Synopses & Reviews
Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty?
ONE OF ENTROPY MAGAZINE'S BEST NONFICTION OF 2020/2021
If every disabled character is mocked and mistreated, how does the Beast ever imagine a happily-ever-after? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference.
"Leduc persuasively illustrates the power of stories to affect reality in this painstakingly researched and provocative study that invites us to consider our favorite folktales from another angle." —Sara Shreve, Library Journal (Starred Review)
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“A fascinating exploration….Part literary examination, part cultural critique, and part memoir, Disfigured is exceptional….An enlightening work of literary criticism that dissects the stories that we tell ourselves.”
Foreword Reviews
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“Leduc is thoughtful and her research is vast. She has woven together a poignant and informative account of how the stories we tell shape our collective understanding of one another.” Booklist
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"Leduc peels the flesh from the fairy tales we grew up loving and strips them down to their skeletons to skillfully reveal how they influence the way we think about disability. She contrasts the stories we have with the ones we wish we had, incorporating her own life. Her wisdom lands like a punch in the heart, leaving a sizable dent that reshapes how we see tales we've been telling for centuries. She also — and this is the best part — suggests how we might tell new fairy tales, how we can forge new stories." Adam Pottle, author of Voice
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"A unique and dazzling study...a revolutionary approach to understanding why we are drawn to fairy tales and how they shape our lives." Jack Zipes, author of Grimm Legacies
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"Each chapter is a gem, but the kind of gem that turns into a knife, into a mirror, into a portal. Leduc's real magic? That she transforms her readers as surely as any world." Mira Jacob, author of Good Talk
About the Author
Amanda Leduc's essays and stories have appeared in publications across Canada, the US, and the UK. She is the author of the novels The Miracles of Ordinary Men and the forthcoming The Centaur's Wife. She has cerebral palsy and lives in Hamilton, Ontario, where she works as the Communications Coordinator for the Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD), Canada's first festival for diverse authors and stories.