The iconography is familiar—sidekick dwarves, thorn-covered castle, a bitter old witch—but Gaiman's mash-up is unabashedly feminist. The prince sulks over the delayed wedding, while Snow White dons chain mail and rides out to save the day. The gnarled, ugly witch is certainly more than she seems. And the princely kiss that wakes a sleeping beauty doesn't involve a prince at all. Plenty of authors have tried such tactics, only to succumb to another hazard of retelling—the niggling feeling that when all is said and done, what we're reading is souped-up fan fiction. But Gaiman knows fairy tales in his bones, and his work is so sonically tuned that it breathes on its own from the first line…What's most remarkable about The Sleeper and the Spindle, besides its string of expert twists, is how it feels told rather than written…Adding to the wonder are Chris Riddell's dazzling illustrations, black-and-white with flashes of gold, so detailed in their dark imagination that, at times, Gaiman's story seems less a fairy tale and more a bad, beautiful dream.
Neil Gaiman fans, rejoice! We have exciting news to tide us over to March, when that long-gestating Starz adaptation of American Gods begins shooting: Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories, a four-part TV series adapting some of Gaiman’s shorter fiction is scheduled to start filming in November to air on Sky Arts, a UK satellite channel. We don’t […]
Chris Riddell is the U.K.’s new Children’s Laureate, and the internet is full of The Sleeper and the Spindle illustrations once more. You know the picture I’m talking about, though the Neil Gaiman collaboration won’t be published in the U.S. until the fall (you can pre-order it here); a woman with snow-white skin and hair the color of ebony […]
September’s embarrassment of bookshelf riches continues this week with strange fantasy, dark sci-fi, horror set in a hungry cornfield, and a topical tale about complicity and guilt. Here are 13 books worth clearing your DVR for right now:
With winter coming, there’s one thing everybody can rely on: snow. Even if you’re not in an area that gets snow – you lucky ducks – there’s no doubt that snow will appear on your TV screen, in the movies you watch, and in the books you’re reading. And the best kind of snow? A […]
On September 23, select Barnes & Noble stores will be hosting our second annual B-Fest, a nationwide event devoted to celebrating all the best young adult literature has to offer. Included among the festivities? Our B Creative event at 5 p.m., featuring story development workshops created by Barnes & Noble’s NOOK and Adaptive Studios, perfect for aspiring writers. Whether […]