Comments on: You Tell Me: What Makes a Fairy Tale Retelling Work?

By: annastan

annastan — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:30:13 +0000

Hi Amanda! I think you’re absolutely right about the dark twists in retellings. Seeing things from the evil character’s perspective is fun, especially since they’re so one-dimensional in the originals. And the endings are another way we can play with fairy tales – people expect the happy ending, which is why it’s interesting if they don’t get one.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 03:20:42 +0000

OK I’ll bite. I was reluctant because I’m not a writer or even an English major so I feel like I don’t have the vocabulary to talk about this. But I like fairy tale retellings that present a different perspective than the one we’re used to. Like Gregory Maguire’s work (Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Wicked) in which a “bad” character gets to tell their story. Or The Book of Lost Things, by John Connolly, which includes lots of familiar tales with a dark twist and no happy endings.
And, I agree with what you said: “We like the familiarity of the original, but we enjoy having someone else fill in some of those unanswered questions for us in a way that might catch us off-guard.”

By: annastan

annastan — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:49:59 +0000

It’s like taking an old recipe and kicking it up a notch, substituting a few ingredients, adding a bit more spice here and there. (Which is definitely NOT what the chain restaurants do.)

Tara, I love this metaphor! I think you’re right that we pick up a retelling knowing that we’ll recognize parts of it, but also wanting the author to surprise us with unexpected twists and turns.

When I heard Shannon Hale speak this afternoon, she said that the reason she started retelling fairy tales was because she wanted to answer some of the questions that the original tales left her with. In a way, I think this goes back to what you’re saying. We like the familiarity of the original, but we enjoy having someone else fill in some of those unanswered questions for us in a way that might catch us off-guard.

By: Tara

Tara — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:35:13 +0000

I think that fairy tale retellings can be popular simply because people like familiarity. (That’s the only reason I have for why certain chain restaurants exist. People want to know that the pasta in Pittsburgh will be the same as the penne in Peoria. They know the menu, they know exactly what to expect.)

And yet, this is why fairy tale retellings can also work so well, because they are unexpected. A reader comes into them with certain knowledge of character and plot, but if the a author is successful, they surprise you, turn the story completely upside down, and give readers a perspective they never would have imagined.

It’s like taking an old recipe and kicking it up a notch, substituting a few ingredients, adding a bit more spice here and there. (Which is definitely NOT what the chain restaurants do.)

By: annastan

annastan — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:17:35 +0000

Anne, I think you’re absolutely right that it’s about really figuring out what your unique take on the story is. Since it’s a story that readers already know, they’re looking for something that will make it different and memorable.

Thanks for the book recommendation; I’ll have to check out Into the Wild.

By: Anne M Leone

Anne M Leone — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:02:23 +0000

My first ever novel (which is currently hidden deep in a drawer) was a fairy tale retelling. The novel stinks, but I still love the idea and would love to return to it someday. I think fairy tales are really fun to play with.

I think the reason retellings work so well is that they build on ancient, ingrained stories, and then play with the readers’ expectations (like ASH, which I can’t wait to read). So I think one of the goals for a retelling is to really think about why you’re doing it; what is your unique angle? And then milk that for all it’s worth, because it needs to stand as its own story, not just a retelling. So that being said, I don’t think it matters whether the fairy tale is familiar to readers or not.

One of my favorites is Sarah Beth Durst’s INTO THE WILD. Not a single fairy tale retelling, but definitely in the genre and I love the philosophy behind the story too. For me, one of the best parts about retellings is rethinking women’s roles in fairy tales, which often cast women submissively or one-dimensionally.

Sorry for the long post–guess I’ve got a lot to say about this! =)

By: annastan

annastan — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:30:39 +0000

Is it breaking some sort of rule to be the first to comment on your own post? My apologies to the blog gods. My LiveJournal blog mirrors this one and I've gotten a couple of great comments there on this topic. Check it out here.