{"id":293,"date":"2006-08-05T19:22:05","date_gmt":"2006-08-06T02:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=293"},"modified":"2021-06-04T20:13:10","modified_gmt":"2021-06-05T00:13:10","slug":"swan-sister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/293","title":{"rendered":"Swan Sister"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swan Sister<\/a><\/em> (2003) Ellen Datlow<\/a> & Terri Windling<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I don’t think I’ve come across a short story collection put together by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling that I didn’t like, and Swan Sister<\/em> is no exception to the rule.<\/p>\n

The stories are fairy tales retold, by a variety of authors–many some of my favorites. <\/p>\n

The collection opens with Jane Yolen’s story “Greenkid.” I cannot at all think of a specific story from which this tale strung, yet it contains multiple elements of folk and fairy tales, especially the idea of never sharing your name with a faerie, for names give such creatures power over you. <\/p>\n

Nina Kiriki Hoffman<\/a> once again reminds me why I love her writing so much as she retells the story of Bluebeard in “Chambers of the Heart” from the point of view of the young bride. I love how she manages to tell an entire tale in only a short story. “Chambers of the Heart” was probably the story that kept closest to the original tale, of a man who murders his brides and keeps their bodies in the basement. Yet knowing the tale made the story no less compelling.<\/p>\n

In other other direction, WIll Shetterly’s “Little Red and the Big Bad” was as far from a traditional folk tale as you can get, yet he managed to completely recreate the feel and idea of the original tale–especially in the ending. <\/p>\n

“The Girl in the Attic” by Lois Metzger kept the feel of a fairy tale, with its step-mother \/ step-daughter relationship, however, I loved the way the story turned out.<\/p>\n

I know why Katherine Vaz’s story “My Swan Sister” was last–because by the end my eyes were too blurry with tears to continue on. Very impressive for a story only twelve pages long. Although this story deviated the most from the traditional fairy tale, it was still excellent. And I particularly like how the story made me see and feel the idea of experiencing each day to its fullest. <\/p>\n

All in all, there wasn’t a weak story in this collection. <\/p>\n

Like A Wolf at the Door<\/em>, this is a collection for children and young adults. However, the stories are so well written that adults should find them just as appealing. If you like folk and fairy tales, I highly recommend this collection.
\nRating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Swan Sister (2003) Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling I don’t think I’ve come across a short story collection put together by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling that I didn’t like, and Swan Sister is no exception to the rule. The stories are fairy tales retold, by a variety of authors–many some of my favorites. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,18,2,6,3,291],"tags":[248,475,80,249],"class_list":["post-293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-anthology","category-fantasy","category-folk-fairy-tales","category-kids","category-paper","tag-ellen-datlow","tag-jane-yolen","tag-nina-kiriki-hoffman","tag-terri-windling"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-4J","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":580,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/580","url_meta":{"origin":293,"position":0},"title":"The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales","author":"Michelle","date":"May 30, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales (2007) Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling I love short stories. Aside from collections by Charles de Lint, I best love anthologies by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling best. Their books are like comfort food, and I save them up for when I'm sick or feeling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/Coyote-Road.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":68,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/68","url_meta":{"origin":293,"position":1},"title":"A Wolf at the Door","author":"Michelle","date":"April 14, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"A Wolf at the Door (2000) edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling I love folk tales and fairy tales, and I love the idea of stories that have been told and retold, and then finally captured on paper. The problem of course, is finding an author who is good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthology","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/anthology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2005\/04\/a-wolf-at-the-door.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3287,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3287","url_meta":{"origin":293,"position":2},"title":"Black Thorn, White Rose: A Modern Book of Adult Fairytales","author":"Michelle","date":"November 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Black Thorn, White Rose: A Modern Book of Adult Fairytales (1994) edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling There were several of these collections in the 90s--and I had the first two if I remember correctly. These are fairy tales retold--some with a change in the point of view, some\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthology","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/anthology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/Black-Thorn-White-Rose.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":229,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/229","url_meta":{"origin":293,"position":3},"title":"Snow White Blood Red","author":"Michelle","date":"April 19, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Snow White Blood Red (1993) Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling I often have a hard time putting down interesting books. Which means that if I'm reading a book I real like before bed, I end up staying up past my bed time instead of falling asleep. One solution is to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthology","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/anthology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/04\/Snow-White-Blood-Red.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":41,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/41","url_meta":{"origin":293,"position":4},"title":"The Faery Reel","author":"Michelle","date":"November 7, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"The Faery Reel edited by Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling Any time I see a fantasy anthology edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, I'll often as not pick it up, because I know that it's going to be good. Usually very good. This volume however, has the added bonus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthology","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/anthology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/11\/Faery-Reel.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3584,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3584","url_meta":{"origin":293,"position":5},"title":"Teeth: Vampire Tales","author":"Michelle","date":"February 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Teeth: Vampire Tales (2011) edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling This is an Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling anthology, so as always, there are fascinating bits of folklore. Rice, not garlic, was the most effective means of keeping Chinese vampires at bay, for they had a strange compulsion to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Teeth-Vampire-Tales","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Teeth-Vampire-Tales-199x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}