(Red Riding Hood image by Raquel Aparicio)
An abundance of NFL opening weekend football and my immersion in a chunkster read with Kailana for the R.I.P. IV Challenge distracted me from feasting heartily on short stories this weekend. I was able to get a nibble in, however, and the focus of my short story reading, though not planned, was on the subject of werewolves.
I dipped back in to Angela Carter’s rich short story collection, The Bloody Chamber, and ended up reading back to back to back stories about our lycanthropic brethren.
The first was The Werewolf, a very short story that I enjoyed the first time I read it but appreciated much more on this second read. There is a chilling nature to the story that did not hit me as strongly the first time, particularly in the way I viewed the red-riding-hood-esque character. It is a story that can be read in mere minutes and yet I took a few more moments this time and savored each morsel.
The second story is one that I ranked highly when I read the collection for the first time, In the Company of Wolves. It too uses the red riding hood tale as the framework for a dark, sinister werewolf tale. It is a longer tale that is very well written. I could see the menacing forest and feel the winter chill in the air as I read it. The story was every bit as enjoyable upon a second read.
The third and final story was Wolf-Alice, a tale that pulls in elements of Alice in Wonderland as well as the vampire-werewolf mythos. I cannot recall being overly taken with this one the first time and I realized on a second reading that there is a lot here, but this story takes a little more effort to fully grasp what is going on with the vampire character and perhaps the vague nature of that part of the tale is what made it more forgettable for me the first time.
In reality all three tales point to what an incredible talent Angela Carter is. It is readily apparent on reading any of the stories in The Bloody Chamber that she has a strong background in the folklore and fairy tales that she is referencing. There is quite a bit of depth here, these are not merely homages or re-imaginings of familiar stories. There is a deeper level of examination of humanity, of fear, of the unexplained. These stories are rich with elements to ponder and study and as such make for different experiences upon subsequent reads. I was impressed with her before. I am more impressed now.
What about you, did you get any short story reading in this past weekend?
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I was thrilled with the response for the first giveaway of the R.I.P. IV Challenge! Please know that I read and enjoyed each and every comment. The number of comments got away from me very quickly and I soon realized it would be easier to use the Random Number Generator for the giveaway if I did not muddy the water with responses.
I loved reading about all the things people do for seasonal decorating and am glad that I am not alone in my desire to acknowledge seasons and holidays by doing a little interior decorating work!
I suppose you would like to know who won?
Well, the new owner of these fine feathered friends is….
Congratulations Gina! Please forward your mailing address to me at poegeek at gmail dot com. Your package is all ready to wing its way to you!!!
There will be many more giveaways to come, so please check your email for another announcement soon!
Have a wonderful week everyone!
I LOVE that illustration! And how nice that you revisited Angela Carter – I should do the same. I absolutely must find time for short story Sunday next weekend. I’ve been craving some short fiction lately, and what better excuse could there be than RIP?
For Red Riding Hood fun there is also The Path – not a book, but a video game (sort of). Actually, The Path is an experiment in storytelling. It’s a plenty wonderful, meditative look at the Red Riding Hood mythos through the eyes of girls of many ages. If you want a video game to play like a video game, this isn’t it. But, if you want to get a glimpse of one of the possible futures for storytelling, check it out. http://thepath-game.com/
Fabulous image! So apt for a post about Angela Carter and my guess before I opened the post up!
“The Company of Wolves” is one of my favourite Carter stories; it is so rich and subverted. She did have quite the history in folklore and fairy tale, not least translating and editing the traditional tales of Charles Perrault.
I am behind in my reading generally but need, want, and will make time for short stories in the coming weeks and plan to revisit Angela Carter soon.
I love the image you used for this post! I’ve been considering finishing The Bloody Chamber for R.I.P. For the past week I’ve been reading short stories from the anthology Black Swan, White Raven. It’s a really great book so far. Have a great week.
OMG I love that image! How do you find all this stuff?!
Congrats to the lucky winner! You were generous to host such a giveaway!
Love the Red Riding Hood illustration!
I also had a busy weekend, but will catch up on my reading soon (at least I hope so!).
Susan: Ah, the giveaways are just part of the fun of hosting! It is my pleasure.
Isn’t that a great illustration? It is so creative. I saw it a couple of years back and remembered it yesterday and knew it would be a perfect one to accompany today’s post.
Stormfilled: Honestly, Raquel Aparicio was on one of those Wendy’s commercials a few years back and I was curious so I looked her up and discovered her work.
Vasilly: I am so glad you are enjoying your reading. And finishing Bloody Chamber would be perfect for R.I.P. These three stories are the ending three stories of the book.
Claire: “subverted”…good call! I remember reading about her at the time I first read this book as someone who certainly was not just your average story teller. I need to check out some other examples of her work sometime.
Caitlin: Thanks for the link. It sounds like a very creative method of interacting in a story.
Nymeth: I am surprised with myself that I’ve managed to get in some short story reading for all three weekends thus far (I started the last weekend of August). I’m hoping to be able to keep it up because there are soooo many short stories that I want to read during this time of year. I have so much Poe and Lovecraft that I haven’t dipped into yet, plus more MR James and others.
Thank you! I’ve sent off an email with my address.
I opened your blog and got hit the most interesting illustration! I love Raquel’s zebra too!
I’m excited about this challenge. I signed up for one because I didn’t know how I’d do and I’ve already read two!
I’ve added The Bloody Chamber to my shopping cart.
Gina: Congratulations again! It is heartening to hear that you are enjoying the challenge so much. And The Bloody Chamber is a great one to add to your list.
Beautiful illustrations. Angela Carter is one of those embarrassing gaps in my reading – I’ve just never read anything by her. I think I may have one story in an anthology so I must dig it out.
Congratulations Gina! 😀
I read Angela Carter in uni – “The Passion of New Eve” – and was hooked. She’s such a wonderful writer. I have ‘The Bloody Chamber’ on my TBR but have yet to pick it up yet. Silly me. 😛
Ceri: You’ll enjoy it! It is perfect reading for this time of year.
Cath: I wouldn’t feel bad. I had heard good things about Angela Carter for years and yet didn’t end up trying her work out until last year. It was worth the wait.
I am going to the UK on a book shopping spree as well as having fun with a blogger friend and THIS just amde my list. Thank you for thsi review and the banner is so amazing. 🙂
Thanks Harry, that sounds like a great trip! I hope you find all kinds of treasures on your journey!
I haven’t read Angela Carter in yeeeeears, but I do still have my copy of the film version of In the Company of Wolves. What a score that was.
I really must read Angela Carter one of these days. Sometimes you just “know” you’re going to enjoy someone’s writing…that’s how she feels to me.
We’re headed out of town, I must remember to throw my Dahl short stories book into my bag so I can get in my short story reading this weekend. It’s becoming addicting, you know.
BTW, Carl, I have an award for you here 🙂 –
http://notinthepink.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-awards-and-junk-d.html
I adore Angela Carter. Excellent reading choices!
New to the blogosphere but see you’re an Angela Carter fam and thought you might be interested in a couple of essays on her on my blog – one in particular, “Anything that Flickers” about her short story, ‘The Merchant of Shadows’ – be interested to know what you think.