The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block

While these stories could be read alone, it's clear they are presented together as an interrogation not just of the fairy tales on which they're individually based, but of fairy tale as a narrative genre. The first-person point of view narrative of certain stories is more successful at individualization than the third-person omniscient POV of others, but Block's voice always suits her subject matter and builds a connection throughout the collection. There are stories within stories, as in this passage in “Glass”: “The candlesticks like crystal balls, many-faceted though the girl could not read her own future in them, perhaps if she looked closely enough she could see the young bride tearing away the tissue and holding them up to the light to see herself being imagined by this girl, now.” (p.58) Block's style varies between lyrical and brutally plain, laden with imagery which can be read on several levels. This is not a collection for those impatient with metaphor, nor for those who prefer a straightforward, minimalist approach to prose. Again, I suspect familiarity with the fairy tale of Los Angeles itself, particularly Hollywood, enriches the reading experience. The Southern California of these stories is feverishly vivid, an appropriately wild and hothouse setting for heroines who are half-flower, half-animal, as the title suggests. The shift does not mean the atmosphere is any less dreamlike. Instead of the quasi-medieval forests and castles that have become traditional for fairy tale retellings, most of this collection is grounded in California, specifically the Los Angeles area, though the name of the city is never mentioned. Even the stories lacking in women to interact with the heroine (“Snow,” “Ice”) focus more on ideas of family than romance.Īlong with the above shift in perspective, there is a shift in setting. The emphasis of the stories in The Rose and the Beast is different, focusing both on the heroine's interior journey and her relationships with the other women around her. The most well-known versions of many of the tales that form the basis of this collection, such as “Beauty and the Beast,” “Snow White,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Cinderella,” heavily emphasize a romantic relationship between the heroine and a wealthy man whom she meets in the course of her adventures.

In fact, a few of the stories, such as “Charm” and “Bones,” begin with a variation of the phrase, “She knew the story” -though whether or not “she” wants to be in it varies.

They depend on pre-existing familiarity with the source tales for much of their resonance. This collection is subtitled ‘Fairy Tales Retold,’ but the nine stories it contains are less retellings than reflections and reactions, along with a few refutations.

The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block