The Bloody Chamber & Other Stories by Angela Carter {Goodreads}
Published by Penguin Classics in 2015
75th Anniversary paperback edition; 162 pages {BookDepository}
The Bloody Chamber & Other Stories is a collection of short stories by
Angela Carter in which she gave new life to some of the most famous fairytales,
mainly Beauty & The Beast.
This was my
first time reading anything by Carter and I have to say I was completely blown
away by her incredibly powerful and atmospheric language. And what is more
important: they are focused on women, on their sexuality and their fierceness.
Carter writes bold women, independent, who learn and seek what they desire. It
gives such strength to the stories and tinges them with a triumphant tone. And
oh how much I liked that!
Carter
discusses so many themes: wildness in women, marriage, sexual awakening, decay
and transformation and of course, gender. To say the stories are clearly
feminists would be an understatement. She writes so right in your face in such
a brutal way that is impossible to not feel compel by the stories. She doesn’t
hold anything back and the effect she creates is one not easy to forget. And
all the while she delights her readers not only with gothic elements that sent
chill down my spine but also an evocative writing style that made me picture
everything within my mind, from the setting and the characters of each story to
the feelings they are experiencing. My favourite stories were Puss-in-Boots, The Lady of the House of Love, The
Courtship of Mr. Lyon and The Company
of Wolves.
I would
highly recommend reading this collection if you enjoy: (1) fairytales or
fairytales re-tellings, (2) beautiful writing style and (3) powerful women
please pick this up, you won’t regret it. I certainly didn’t and I own another
collection by her that I’m dying to sink my teeth into because… you know…
awesomeness and all that.
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