighter and more hopeful.