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A review by corncobwebs
The Light Princess by George MacDonald
Light of spirit, by my charms,
Light of body, every part,
Never weary human arms-
Only crush thy parents' heart!
Wanted to read this because Tori Amos wrote the music and lyrics for a musical adaptation of the story. Funny, I assumed that "light" referred to illumination (like the light from the stars), but it really has to do with a princess who loses her gravity and is light in terms of weight. It's a typical fairy tale, wherein a curse is issued; princess is doomed; kingdom mourns; gallant prince steps forward, risks life for princess; he saves her, curse is broken, and he manages to hang on to his own life. I guess this is why I'm not a big fairy tales person -- it seems like the basic plot is often the same, with just variations in the details. I did like that the princess saves the prince from drowning -- that was relatively feminist, and seems to defy standard fairy tale conventions. I also enjoyed Maurice Sendak's illustrations in the edition that I read. They're more realistic than what I typically associate with his style, but they're still distinctly Sendak. Now I'm hoping that they release a DVD version of the musical so I can see Tori Amos' take on the story.
Light of body, every part,
Never weary human arms-
Only crush thy parents' heart!
Wanted to read this because Tori Amos wrote the music and lyrics for a musical adaptation of the story. Funny, I assumed that "light" referred to illumination (like the light from the stars), but it really has to do with a princess who loses her gravity and is light in terms of weight. It's a typical fairy tale, wherein a curse is issued; princess is doomed; kingdom mourns; gallant prince steps forward, risks life for princess; he saves her, curse is broken, and he manages to hang on to his own life. I guess this is why I'm not a big fairy tales person -- it seems like the basic plot is often the same, with just variations in the details. I did like that the princess saves the prince from drowning -- that was relatively feminist, and seems to defy standard fairy tale conventions. I also enjoyed Maurice Sendak's illustrations in the edition that I read. They're more realistic than what I typically associate with his style, but they're still distinctly Sendak. Now I'm hoping that they release a DVD version of the musical so I can see Tori Amos' take on the story.