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Read Snow White And Rose Red (1993)

Snow White And Rose Red (1993)

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Rating
3.73 of 5 Votes: 4
Your rating
ISBN
0812534972 (ISBN13: 9780812534979)
Language
English
Publisher
tor books

Snow White And Rose Red (1993) - Plot & Excerpts

I love Patricia C. Wrede, so I had high hopes for this book, especially since it takes on a fairy tale that has not been retold to death. Apparently this was one of her earliest works, and it shows. Set in Elizabethan England, the characters speak in the dialect of the time, and it usually comes off sounding stilted at best--especially against the not-Elizabethan descriptions of everything else, as well as occasional bursts of modern-day speech by the characters--and at the worst like something a fourth-grader wrote. "Mother, hast thou the poultice? This gentleman haveth need." "Nay child!" etc.The dialogue was the first stumbling block but I kept trudging on, only to find other problems. The villains--a discontented fairy, a water spirit, and either a tree spirit or a troll, it's never entirely clear--are straight out of an early-90s Disney movie knockoff, and I kept picturing them as poorly drawn cartoons. Their motives are never really explained, but since they're evil I suppose their aspiration is just to be evil and do harm to the good people/gain POWER OVER FAERIE.A few times it seemed like there wasn't enough time to write a scene, so things are moved along/explained not by the characters themselves but by the omniscient narrator. "By chance, the Widow, Rose and Blanche were gone from the cottage that day, so their existence was not discovered by the other two sets of magicians." Oh ok, thanks for that. I was really worried! (Plus: That the Widow never earns a name is annoying. She has a last name, which I've forgotten, but for the most part she's referred to simply as "the Widow.")There's some romance, and I am pretty sure the book ends with a double wedding, considering there are two beautiful sisters AND two handsome, upstanding faerie princes as major characters. The romances are clumsily moved along via too-loud protestations and encouraging words that are not only part of the dialogue but also explained by that pesky narrator. "Blanche's sudden, uncharacteristic burst of feeling met with a puzzled glance from Hugh, an exchange not lost on the Widow."There are many similar gestures and expressions that are carefully described as to make abundantly clear that some people are in LOVE, some people are SHIFTY, etc. People pull wicked faces while other people's backs are conveniently turned to reach for a spell ingredient. People close their eyes during a spell and so can't see that their two evil henchmen are exchanging knowing glances. And, in one especially annoying, useless scene, the prince notices that one of the Queen's 14 ladies in waiting has a brief expression of triumph/malice when the Queen is delivering some bad news. Even though he's been astute enough to notice this millisecond-long smile, the narrator tells us that he's too busy to deal with it and so forgets about it immediately. By the final third of the book, I was so bored that I couldn't finish. I knew the evil people were about to make one last push to finish their evilness, and that the good people were probably going to have a few stressful moments before they came out on top, but I just didn't care about any of them. I was excited that this book was reprinted, but IMO it does nothing to further Wrede's catalog. Her short stories, Enchanted Forest books and Cecilia books are much better than this Robin McKinley wannabe, and I hope that this was no one's first Wrede experience.As a side note, this book originally appeared in Terri Windling's fairy tale series. Most of the other titles are out of print (fine by me, if they're like this one) with the exception of Briar Rose, Jane Yolen's excellent, haunting retelling of the Holocaust and Sleeping Beauty.

I don't have that many skeletons in my closet, but the ones that are there are all wearing Renaissance Faire costumes and this book is largely to blame. If I gave stars based on how much I loved a book when I was 15 this one would get 10. And it's holding up well -- I don't have to feel faintly embarrassed for my former self. PCW did a good job with the language -- I appreciate it more now than I did as a teenager, especially since it's so rare that anyone even bothers to try. She did her historical homework and blended history and fairy tale seamlessly. I started off giving this book four stars because I was trying to be temperate and mature. But I'm upping it because nowhere does she claim that witches were burned. So for lovely language, and lovely story-telling, and good history, and especially for dealing accurately with pre-modern witchcraft, I'm giving this book five stars.

What do You think about Snow White And Rose Red (1993)?

After a class on fairy tale this past semester, this more recent offering was a pleasure to read. Each chapter headed with the Grimm version, Wrede has taken this story and given it a heavy mediaeval feel, including John Dee, historical figure, to give it heft and to bring difficulties of the wise women, whose simples brought a more satisfying relief to the ill and suffering than the medical regimens of the doctors of the era did, to the fore. There is also the weaving in of the faerie world, the sense of 'something other' that was felt in the depths of the woods and forests. Wrede writes a credible narrative, just enough of the real and the faerie, the superstition and wisdom, that gave the late Middle Ages its mystery and charm. The other stories in this series entice. Now to find them.
—Shari

This was such a fun read and surprisingly quick! Thanks to Alyssa for suggesting this one for an OtSP read! :) Well. The best thing about this for me was the personalities. I loved the characters and thinking back on it (well, after having just finished), they're what really stand out for me. I LOVED every single character and the ending was just perfect. Well, this also takes place in an Elizabethan sort of setting and the language matches soooo. It was a bit much for me at times. Like, if I wasn't reading this with Alyssa & Amy, I probably would have easily been scared away by the language alone (thee! thou! eek!) but I started to get the hang of it. Sometimes I felt less scholarly. Sometimes I felt more scholarly. Sometimes I just got lost in the story and the language wasn't as apparent BUT definitely something for new readers to be aware of! A fun retelling too. I'm not as familiar with the original tale -- I think I read way back in the day when I was a kid but forgot a lot about it -- so it was fun to read it as a retelling that still felt very close to the original tale. Mini-review posted on The Book Addict's Guide 1/14/15: I read SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED with Alyssa & Amy for our December On the Same Page read (it’s one of Alyssa’s favorites) and after not liking Amy’s favorite, I was terrified. I got a couple pages into the book and was like, “Holy cow. That’s a lot of thee & thou & thy.” But as I read on, it really wasn’t as daunting as it first seemed. I’m not used to the language so yes, it did affect my read a little bit because I had to concentrate more, but overall, the book was very enjoyable!SNOW WHITE AND ROSE RED is actually one fairy tale I remember reading as a kid (at least I THINK I read the original…) and it stuck out in my mind. I really enjoyed Patricia C. Wrede’s adaptation and how she changed the tale in little ways to make it her own story and these changes actually really helped me grow attached to the book too. I’m notoriously hesitant about fairy books but after falling in love with books like Heir of Fire and A Court of Thorns and Roses, I’m definitely coming around so I was so happy to see that not only was it something that I wasn’t afraid of in SWRR but also something that I enjoyed.I loved the characters and they totally made the book for me. They were SO much fun with so much personality. I’m glad I was pushed to read this one with Alyssa & Amy because I would not have done it without them!
—Brittany (The Book Addict's Guide)

There was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage. In front of the cottage was a garden wherein stood two rose-trees, one of which bore white and the other red roses....Rosamund and Blanche are the daughters of a poor widow in a small town in Elizabethan England; the three of them gather herbs from the woods to make remedies for the citizens of Mortlak. They are extremely careful when in the woods, for it contains the ever shifting border of faerie, a border they are wary of but cross over occasionally while protected with herbs and small charms. The Queen of faerie has two half-mortal sons, one who resides mainly in faerie (Hugh) and the other who wanders freely the land of mortals (John). When the favored son of the Queen, Hugh, has his faerie-essence stolen and is exiled from his home, John goes against his mothers wishes and follows his brother to save him. Soon, he comes across the Widow and her daughters and together they risk their lives to right the wrongs that have been done. This retelling of a classic German fairy tale weaves together fantasy, mystery, danger, and romance into a story that not only entertains but has a happily-ever-after ending. I really enjoyed the Wrede took liberties with the story, transforming the classic characters and introducing a few new one of her own while sticking to the main plot of the original tale - and to show you the parallels, she includes snip-its of the German version at the beginning of each chapter. The dialogue was also written in Elizabethan English which I have mixed feelings about: it added to the authentic feel of the story but the non-dialogue was written in modern day English and switching back and forth between the two was not always a smooth transition for the reader.Overall, a wonderful story that proves that sometime the Disney version of fairy tales aren't always the best; I for one would take an overprotective and loving mother with two headstrong teenage girls who sweep in and save the Prince any day over the docile female characters of the 1950's Disney who wait to be rescued - take charge ladies....and teach a moral at the same time :)
—Nicole

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