Peter and Max: a Fables Novel by Bill Willingham

Do you enjoy fairy tales? How about when classic tales are given a new twist? Are you a fan of the ABC TV show Once Upon a Time? If you said yes, then you’ll want to check out Peter & Max. This novel is based on Bill Willingham’s award-winning Fables series of graphic novels (featured on our blog twice before). But, you don’t have to have read any of the graphic novels to enjoy the story of Peter & Max. Much like in Once Upon a Time there are fairy tale characters now living in our mundane world. They have fled to our world as the invading goblin army of the Adversary has slowly swallowed up their homelands, and they now live in hiding in New York City and on a farm upstate. Also like the TV show Once, the story of Peter & Max alternates between the current day in our world and what happened long ago in their homelands.

The story begins in modern times on a farm, where Peter Piper and his wife Bo live on an isolated parcel.  Rose Red comes to see them and deliver some bad news to Peter. It seems that his brother Max is in our world. Why is this bad news? Well, those old sibling rivalries can turn very ugly when allowed to fester for a few centuries, especially when one brother travels the path of dark magic and destruction. Peter soon sets out to confront his brother and knows that one way or another it will be their final encounter and that one of them will die.

Long, long ago, back in his home world, Peter and his family of traveling musicians went to the annual fair and stopped to visit their friends the Peeps. During their stay with the Peeps, Peter’s father bestows a magical flute called Frost on him. Max is instantly jealous because he is the oldest son and accuses Peter of stealing it. Meanwhile, the Adversary’s army has just invaded and conquered, causing the Pipers and Peeps to flee into the Black Forest. While in the woods the group is savagely attacked and they must split up in hopes of making it to safety. While Peter escapes to Hamelin Town, Max spends years in the vast forest, slowly growing more evil-minded until he is found by a powerful witch who gives Max his own magic flute, which responds to his powers of dark magic.

The alternating chapters move the separate stories forward filling us in on what else happened to Peter, Max, and Bo that led them to where they are today. The conclusion is a powerful showdown that fully lived up to my expectations and even surprised me! This is a very fast-paced book with plenty of action to keep the reader turning pages. The novel is also illustrated throughout by the talented Steve Leialoha (who worked on the Fables comics). I highly recommend Peter & Max – an original prose novel by a guy who’s won awards for writing comic books.

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Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

“I read a book about fairies.
There, I said it…or wrote it.
That is my public proclamation.
If you are like me, the thought of such a proclamation is frightening.        

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce takes place in modern times upon the Christmas Day return of Tara Martin who went missing over 20 years in the hauntingly beautiful Outwoods not long after an argument with her paramour and family friend Ritchie. Where has she been all this time? Why does she look so young?

She confides in her brother with a wild tale which angers him and then their parents. She also reconnects with Ritchie who still pines for her despite his downhill life. Her family explores all the possibilities and she consents to their demands in an effort to prove her tale true. The best anyone can do is to believe that she believes her own unlikely story.

For a book about fairies, Graham Joyce does a great job not making it too fantastical. Each chapter begins with a quote about fairies or fairy tales to remind the skeptic, I mean, reader, of their importance in literature, history and culture. Much of the plot and subplots remain well-grounded in the here and now. But what Joyce really succeeds at is artfully weaving together all the plots and characters to create a sense of suspense and leaving the reader second guessing. He really reminds me of Ian McEwan and Tana French in that respect. So if you typically enjoy literary fiction but need to step out of that realm, give Some Kind of Fairy Tale a try, you won’t regret it. In fact, you may even publically proclaim that you read a book about fairies.

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“

The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey

Mercedes Lackey has been a favorite author for years, ever since I picked up the first novel of Valdemar, but I have fallen in love with her Five Hundred Kingdoms series. The Sleeping Beauty made me laugh so hard I cried. These books have just the right mix of action, humor, and fantasy.

The driving force behind all these stories is THE TRADITION and the fairy godmothers. Imagine living in the Five Hundred Kingdoms where lives are directed to follow the path of traditional fairy tales, and now imagine you have other ideas for how life should go. “That’s the prince I’m supposed to marry and live Happily Ever After with? Uh uh. No way. No how.” I love it.

Along with the more recognizable fairy tales, in this novel Lackey adds another dimension by pulling in some Norse traditional tales. I really enjoyed the novelty while still laughing at the inside jokes as she poked fun at Snow White and Sleeping Beauty.

If you thought you were a fan of fairy tales before, you have to experience Lackey’s take on the genre. She takes the traditional stories we all grew up on and twists them on their head in the most delightful way. Involuntary outbursts of laughter in public places are a possible side effect. Read with caution unless in the privacy of your own home.

If you enjoy this book, I highly recommend any of her Valdemar series. It is a fantasy world you can easily get lost in.

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The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen

Some readers may characterize the fairy tales of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen as melancholic, sad, and sentimental – true, it’s all there - but Andersen is a complex author whose tales are wonderfully rich and multifaceted.

Harold Bloom once said, “Andersen was a visionary tale-teller, but his fairy-realm was malign. Of his aesthetic eminence, I entertain no doubts, but I believe that we still have not learned how to read him.” Be that as it may – generations have been entertained by Andersen and for more than a century he has made people smile, snicker, snivel, shudder, and laugh. To read Andersen can be a sweet and tender experience, but it can also be nerve wracking or like taking a knife in your heart. And his humor is often as drastic and unexpected, as here, in The Traveling Companions. “Then the [marionette show] started, and it was a nice play with a king and a queen. They sat on the loveliest of thrones, with golden crowns on their heads and long trains on their garments, because they could afford it. […] It was quite a charming play, and it wasn’t the least bit sad. But just as the queen stood up and walked across the stage, then… Well, God only knows what that big bulldog was thinking. But since the fat butcher wasn’t holding on to him, the dog leaped at the stage and grabbed the queen around her slender waist, making it say ‘crick, crack!’ It was simply dreadful!”

What in the world!

The directness of Andersen’s storytelling, closely related to the traditional folk tales, makes it relentlessly powerful, and his imagery is splendid, stark, vivid, loving. “With fear in her heart,” it says in The Wild Swans, “as if she were about to commit an evil deed, she crept out into the moonlit night, down to the garden. She walked down the long lanes out to the deserted streets and over to the churchyard. There she saw, sitting on one of the widest headstones, a group of Lamias, hideous witches. They were taking off their rags, as if they were going to bathe, and then they buried their long, gaunt fingers in the fresh graves, pulled out the bodies, and ate their flesh.”

Brrr…

In Andersen’s fairy tales, the reader will encounter the Little Mermaid, the Emperor who marches naked down the street, the steadfast Tin Soldier, the Ugly Duckling, a Princess on top of twenty mattresses and twenty eiderdown quilts, the Snow Queen, and Death, witches, and trolls. His world is a world of wonder and terror, where salvation is not always granted, and where ancient folk tales collide and mingle with Christian sentiments.

Hans Christian Andersen’s writing is one of the wonders of the world.

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Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire

An evil queen with a bent toward vanity.
A mirror that reveals “who is the fairest one of all”.
A girl with skin white as snow and hair black as night.
Seven dwarves in forest cottage
A poisoned apple.

Sounds familiar, right? True to form, in this novel Gregory Maguire reimagines a fairy tale and embellishes  the tale with darker and quirkier details than even the Brothers Grimm could concoct.  Maguire paints the world of Bianca de Nevada (Maguire’s name for Snow White) with just enough reality and vivid detail that the fantasy aspects are nearly believable.  The novel is set in 16th century Italy, the era of oligarchy, political intrigue, and papal corruption.  The evil “queen” in this version is Lucrezia Borgia, the real-life illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI, who is obsessed with her own beauty and power.  She enters the tale collaborating with her brother, Cesare, to convince Bianca’s father to go on a dangerous quest. They want him to steal three apples from the Tree of Knowledge that are protected by an order of monks.  Even though Vicente de Nevada does not want to leave his daughter to go on the quest, the Borgia’s threaten Bianca’s life if Vicente does not comply.  After he leaves, the tale continues, including the basics of the original story, with the addition of many scrumptious details.

After listening to the audio version of Wicked several years ago, I was intrigued by the writing of Gregory Maguire, and I’m surprised it’s taken me this long to try another one of his novels.  Having seen the musical, Wicked, before reading the book, Maguire’s writing style initially caught me off guard.  It was much darker and more postmodern than the theater version, and I wasn’t sure if I liked it at first, because I wasn’t prepared for some of its more “adult” content. But, once I stopped comparing the two versions, I was able to really appreciate Maguire’s ability as storyteller.  Because of my previous experience with Maguire’s writing, I was better primed to enjoy Mirror, Mirror.  I enjoy adapted fairy tales, historical fiction, and writing that makes me reread sentences so I can fully grasped the depth of thought contained in them.  Mirror, Mirror is a wonderful mix of all three.

Long story short, this novel is a reimagined fairy tale, rich in imagery and unexpected interpretations.  Maguire’s literary talent very evident, which makes for an enjoyable, yet thought-provoking read.

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The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

I remember thinking when this book came out a few years ago that it looked interesting and that I’d like to read it one day. It never managed to make it’s way to the top of my “to read” list, but luckily our Sci-Fi & Fantasy book club wanted to read it and I’m very glad we did. I read it in about two sittings on a recent trip to visit my family up in Massachusetts – the first half while flying up, and the second half while flying back. It’s quite different from many Fantasy novels in that there are no wizards, no heroes with legendary swords, no dragons, elves or quests. It also doesn’t take place in some far off world like Middle Earth or Narnia. Rather, the novel takes place in the middle of the Twentieth century in suburban America and explores the changeling myth.

With roots in cultures all across the world, the changeling myth is the belief that hob-goblins, faeries, sprites, etc. would steal a healthy baby or young child, and leave a damaged, deformed or changed version in its place. The myth came about to explain many infant and young childhood diseases and traumas. The parents would then feel justified in leaving their “changed” child (who they convinced themselves was really a goblin or faerie) in the woods for the fae to re-claim. Another reason this was done is that families would have too many mouths too feed and it was easiest to get rid of the youngest child before bonding happened. Just take a look at the original story of Hansel & Gretel.

In this novel, six year old Henry Day doesn’t want to watch his twin baby sisters while his mom takes a bath, so he runs into the woods and is then “changed” for a faerie-child who looks and sounds just like the real Henry. The faeries have studied Henry and his family so that the new Henry will be able to fool his parents and take over his life. Meanwhile, the orginal Henry is re-named Aniday by his new family of other faerie-children who live together in the woods. A ritual is performed so that Aniday starts to forget his past and gains the magical abilities of these woods-dwelling children, such as swiftness in travel, the ability to see and hear a long distance, and to change one’s features.  He has a tough time adjusting to his new society and no one will speak of the one who took his place or his former family.

Meanwhile, the new Henry Day is an almost exact copy of the original except that he is better behaved, more attentive to his mother and baby sisters, and is a musical prodigy on the piano. Henry also struggles to fit into his new life and keeps having brief flashbacks of another life with a German family and taking piano lessons.  As he grows up – something he has to physically will himself to do, since he’s been a child for the last hundred years or so – he realizes how different life is for a twentieth century boy. Henry’s father has been increasingly distant, and even suspicious, ever since the change – and the two grow further apart. The chapters alternate between Henry and Aniday through the years until the finally come together to share the same events at the end of a captivating and thoughtful story. I should note that about half of our book club members did not care for the book, while the rest of us did enjoy it – but those situations often make for great discussions.

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Don’t Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon

Fifteen years ago, 12-year-old Lisa disappeared into the woods behind her house…or did she?

Lisa and her brother grew up believing that fairies were responsible for the disappearance of an entire town in the woods behind their house.  In the months before she vanishes, Lisa becomes more and more convinced that the fairies have returned, but it is clear that these fairies are more sinister than magical.  The night she disappears, she tells her brother that she is going to meet the King of the Fairies, and is never heard from again.

Fifteen years later, Lisa’s brother, Sam, is suddenly thrust back to the sinister world of the fairies when he receives a mysterious phone call.  He and his girlfriend Pheobe set out to find Lisa, and with each discovery they unravel the unbelievable truth about what happened, as well as placing themselves in danger.

Alternating between Lisa’s narration of the summer she disappeared and Phoebe’s narration of the present day, Don’t Breathe a Word is written like a terrific suspense film.   Each chapter ends with a cliffhanger, creepy characters lurk in the dark, and nothing is as it seems.  I found this book so compelling that I could not put it down until I found out the truth about Lisa and the fate of Sam and Pheobe.

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Muppet Snow White by Jesse Blaze Snider, et. al.

“It’s time to start the music, it’s time to light the lights! It’s time to get things started on The Muppet Show tonight!”  If you remember that catchy little tune, then you’ll love this new comic book style re-telling of the classic story of Snow White by your favorite Muppets.  Just as they did with other classic tales (the movies A Christmas Carol, & Treasure Island) the Muppets have now put their own hilarious spin on this beloved fairy tale.

Jacob & Wilhem Grimm (Gonzo & Rizzo) narrate the story for us, in which The Queen (Miss Piggy) discovers from her magic mirror (Fozzie Bear) that she is not the fairest of them all.  The woodsman (Sweetums) must take young Snow White (Spamela Hamderson – who is accompanied by her agent, Pepe the King Prawn) into the woods to kill her, but he can’t do it, so she ends up finding a nice little cottage to live in.  That cottage is occupied by the seven dwarfs (not dwarves, as the Muppets are keeping with the original spelling from Brothers Grimm), portrayed by the band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.  The band turns out to be one dwarf short, so they hold auditions.  Meanwhile, Prince Charming (Kermit) is about to meet Snow White when he’s captured by Queen Piggy who has somehow gotten ahold of the dragon from Sleeping Beauty.  Kermit is kept prisoner by the Queen – if Piggy can’t have her frog, then no one can – and Snow White eventually falls under the sleeping-in-a-death-like-trance spell, leading to a very long line of potential suitors who are each charged $1 for a kiss and the chance to be the one to break the spell.  Hilarity ensues throughout the story and just about all of your favorite Muppet characters make an appearance!

As with the best books, movies or TV shows for children, there’s plenty of humor for grown ups in here too.  In fact, there are several “in jokes” that only true Muppet fans would get and that will go right over the heads of kids (or almost anyone under 30).  I don’t want to spoil anything here, but suffice it to say that if you don’t know who the “Mahna Mahna” guy is, then you won’t get the joke he’s in. There are several other Muppet versions of classic “tales re-told” (Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, & King Arthur) in comic books form, and I hope we’ll see them all in the library one day.  But, for now, after having read this, maybe I’ll watch some of the original Muppet Show via Netflix while I eagerly await the new movie “The Muppets”, written by and starring Jason Segel, coming out this Thanksgiving.

“Why don’t you get things started” by reserving your copy of Muppet Snow White!

Cinderella: From Fabeltown With Love by Chris Roberson

“Everyone knows my story.  I get dressed up.  The clock strikes twelve.  I lose a shoe.  And it’s all downhill from there.”  So begins this excellent stand alone / spin-off story from the world of “Fables” created by Bill Willingham.  And trust me, you don’t need to have read all (or even any, really) of the other Fables books before reading this one.  All you have to know is that our favorite fairy tale characters have fled their own homelands and are now living in our own mundane (“Mundy”) world, hidden amongst us.

Cindy’s fellow fables simply think of her as a flighty fashionista with a beef against her ex-husband (Prince Charming), and who’s always jet-setting around the globe for one social event or another.  However, in reality, she is Fabletown’s greatest super-secret spy.  The sheriff of Fabletown, The Beast (as in “Beauty and”), drops into Cindy’s shoe store (named, what else? The Glass Slipper) to send her on her next assignment – to find out who has been trafficking in illegal magical objects, and even worse, selling them to the mundys.  Not only is someone arming for some sort of revolution, but their plan will also expose all of Fabledom to the humans in the rest of the world.  Cindy has to leave immediately, and while on her latest mission, she leaves her shoe store in the hands of Crispin Cordwainer, who thinks that he can run the store better than his gad-about boss.  As you might guess, this doesn’t quite work out the way Crispin thinks.

Meanwhile, in the Middle-East, Cinderella is undercover, searching for any information on the trading of magical items in exchange for mundy weapons.  She is soon attacked in her hotel room and finds herself face-to-face with another operative working on the same case, Aladdin.  Now, East meets West in a culture clash that must be put aside in favor of tracking down the bad guys.  Cindy and Al use their cover identities to infiltrate a high society soiree, where they are naturally exposed and must make a quick getaway and follow their next lead.  We see both these spies use magical means to assist them in their work, and along the way we’re given glimpses of some of Cindy’s relevant past cases in quick flash-backs.  The bad guys are not at all who I thought (a good thing) and the twists and turns kept me guessing all the way to the end.  The full-page covers from each comic book issue throughout the book are works of art in themselves.

The really great news is that Cindy’s spy adventures will continue as the first comic book issues of “Cinderella: Fables are Forever” hit newsstand and comic book store shelves in Spring of 2011.

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The Annotated Brothers Grimm by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Once upon a time, in the deep, dark forests of Germania, parents occasionally – when times were hard and starvation was at the door – left their children, usually the youngest, in the woodland to die. They did this hoping to increase the remaining family members’ chances of survival. There may, in other words, be a harsh reality behind the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel that Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected, edited, and saved for the printed pages, and the imaginary woods of the brothers Grimm is closely connected to the physical forests of northern Europe.

The tales partly sprung out of these woodlands. They reach deeply into the human psyche, and those who decide to wander in the forest where folktales are born can never know whom or what they will encounter. What the wanderers can be sure of, though, is that everything is there for their sake, and that everything has got to do with them, for the fairy tale is a decidedly paranoid genre.

The stories may seem simple, and they are simple, but they are also complex and subtle, and they display every possible human emotional state. The tales are exciting, funny, entertaining, tender, sensual, adventurous, and downright scary – as is the tale of Hansel and Gretel. The plot is well-known and few can recall when they first encountered it – the story was, in a certain sense, always there. Famine engulfs the land. Hansel and Gretel’s stepmother – in some versions, mother – decides to get rid of the children, leaving them behind in the forest. Hansel is thrifty, but eventually they do get lost in the woods. There the siblings find a house of bread (!) which is the home of a witch (!!) who, as soon as a child falls into her hands, kills it, cooks it, and eats it (!!!) How grim can it get?

For the majority of the story, Gretel cries, but when an opportunity appears she takes control of the situation, destroys the witch, and saves herself and her brother. How did this happen? How could this little girl all of a sudden become the destroyer of death/the witch? The answer is: it isn’t all of a sudden. Her innermost nature has been revealed before the dramatic climax of the story, but silently. So… when you find yourself in the forest where fairy tales are born… keep a sharp lookout.

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