Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, almost cryptic retellings of classics
Review: I picked up the book on a whim. My friends gave me curious looks as I explained it was a retelling of fairy tales. As I started to read it (I consumed it in one sitting), I realized it was much more. The problem with fairy tales is that they provide this bland, generalistic view of what romance is, what a woman is, what a man is. And the view is incorrect. These tales are wonderful in their change of the old stories. These are not simple retellings. Quite often it took me a lot of the story to realize which fairy tale it was. It is great for any age, either sex, and people who prefer pretty much any genre of story. I loved this book as a writer and a reader.

Rating:
Summary: Hmmmm.....
Review: I read the first and the last storys... The first was a take off of Cinderella... I found it a bit out there. The last one was strange.. I started to get into it... Then the character wants to kiss the girl and one night she wakes up lusting the girl. I stoped reading there. I don't know if this a book adout gay things or not... Will someone answer my queton before I read on.. So I will know if to take it back to the store.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating and twisted fairy tales
Review: I read this book fast in one sitting; Donoghue's stark but evocative prose brought the interlinked tales vividly to life. The celebration of affection between women is subtle and refreshing, and, though prose and characters seem simple, they are nuanced. My favorite tales were the reworkings of Beauty and the Beast (who is "not a man") and Snow White, which concentrates on the relationship between the girl and her stepmother. Donoghue's reworkings subvert classic tales in sophisticated ways that challenge any reader, especially the young adult audience that this book is ostensibly for.

Rating:
Summary: I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED
Review: I was expecting more. I did not enjoy this book of short stories. It was dark, and somewhat redundant. I was disappointed in it as a whole.

Rating:
Summary: An Compassionate Alternative to Tradition
Review: One page read aloud and one image shared (the book's cover on an overhead transparency)aroused a thirst for more as I listened to a review of this new collection of fairytales. As I sat in the audience of over eighty other English teachers, gathering notes about new adolescent literature, my ears perked up as the eloquent speaker, a very conventional looking lady, gave accolades to this potentially controversial anthology. Once I bought a copy and read it for myself I admired the author's clever skill at delicately weaving each tale to the next, taking every opportunity to dispell the subtle patriarchal oppressive seeds of thought planted by their traditional ancestors. As a literary instructor, I put much faith in the science and art of bibliotherapy (using books to address emotional and psychological issues). This book is excellant balm for a young lady confronting her emerging sexuality, should it diverge from mass cultural expectations. Furthermore it is a vivid example of how a story can be beautifully retold, keeping the frame of the original but explaining something much deeper than "happily ever-after." I would not limit this book by saying that its only audience is comprised of lesbians, bisexuals, or adolescents. It is a book from which we can all gain lessons of tolerance, peace, and a deeper understanding of human emotion.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful & Strange
Review: Pure magic. Emma Donoghue manages to seamlessly blend the fantastical with the intimately-familiar. Her prose is searing in places; phrases keep coming back to me and moving me months later. What a gift!

Rating:
Summary: astounding
Review: pure storytelling. impossible to stop reading. simple prose with vibrant metaphors.

Rating:
Summary: Not your usual prince charming
Review: Thinking back, I don't remember my mother ever telling me Cinderella ran off with her fairy godmother! This book is beautifully written, and the reflections on "real life" are astounding. I loved the way the stories were all interwoven, and how the stories never ended with "...and they all lived happily ever after..." I was surprised to read that this was intended for younger children. I don't know if this was something my sister would understand. Regardless, this is a wonderful book I would reccomend to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: A dark jewel of a book; tales that need to be told.
Review: This book tells stories that need to be told; dark, complex, true stories that are as familiar as fantastical. I cried when I read this book. That never happens to me. These are the fairy tales I needed to hear, and I didn't know that I needed to hear them until I heard them and was in tears. Beautiful and profoundly moving. I've already given away five copies.

Rating:
Summary: Bewitching!
Review: This book was simply enchanting! How refreshing to read these old fairy tales retold from a modern woman's point of view. I have to agree with a former reviewer that it was nice NOT to read, "And they lived happily ever after," at the end of these tales. I particularly enjoyed the interconnectedness of the stories---the way one flowed into the next. A beautiful, mind-expanding book that should be read by everywoman.