Cover Image: The Merry Spinster

The Merry Spinster

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Member Reviews

*received via NetGalley

I'm a sucker for fairy tale adaptations, and being a fan of The Toast I was so excited to read this. The stories are dark and strange, some adaptations of one fairy tale and others a mix of a few. I appreciated that a list of which stories were drawn from for each piece in the book is provided at the end. Fans of Mallory's and fans of dark fairy tales will love this.

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Okay. So you know how every time a Disney animated movie is released, there's all That One Guy who's really into himself who says some boring supercilious bullcrap like, "I prefer the ORIGINAL; it's MUCH DARKER and the ending is FAR from HAPPY."

This is the kind of person who SAYS he's read Hunter S. Thompson when he really read a Wikipedia synopsis of Thompson's plots; also he talks like Holden Caulfield whenever anybody tries to discuss politics around him.

I personally myself have read fairy tale source material, please and thank you, but I'm not going to deny someone else their pleasure at talking animals or whatever. Plus I enjoy the darker versions of these fairy tales because of who I am as a person, not because I like making other people feel small and simple.

The point I'm trying to make is this: Mallory Ortberg's collection of fairy tale retellings is way darker than anything you (or That One Guy) ever read in, like, your sociology text. They're the kind of dark you'd like if maybe Struwwelpeter or the Krampus make you laugh; that is to say, they're inappropriate for children, but adults with very VERY twisted senses of humor will enjoy them.

Ortberg considerably includes a list of the stories' inspirations. While I recognized some, she's mixed them with elements of other fairy tales, folk tales, and legends, so that all of the details weren't always recognizable.

That One Guy would NOT like this book, because it will be too scary and feminist for him. Your weirdest friend, though? Yeah, she'll love it.

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