It’s beautifully illustrated in black and white by Chris Riddell, which magnificently complements the story. The Sleeper and the Spindle is dark and gothicky with some neat twists. “Do you wish to find out?” asked the queen. “What would they do if they caught us?” asked the dwarf beside her.” No honor in fighting someone who is dreaming of fishing or of gardens or of long-dead lovers.” “There is no honor,” gasped the queen, “in fighting an opponent who has no idea that you are even there. I highly recommend the audio because it helps to deeply immerse you in the story creating a richer experience. I grabbed the physical copy and read it along with the full-cast audio. The writing is smooth, making this an easy read, and it’s a quick one too with under 100 pages, including the illustrations. It’s more of a reimagining than a retelling because it combines “Snow White” with “Sleeping Beauty” but woven into a new, unique tale with a main emphasis on the women. I adored Snow, Glass, Apples and have enjoyed nearly everything I’ve read by him. Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors.

“She called for provisions, and for her horse, and then she rode out of the palace, towards the east.” She takes matters into her own hands, alongside her dwarves-at-arms, and leaves on a journey to see what this enchantment is all about. YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat queen (Snow White) is preparing to marry her prince and to live happily in her kingdom until she’s informed of a sleeping enchantment that’s taken over everyone in a nearby land. Read by Neil Gaiman and (as always) he provides an excellent audio rendition Annnd that's about as positive as I can get. I really wanted to see that build/emotional development and the was absolutely nothing. I went on thinking that this would be a lesbian retelling of sleeping beauty. which is one sure way to take me out of the story.Īnd I didn't feel the romance - for some reason,

which (of course) made everything ridiculously and overwhelmingly dramatic. or this: It would be the end of her life, she decided, if life was a time of choices. It has too many lines like this: But the path to her death, heartbeat by heartbeat, would be inevitable. Maybe it's because I've read too many versions of fairytales but I just wasn't wowed.

the whole story had a very lackluster feel to it. Learning how to be strong, to feel her own emotions and not another's, had been hard but once you learned the trick of it, you did not forget. Yes, there's a Snow White, but gone is the calm Disney gal. I don’t have a lot of patience for stories in which women are rescued by men.'Yes, there's a sleeping beauty but she's nothing is like the original story. The best part - how Gaiman takes the fairy tale characters and weaves them into a new-old story. I've read so many versions of fairy tales that it takes a really interesting spin(dle) (ha) for me to enjoy.

The sleeper and the spindle book