The Rumpelstiltskin Problem
Sep. 26th, 2007 02:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
library_mamaDid I mention a weakness for fairy tales? This book, in its lovely purple handmade paper binding, was just lying on the shelf begging me to pick it up. So I did.
The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian VandeVelde Vande Velde is a well-known writer of fantasy and horror for the young, so this is a little out of her usual sphere. The problem with Rumpelstiltskin, she writes in the introduction, is that it just doesn’t make sense. For example, what father would lie to a king about his daughter’s abilities? What king would believe that an obviously poor girl had the ability to spin straw into gold? Why would anybody want to marry someone on a three day acquaintance, on every one of which she’s been threatened with death? In this collection, she sets out to make the familiar story make sense. She puts a different spin on each of half a dozen stories, so that in each one, a different character is to blame, and for different reasons. The language is contemporary, the stories funny, the concept fascinating. Enjoy!
The Rumpelstiltskin Problem by Vivian VandeVelde Vande Velde is a well-known writer of fantasy and horror for the young, so this is a little out of her usual sphere. The problem with Rumpelstiltskin, she writes in the introduction, is that it just doesn’t make sense. For example, what father would lie to a king about his daughter’s abilities? What king would believe that an obviously poor girl had the ability to spin straw into gold? Why would anybody want to marry someone on a three day acquaintance, on every one of which she’s been threatened with death? In this collection, she sets out to make the familiar story make sense. She puts a different spin on each of half a dozen stories, so that in each one, a different character is to blame, and for different reasons. The language is contemporary, the stories funny, the concept fascinating. Enjoy!
