Eye8Pudding
Beauty / Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
Beauty -- "Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage. When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, 'Cannot a Beast be tamed?'" -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
Rose Daughter -- "Almost 20 years after her well-received, award-winning Beauty (1978), McKinley reexplores and reexpands on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. This is not a sequel, but a new novelization...In Rose Daughter, Beauty has an affinity for flower gardening, particularly roses, because of her memories of her deceased mother; it is a talent that serves her in good stead as she nurtures the Beast's dying rose garden. Also...Beauty suffers from recurring dreams of a long, dark corridor and something--a monster?--waiting for her at the end. Rose Cottage, where Beauty and her family settle after the father's financial downfall, and the nearby town and its residents, as well as the opulence of the Beast's castle and the devastation of his rose garden, are vividly depicted. Among the fantasy elements are a prescient cat, the spirit of the greenwitch who willed Rose Cottage to Beauty's family, unicorns, and preternatural Guardians. There is more background on the Beast in this version, allowing readers to see how he came to be bewitched" -- from www.amazon.com
I read these two books after "Beauty" was mentioned in Jane Yolen's "Briar Rose"...I love the story of Beauty and the Beast, and fairy tales in general so I thought these would really be good reads. I enjoyed them both -- "Beauty" with the lighter (more Disney-esque) version and "Rose Daughter" with the darker more adult version -- but there seemed to be something missing in both novels. McKinley kept hinting at mysteries but never really stepped outside the Beauty and the Beast framework to get to the heart of those mysteries. As a result, both books end up more as simple re-tellings of the story instead of inventive re-imaginings.
Beauty -- Started: Oct. 23, 2010 Finished: Oct. 23, 2010
Rose Daughter -- Started: Oct. 25, 2010 Finished: Nov. 1, 2010
Beauty / Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
Beauty -- "Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage. When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he will not let her go, but she answers, 'Cannot a Beast be tamed?'" -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
Rose Daughter -- "Almost 20 years after her well-received, award-winning Beauty (1978), McKinley reexplores and reexpands on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. This is not a sequel, but a new novelization...In Rose Daughter, Beauty has an affinity for flower gardening, particularly roses, because of her memories of her deceased mother; it is a talent that serves her in good stead as she nurtures the Beast's dying rose garden. Also...Beauty suffers from recurring dreams of a long, dark corridor and something--a monster?--waiting for her at the end. Rose Cottage, where Beauty and her family settle after the father's financial downfall, and the nearby town and its residents, as well as the opulence of the Beast's castle and the devastation of his rose garden, are vividly depicted. Among the fantasy elements are a prescient cat, the spirit of the greenwitch who willed Rose Cottage to Beauty's family, unicorns, and preternatural Guardians. There is more background on the Beast in this version, allowing readers to see how he came to be bewitched" -- from www.amazon.com
I read these two books after "Beauty" was mentioned in Jane Yolen's "Briar Rose"...I love the story of Beauty and the Beast, and fairy tales in general so I thought these would really be good reads. I enjoyed them both -- "Beauty" with the lighter (more Disney-esque) version and "Rose Daughter" with the darker more adult version -- but there seemed to be something missing in both novels. McKinley kept hinting at mysteries but never really stepped outside the Beauty and the Beast framework to get to the heart of those mysteries. As a result, both books end up more as simple re-tellings of the story instead of inventive re-imaginings.
Beauty -- Started: Oct. 23, 2010 Finished: Oct. 23, 2010
Rose Daughter -- Started: Oct. 25, 2010 Finished: Nov. 1, 2010