So You Want to Read About…Cinderella

I am somewhat an aficionado of retold fairy tales. They have become “my thing” for lack of a better word. There are many retellings out there (most in the romance genre) but I present to you some retellings that are close to my heart. If I have missed any that you think belong here, do not hesitate to let me know.

Cinder – Marissa Meyer

This one is set in New Beijing and works closely with the traditional tale while introducing new perspectives and a larger narrative that grounds the tale into its modern reincarnation. I loved the interplay of the fairytale elements and the modern updated heroine. If you haven’t checked this one out, do so. It’s worth a read.

Shadows on the Moon – Zoe Marriott

This one is more a glimpse of Cinderella than an outright retelling. However, it is similar enough that it can be considered a retelling. I found it a lot more complex and intricate than Cinder both in tone and in narration. The influences here are Japanese and the story is quite brilliantly woven in the culture it is set in.

Princess of Glass – Jessica Day George

George takes Cinderella and her fairy godmother and gives them both motivations that are at odds with their traditional roles and by doing so, she makes them more interesting than they would otherwise be. I actually wrote a paper on this and I believe this work is worth a read if only to see how the incarnation of fairy godmother is so different from every other fairy godmother. Also, the romance in this one is particularly fun and engaging.

Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine

Another retelling that takes creative license in the portrayal of fairy godmothers everywhere. I’m sure almost everyone is acquainted with  Lucinda and if not, you really out to be.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister – Gregory Maguire

This is more a literary novel than a popular one and more adult than YA. As such the themes are heavier and the writing is denser. It is fascinating to look at Cinderella from a very different perspective and I realized how skewed my opinions were. This is worth a read if only for the rich world Maguire has created for his novel.

Shadows on the Moon – Zoe Marriott (A Review)

Hardcover, 464 pages
Expected publication: April 24th 2012 by Candlewick Press
Source: Net Galley

Synopsis:

Trained in the magical art of shadow-weaving, sixteen-year-old Suzume is able to re-create herself in any form – a fabulous gift for a girl desperate to escape her past. But who is she really? Is she a girl of noble birth living under the tyranny of her mother’s new husband, Lord Terayama? Or a lowly drudge scraping a living in the ashes of Terayama’s kitchens? Or is she Yue, the most beautiful courtesan in the Moonlit Lands? Whatever her true identity, Suzume is destined to use her skills to steal the heart of a prince in a revenge plot to destroy Terayama. And nothing will stop her, not even the one true aspect of her life- her love for a fellow shadow-weaver.

 

Review:

Gorgeously crafted, intricately detailed, Shadows on the Moon illustrates Marriott’s remarkable story weaving skills. Suzume’s evolution from the carefree girl who frolicked with her cousin under the cherry blossoms to the strong woman at the end of the novel is particularly compelling. The novel is reminiscent of Alison Goodman’s Eona series in its depiction of the struggles of a girl against severely adverse situations. I remember thinking that Marriott has done her research in the writing of this novel (a bit more on this  later) and I am right, Marriott has done a lot of research and it shows in the way her story unfolds.

The pacing, the plotting, everything is spot on and the tiny shades of a Cinderella story blooming here and there does not take away from the overall. Suzume is a fascinating character but she is not the only one. All the side characters serve to make the story more intriguing. Also, the love story itself is fun to read and I like how the sexuality in the main characters is approached. The novel contains a bit of everything and anyone who likes fantasy novels will enjoy this one. So really, the novel itself is completely readable and comes highly recommended by yours truly.

What I did take umbrage with (somewhat, really) is how in the acknowledgements or maybe it is the note at the end, Marriott claims that the world is a new one and has no connection to any Asian country and I find that remiss of her as the Japanese influences are very obvious and credit should go where it deserves to go. I believed the country the story is set in is Japan, albeit not a Japan that exists in history but one in which some things have been altered. I don’t understand why she does not acknowledge the richness of Japanese culture that influenced her writing so that threw me off balance. I mean, the language used in the book is Japanese and that definitely points to a specific Asian country so…really, I don’t get it. At all. As a contrast, I offer Eon/Eona. While that series definitely had Asian influences, it did not name any, nor was it specific to any and as such it was easy enough to believe that there were no specific Asian countries.

You may think I am hung up on something that is admittedly slight but it bothers me. Because I believe that authors who write about cultures (and from perspectives not belonging to them) walk a fine line between appropriation and misappropriation.

But anyway, I believe the book, without the author’s note, is extremely readable and satisfying and you should totally read it. The other stuff I mentioned (I only did because I couldn’t not mention it, that’s the way I roll) is something you will notice if you study literature and if you are concerned with the same things I am.