Synopses & Reviews
Great fairy tales are not always stories designed for children. The lurking wolf in Little Red Riding Hood,” the gingerbread house that lures Hansel and Gretel, the beauty asleep in her castle these fables represent some of our deepest, most primeval fears and satisfy our longing for good to win out over evil (preferably in the most gruesome way possible). In this captivating new collection, critically acclaimed author Jean Thompson takes the classic fairy tale and brings it into the modern age with stories that capture the magic and horror in everyday life. The downtrodden prevail, appearances deceive, and humility and virtue triumph in The Witch, as lost children try to find their way home, adults cursed by past unspeakable acts are fated to experience their own horror in the present, and true love or is it enchantment? conquers all. The Witch and Other Tales Re-Told is a haunting and deeply entertaining collection, showcasing the inimitable Thompson at the height of her storytelling prowess.
Review
“[A] bracing narrative stance and a tart political viewpoint....[Thompson] is eerily good at inhabiting a wide range of perspectives and has a fine ear for the way young people speak to one another.... a novel that doesn't pretend to have any answers, comfortable or otherwise, but that vividly, insistently poses questions we should be asking.” The New York Times
Review
“Thompson achieves exceptional clarity and force in this instantly addictive, tectonically shifting novel. As always, her affection and compassion for her characters draw you in close, as does her imaginative crafting of precarious situations and moments of sheer astonishment....Thompson infuses her characters bizarre, terrifying, and instructive misadventures with hilarity and profundity as she considers the wild versus the civilized, the 'survival of the richest,' how and why we help and fail each other, and what it might mean to “build an authentic spiritual self.” Thompson is at her tender and scathing best in this tale of yearning, paradox, and hope.” Booklist, starred review
Review
“[A] penetrating vision of a lower-middle-class family sinking fast....Thompson has a knack for rendering characters who are emotionally fluid but of a piece [and] caps the story with a smart twist ending that undoes many of the certainties the reader arrived at in the preceding pages. A rare case of a novel getting it both ways: A formal, tightly constructed narrative that accommodates the mess of everyday lives.” Kirkus, starred review
Review
“In prose that is gorgeously written but never showy...The Humanity Project rewards readers with the kind of immersive, thought-provoking experience that only expert storytelling can provide.” Cleveland Plain Dealer
Review
“[A] forthright piece of social criticism...Thompson is also an accomplished story writer...attuned to the callousness of 21st-century society, its comedic elements, its misguided efforts to right itself, its often tragic results....There's real beauty in the way Thompson has [characters] serve one another, even if that loving service is often not enough. It is, however, deeply human.” The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
A National Book Award finalist for her short stories, New York Times bestselling author Jean Thompson returns to form with The Witch and Other Tales Re-Told.
Synopsis
A National Book Award finalist and bestselling author, Jean Thompson's new collection of bewitching improvisations on fairy tales” are spellbinding” (
Booklist, starred review).
Jean Thompson author of the National Book Award finalist Who Do You Love and the New York Times bestseller The Year We Left Home is a writer at the height of her powers. Capturing the magic and horror in everyday life, Thompson revisits beloved fables that represent our deepest, most primeval fears and satisfy our longings for good to triumph over evil (preferably in the most gruesome way possible). From the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood” to the beauty asleep in her castle, The Witch and Other Tales Retold triumphantly brings the fairy tale into the modern age.
About the Author
Jean Thompson is the author of six novels, among them The Humanity Project and The Year We Left Home, and six story collections, including Who Do You Love (a National Book Award finalist). She lives in Urbana, Illinois.