Reviews

A Wild Swan: And Other Tales by Michael Cunningham

ellipsiscool's review

5.0

I'm a sucker for fairy tales, so I loved this book of short stories.

Cunningham takes the fairy tales we all know (and a couple of lesser known ones) and builds upon them in a very real-world sort of way. Not so much planting them in the modern world and rewriting them or creating likeable backstories, like many authors have done, but instead blending the two world's together and crafting real world emotions and outcomes.

My only complaint is that the book is too short. I would have read so much more!

brisingr's review

3.0

I'm feeling very conflicted about this short story collection. After all, why would I want to read (fairy)tales that are dark and twisted and sad and real? Life's shitty as it is, without dragging magical figures into it. But I did enjoy some of the twists, though again, quite distasteful and too like the family next door to truly care or appreciate.

If you want to read the one truly sad folktale, try "Youth Without Age and Life Without Death", a Romanian one: http://www.worldoftales.com/European_folktales/Romanian_folktale_4.html

pennygale's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

t1357924680's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.25

st_ella_r's review

dark funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

emilyrandolph_epstein's review

3.0

This book is brilliantly written. Every word belongs. Every moment is intentional. But if you're looking for a fairy tale, this isn't the book for you. Cunningham may use familiar stories to frame the pieces in A Wild Swan, but the characters within the slim white volume are unrecognizable from those you know and love or love to hate. These characters are all too human. They're mixtures of goodness and darkness. Some of them are pretty screwed up, so much so in fact that there were moments where their issues came across as forced. As if Cunningham were aiming for shock and awe not honesty. If you cherish fairy tales for their whimsy, if you hold them in reverence I do not recommend this book. It's a little too gritty, a little too exposed to the harsh light of day. That said, the illustrations are wonderful, if you like the kind of whimsy that also puts you slightly on edge, that makes you just a little uncertain and sick to your stomach. I did enjoy this book to a certain extent. I think the reinterpretation of Rumplestilskin and The Steadfast Tin Soldier. I enjoyed the final story Ever/After, but I didn't find it satisfying. It was a bit like eating a gormet meal only to find you're still hungry and that maybe you should have gotten something simpler, more familiar and more satisfying.

thestoryowl's review

3.0

I always love anything that incorporates old fairy tales, but this one was so jaded, it made me sad. It wasn't a jaunty retelling with quirky other sides of the story. It was more of a contemptuous go at the idea of happily ever after. Still, it was good writing.

perditism's review

3.0

eh im kinda over aggressively cynical fairytale retellings

missbookiverse's review against another edition

2.0

2.5

Ich bin ein wirklich großer Fan von Märchenneuerzählungen und ich mag es sehr, wenn es dabei entsprechend düster zugeht, aber Cunningham schlägt in seiner Sammlung einen mir bisher unbekannten Ton an.

Rein objektiv gefällt mir, wie er bestimmte Märchen modernisiert und die Frage aufwirft, wie es nach dem “und sie lebten glücklich” eigentlich weitergeht oder was mit den Figuren geschieht, die nicht so glimpflich davonkommen. Manchmal rutscht er dabei ins Essayistische ab, sodass der narrative Charakter verloren geht und deutlich wird, dass die Erzählung nur dazu dient, eine bestimmte Kritik am Märchen anzubringen, aber selbst in diesem Fall fand ich das Erzählte noch interessant.

Was mich rein subjektiv an Cunninghams Interpretationen stört, ist die Entmystifizierung der Märchenstoffe. Viele wirken durch die Linse der Gegenwart betrachtet plötzlich vulgär und trist. Jede der elf Geschichten ist gespickt von Enttäuschungen, Betrug und Pessimismus. Das war sicher genau das Ziel des Autors, zerstört allerdings die Magie, die Märchen bergen und die der Grund ist, weswegen ich sie so liebe.

F A V O R I T E N

Little Man
Rumpelstilzchen aus der Sicht der Titelfigur.

Ever/After
Zwangsehe unter Königskindern und was daraus werden kann.

eitheror's review

3.0

So I think this book was a case of mismatched expectations. This was recommended to me as similar to The Bloody Chamber. The Bloody Chamber is a collection of fairytale retellings in the form of short stories with beautiful lush language and a feminist bent to them, neat! Instead, Bloody Chamber are fairytale retellings that lack narrative coherence, feels tonally at odds with its illustrations and presentation, and thinks is wayyyy more clever than it actually is. While some of the stories present intesting ideas, I don't think they execute them that well. Whether we're meant to envision a medieval fantasy landscape or a modern urban setting switches all the time, sometimes mid story, in a very jarring fashion. And also I feel like the female characters would be abruptly sidelined in the middle of stories in favour of a man, or where just a bit vapid or underdeveloped in a way that I didn't care for.

If you want fairytale retellings in the form of short stories, read The Bloody Chamber. If you want modern fairytale retellings, read the Fable comics or play The Wolf Among Us I guess