I have enjoyed reading Briar Rose. Over the weekend I watched Disney's version of Sleeping Beauty to try and refresh my memory of the fairy tale. In the fairy tale the three fairies renamed princess Aurora, Briar Rose so the evil witch would not find her. I found a number of similarities and of course, differences between the fairy tale and the book.
The "contamination" as Zipes would call it, was definitely prevelant in the book. Personally, I think its interesting when an author decides to put a different spin on a classic fairy tale and that is exactly what Jane Yolen did. From Zipes perspective, he would most likely say that Yolen contaminated the fairy tale. She took a classic fairy tale and made many changes. She has stolen the essence of the fairy tale and made it her own. I would say, great job Yolen! In this book, there is an underlying Jewish history portryaing one woman's travels to try and make it during World War II. On the back of the book, there is a quote from the Library Journal that said, "Showcasing Yolen's skill at transforming the real world into a realm of fantasy." I think that is the perfect quote. Yolen took a part of history that a number of people experienced and was able to turn it into a fairy tale experience. I wouldn't mind reading more "contaminated" fairy tales like these.
Most people will always know and love the original fairy tales and I don't think that we'll ever lose them. In saying that, I don't necessarily think that when authors, like Yolen, write a book based on a classic fairy tale and change the plot are actually "contaminating" the fairy tale as Zipes would probably say. They are taking a magical story and bringing it to life, they are putting their own personal life into a fairy tale and I think people enjoy that. Maybe it's just me, but I find the real stories with a fairy tale realm to be exciting and make for an awesome read!
3 comments:
Wow, I haven’t seen Disney’s version of Sleeping Beauty in years. I wish I thought of it and rented it to see how I could compare it to the book. Good thinking on that by the way Mandy, it always helps when you have something to compare the book to.
I agree with what you said in your post. I also like it when someone takes something, a “classic” piece if you will, and they put a twist on it and change it around a little. I always find it interesting because it’s not what I am accustomed to seeing, not to mention, reading or seeing the same thing over and over again can get pretty boring, so whenever someone twists things around a bit, I really like it.
I really like what Yolen did in Briar Rose, took a classic piece, added her take to it, and made it a very nice and enjoyable read. You’re right Mandy, Zipes would not of liked this, but who cares what Zipes likes, the world doesn’t revolve around him (sorry, getting to critical I guess, need to calm down). My point is, Yolen did a great job with this book. I think the quote that you used was awesome as well because as you said in your post, Yolen took history, and made it into a fairy tale experience. Sure, Zipes would call that “contaminating”, but I would call it a good read, because that is exactly what this book was.
You also made a great point Mandy. We all like originals, not just original fairy tales, but original things in general. I mean look at the movie industry, many movies have been remade over time, with an added twist, like The Hills Have Eyes. The original movie is still one of my favorites, but the new one is also great. What I’m saying is, times change, and sometimes we take classics and convert them to fit our time, or a certain experience. Just because we’re changing certain things, doesn’t mean that the original is lost. With that said, I really liked what Yolen did in her book and I found nothing wrong with it. I love your wording, “real stories with a fairy tale realm”, that’s exactly what Briar Rose was, and it was great.
This book was filled with history, fantasy, action, suspense, vivid detail, and captured my attention. I am not much of a reader, so this class is somewhat challenging. I am not used to sitting down and reading for an hour or more, but with a book like this how could I not. It was amazing how an author could take the story of Sleeping Beauty (I only know the Disney version), and use it to reveal the tragedies of the Holocaust and her experiences. This is considered a fictional book yet it speaks the truth. I appreciate that Yolen did not limit her story of the Holocaust to persecution of Jews, but included the other groups of people that were victimized. Yolen wrote this book very well in that it is a children's book, but is not about juvenile topics, yet without sugarcoating the events, she made it readable and non-offensive to any age group.
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