What do You think about The Door In The Hedge (2003)?
A collection of fairy-tale retellings. I know McKinley is not the sort of author to include introductions or author's note with any of her works — she seems to me to be more the sort who writes up her stories and sends them blithely on their merry way and if the reader loves them, great; and she doesn't, oh well; with little desire or need to pen any extra explanation or defense. But these four stories seem to set here so starkly alone. I would have love to have found at the very least a foreword. Maybe there's something more in another edition?The Stolen Princess | An interpretation of the traditional 'fairies stole the child away' tale.The Princess and the Frog | Based on the Frog Prince, and I loved both how the frog shouted at the princess for being stupid (well, she was) and how it was the princess who struck the fatal blow.The Hunting of the Golden Hind | An interpretation of the traditional 'questing for the magical beast' tale, and I love again anew how McKinley's heroines are proactive.The Twelve Dancing Princesses | Based on the tale of the same name. I love the backstory of the soldier best of all. This is possibly the one I love most of this bunch, but I think that may be because it satisfies me the least. It's a good story, don't get me wrong, but it isn't a perfect one and I think McKinley missed places where it could have improved. I keep fretting at all the details.
—M—
4.5 starsWhen I picked up this book, I had no idea that it was actually made up of four short stories! I really liked this though. The Lost Princess was the first story and I found that the author's lyrical language matched the mood of a fairy story wonderfully. The descriptions were enchanting. Perhaps sometimes they were too descriptive; I found myself tuning out, or reading without understanding, though this was only rare. I think that I actually liked the writing of this tale more than the actual plot itself. It was a fairly simplistic and obvious plot – the queen's sister is taken by fairies and then, years later, the queen's daughter finds herself taken also. But it was so sweetly told that I found myself getting lost in it. The characters of the king and queen, Gilvan and Alora, I loved the most. The next story, named The Princess and the Frog, was a retelling of the tale – you've guessed it – The Princess and the Frog! I absolutely love this tale, so was excited to read this! I think I have a soft spot for talking animals – especially talking frogs! I loved how well-spoken the frog was, how human in speech. I felt as though I could read him considering everything he spoke. This was a very short story, but I loved the dark threat Aliyander presented; that was a great twist to the tale. I think this was my favourite out of the four. The third story was also a good read, but it was the fourth story I was more excited to read, as I've grown to love retellings of the Twelve Dancing Princesses tale this past year. This story didn't disappoint and I loved the ending!This book read like an ancient fairytale. I could imagine reading it to someone younger as a bedtime story and I think they would love it. :)
—Martha
The title comes from a line in the first story, "The Stolen Princess." This is a changeling story set in a kingdom where the fairies steal children. The prologue sets up the fairies' practice of stealing children in great detail: the faeries choose boy babies, but leave them alone after their first year and take girls away between the ages of about sixteen and nineteen. My favorite thing about this story is the narration. The prologue and first part of the story remind me of the style of Spindle's End, with similar wry comments. The second half is from the princess Linadel's point of view, as she becomes the central character. It's a story about love and reconciliation, but it's also bittersweet, which is about all I can say without giving away the ending.One of my favorite quotes from this story:"So after he married her, he set out not really to woo her, which he thought would be cheating when affairs of state had almost forced them to get married in the first place, but to be as unflaggingly nice to her as he thought he could get away with. Their delight in each other after they became the sort of lovers that minstrels make ballads about (although it was certainly unpoetic of them to be married to each other) was so apparent that it spilled over into their dealings with their people; and the court became a more joyful place than it had been for many a long royal generation. And the minstrels did make ballads about them, even though they were married to each other." The Princess and the Frog: The twist on the original fairy tale is that this story is not a romance. This isn't as detailed or quotable as The Stolen Princess, but I enjoyed it. The Hunting of the Hind: In this story a prince becomes obsessed with a beautiful golden hind who is more than she seems. This ending of this one is a bit strange, but I like it. (view spoiler)[I think wasn't really necessary to have Korah and Darin fall in love at the end, and it doesn't have as much build up as the other romance (which, since this is a fairy tale, is not saying much). (hide spoiler)]
—Beth
