Traditional tales in whatever form they’re found are ripe for retelling, aren’t they? But how far are you prepared to go to give them a modern slant?
I think if that question was asked of author Marissa Carter, her response would be something along the lines of “I would consider making them virtually unrecognisable,” like a botched plastic surgery or filler face job.
Looking at the cover with its harlequin/jester figure suggests mischief, the fool being a traditional figure of the fun-poking variety. I was excited to get stuck in to see how these tales would be “revised”.
However, when I first started reading the collection, I wasn’t sure about whether or not I was going to like them. The book begins with Goldilocks and the Three Bears, then moves onto Chicken Little, both of which take the bones of the traditional story with the same or similar characters and have them more sassy, less innocent, more politically correct or just as dumb, just as smart but with a modern take on their role or their goal.
It was when I started The Three Little Pigs that I knew I was going to like them. There was something about the interaction with the wolf and the last pig with his PhD in Material Science and the cocky way the pig “leaned casually against the doorframe” with his “mug of hazelnut-flavored coffee” that made me change my mind. And I was right. Marissa Carter just needed those first two stories to get into her stride and then she was away.
I devoured the rest of the stories. I won’t list them all here but I especially enjoyed Rapunzel. The tales are permeated with cleverness and there is a great deal of irreverence here too. Carter pokes fun at modern life throughout these retellings using satire, sarcasm, wise-cracking dialogue and dry wit that’s verging on snide but it’s all good fun. There were editorial asides too which created a sense for the reader of being in on the joke, a voyeur to the process of taking this tale and turning on its head.
I was reminded of the best comedy, that of incongruity, where what is presented is not what is expected and it is in this disparity that the laughter comes. That is what Marissa Carter has done in these tales and I dare you not to be amused.
Oh, and don’t be put off by the wordy, unwieldy title.
Rachel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Scuffed Granny 