Angela CarterThe Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

"The Bloody Chamber and other Stories" is my first Angela Carter .It is an anthology of ten mesmerising feminist themed stories based on popular characters from fairy tales ,fables and myth.So ,we have Blue Beard ,the Erl King,Snow White,Puss in Boots ,Werewolves and Vampires all jostling with each other in the pages of this slim and fascinating volume.✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨I was left with the realization that Carter is probably one of the best feminist writers of this century , next to Virginia Wolfe.Carter does not hold anything back in these stories.Her stories are raw ,sensual and explore the themes of female sexuality and it's awakening ,how our menstruation plays a great deal in our lives ,the desire men blatantly have for women ("Some eyes can eat you up" ,as she writes in the Erl King),the objectification of women ,the idealization men have for the perfect woman (does she even exist?),and the roles of women as victimizers and victims in a continuous cycle of persecution from others and also from themselves .✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨I have often felt that the hand that delivers the most cruel cut to a woman is generally from the hands of another woman (even our mothers ,though no one wants to discuss this possibility.After all,motherhood is supposed to be sacrosanct !!!)and this idea is explored in "Child of Snow " and "The Werewolf".The most disturbing story was "The Tigers Bride ",where she establishes the fact that in order to be really happy ,women need to shed their inhibitions and live away from the rules and norms of traditional society.We are after all dolls in the hands of men because very often we are capable of taking decisions wholly knowing the implications just because we are forced to and there is no other escape route ."The Lady in the House of Love" "was most frightening and "Puss in Boots "was humorous enough to show us that you can never underestimate a woman however quiet and demure she may be.😂✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨Carter's writing has rich vocabulary ,lush ,dense and exquisite prose and powerful imagery that you will find difficult to erase from your mind .A wonderful collection that protrays the enigma a woman really is in all her glorious shades .

Interesting read.

I have always believed that authors are know for their voice more than their stories. And very few have been really able to establish theirs in a way that remains unforgettable through ages. For instance, Poe, Tolkein, Wodehouse, King, Carroll, Marquez, etc. When I stumbled past an excerpt of Carter's Bloody Chambers, I got a feeling that she was leagues apart many from her age. And I picked up 'The Bloody Chambers and Other Stories' before my curiosity had died down.Those following my blog probably already know how much I love Short stories as a genre. That said, reviewing a collection is no easy task. Because you have to be fair to every story, and like any other collection, there are always some stories you love more than others. Giving a collective fair rating is thus, tough. In Carter's 'Bloody Chambers and Other Stories', it wasn't that tedious at all, because all the stories are equally stunning.This collection contains ten stories - The Bloody Chamber, The Courtship of Mr Lyon, The Tiger's Bride, Puss-in-Boots, The Erl-King, The Snow Child, The Lady of the House of Love, The Werewolf, The Company of Wolves, and Wolf-Alice. I loved The Snow-Child, The Lady of the House of Love, The Erl-King, and the titular The Bloody Chamber, more than the rest.In her outstanding revisiting of the classic fairytales; and mind you, I am not saying retelling because although Carter's inspiration maybe those childhood tales we grew up listening too, the plots are distinct and no way related, what makes her writing stand out is the powerful evocative language, luscious imagery of landscapes, paired with the rare play of words that invites the reader on an adventurous journey than a mere reading experience. Her imagination is vivid and gripping, and her choice of words make the prose not just powerfully memorable, but one that excites you to reread the tale over and over again.Underlying themes such as desire, rape, sexuality, eroticism, dominance, physical violence, sex, gothicism, etc., were tad unexpected because when you think fairytales, you have certain preconceived notions of what the plots might entail. But these turned out to be pretty little packages of surprise with feminist spins making our heroines much more powerful and at times, savage, brutally so. They are no more the damsels in distress waiting for the knight, but pretty galant fighters themselves.Carter is quite the prodigious when it comes to burning the stereotypes in their bed, pillaging the traditional tales off their idealistic albeit dumb charm, and rescuing the famous female characters through new modern means of sexual or psychological liberation, imparting them the freedom as the modern world deems fit. She doesn't care pulling reins on her free-willed; at times, wayward women, and pretty much enjoys their extravaganzas. These tales will most certainly change your outlook toward the classic by notches, and if you have the heart to segregate the mesmerising from the morbid, these tales are most certainly for you. That said, I would shy away from recommending Carter's compelling collection to kids, not yet! I'd rather have them enjoy their nights while they can, and the monsters can wait!

Not much interesting

Short stories are as unlimited in their capacity to contain human fantasy and imagination as longer forms, and I think demand less forebearence with our own limitations: while I can get impatient with the straining seams of stitched-together universes in novels, the short story is roomy enough for very stretchy mental worlds without demanding that I overlook the patches that show up so glaringly in longer forms. Carter shows how it's done.

Da tempo cercavo il libro in un'edizione originale che non fosse stampata su carta straccia come i Vintage Classics in paperback. Questa nuova edizione rilegata del grande libro della Carter, per la collana VINTAGE QUARTERBOUND CLASSICS, è meravigliosa, a partire dalla copertina. Avrei preferito che la stampa interna dell'inchiostro fosse più profonda, ma va bene così. Certo, resta un po' cara.

Livre acheté pour une étudiante : livraison rapide et conforme à la description.

her writing style is just immaculate! the descriptive language, masterful representation of women empowerment and sexual identity topics!!! top notch

Angela Carter was an extraordinary writer. A staunch feminist, she was acutely aware of how misogyny and stereotyping has existence for as long as humans have walked the earth. Some inequality is easy to spot, others, less so. This is a collection of Fairy Tales, written with a clear focus on how women and girls are portrayed in them. It’s important to understand that Fairy Tales were not solely designed to entertain. They are in fact, fables and were used to explain, for example, the dangers of children (frequently with a focus on girls) wandering alone into forests inhabited with wolves and to reinforce the belief that girls should remain at home, helping their mothers to cook and clean. Similarly, Beauty and the Beast focuses on the value girls can be (to their parents) if they marry wealthy husbands, whether by choice, or not. The stories within this collection are familiar and recognisable, but it’s easier to see what the subtext is. Angela Carter’s writing is very descriptive, she relies far less on actual conversation between the characters. Her imagery is fantastic and it’s easy to feel connected to the characters, particularly because I am a woman. The female characters may initially be in a very weak position, but Carter allows them to see their quandary and to make decisions about themselves, which in turn strengthens their position, something that’s rare in traditional Fairy Tales.It’s important to note that these are not merely ‘feminist literature’, nor indeed an ‘attack on men’, as I am certain would be the conclusion immediately jumped to by some people.They are each stand alone stories, with humour, some black, others fairly racy. Puss in Boots is particularly bawdy and highly entertaining. Puss is a phenomenal character and anyone whose had a cat will recognise his bravado. Of course, Puss in Boots is also male, so his extreme confidence and never ending self esteem, is instantly recognisable as akin to the behaviour of some younger males, out on a Saturday night, drenched in aftershave and chatting up girls in a macho fashion!It’s a fantastic book, enjoyable as simply stories, with the extra level providing the ability to see how women have been viewed and treated since time immemorial. But, Angela Carter would not be viewed as the genius she was, had she not crafted each tale carefully. They are more about women being empowered, than an attack on men. I cannot recommend this book enough.