Briar Rose: A Novel of the Fairy Tale SeriesWindling's Fairy Tale series has produced several excellent fantasy novels inspired by classic fairy tales. This is one of the series's most ambitious efforts, and only a writer as good as Yolen ( Sister Light, Sister Dark ) could bring it off. Yolen takes the story of Briar Rose (commonly known as Sleeping Beauty) and links it to the Holocaust--a far-from-obvious connection that she makes perfectly convincing. Rebecca Berlin, a young woman who has grown up hearing her grandmother Gemma tell an unusual and frightening version of the Sleeping Beauty legend, realizes when Gemma dies that the fairy tale offers one of the very few clues she has to her grandmother's past. To discover the facts behind Gemma's story, Rebecca travels to Poland, the setting for the book's most engrossing scenes and its most interesting, best-developed characters. By interpolating Gemma's vivid and imaginative story into the larger narrative, Yolen has created an engrossing novel. She handles a difficult subject with finesse in a book that should be required reading for anyone who is tempted to dismiss fantasy as a frivolous genre. |
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Alan Auntie Avenger Becca asked Becca smiled Becca thought Becca took Becca turned Becca whispered Berlin Birch breath Briar Rose Bydgoszcz called camp castle CHAPTER Chelmno child coffee dark Dawna dead dining room door eyes fairy tale Father Stashu Fort Oswego Gemma German Gestapo girl Gitl grandmother grandmother's hair hand Harvey Henrik Holz-Wadel Howie Jane Yolen Jewish Jews Josef kissed knew Księżniczka Kulmhof laughed leaned lived Lodz looked Magda Majdanek Mandlestein mother mouth Narew never night nodded once Oswego P.L. Travers paper partisans Poland Polish Potocki prince princess promise Rebbe remember ring rumor Sachenhausen Samantha schloss Shana and Sylvia shook her head silent Sleeping Beauty slivovitz spoke Stan stared stay stopped story suddenly talk tell TERRI WINDLING things told voice walked woman woods