Angela Carter (Schriftstellerin, Grossbritannien)

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

Hanniyah Cross

Elena Menendez

Draculelle

Nezumi

His wedding gift, clasped round my throat. A choker of rubies, two inches wide, like an extraordinarily precious slit throat.

Nica

‘There is a striking resemblance between the act of love and the ministrations of a torturer’

Take off my clothes for you, like a ballet girl? Is that all you want of me?

bri 🍂

And I saw myself, suddenly, as he saw me, my pale face, the way the muscles in my neck stuck out like thin wire. I saw how much that cruel necklace became me. And, for the first time in my innocent and confined life, I sensed in myself a potentiality for corruption that took my breath away.

I felt as giddy as if I were on the edge of a precipice; I was afraid, not so much of him, of his monstrous presence, heavy as if he had been gifted at birth with more specific gravity than the rest of us, the presence that, even when I thought myself most in love with him, always subtly oppressed me... No. I was not afraid of him; but of myself. I seemed reborn in his unreflective eyes, reborn in unfamiliar shapes. I hardy recognized myself from his descriptions of me and yet, and yet - might there not be a grain of beastly truth in them? And, in the red firelight, I blushed again, unnoticed, to think he might have chosen me because, in my innocence, he sensed a rare talent for corruption.

He forced himself to master his shyness, which was that of a wild creature

She counts out the Tarot cards, ceaselessly construing a constellation of possibilities as if the random fall of the cards on the red plush tablecloth before her could precipitate her from her chill, shuttered room into a country of perpetual summer and obliterate the perennial sadness of a girl who is both death and the maiden.

Her voice is filled with distant sonorities, like reverberations in a cave: now you are at the place of annihilation, now you are at the place of annihilation. And she is herself a cave full of echoes, she is a system of repetitions, she is a closed circuit. "Can a bird sing only the song it knows or can it learn a new song?"

Angela Carter

"For the 75th anniversary of her birth, a Deluxe Edition of the master of the literary supernatural's most celebrated book Angela Carter was a storytelling sorceress, the literary godmother of Neil Gaiman, Audrey Niffenegger, J. K. Rowling, and other contemporary masters of supernatural fiction. In her masterpiece, The Bloody Chamber--which includes the story that is the basis of Neil Jordan's 1984 movie The Company of Wolves--she breathed new life into familiar fairy tales and legends in a style steeped in the romantic trappings of the gothic tradition. This edition features a new introduction by Kelly Link, the Nebula and World Fantasy Award-wining author, one of a new generation of writers who've been inspired by Carter's brand of fantastical, subversive, boundlessly imaginative fiction. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators"--

the bloody chamber was the only good story, others not really

The Bloody Chamber

It's a small 3 stars for me. Looking back at it, it felt a bit mediocre I guess ? I expected more from what I've heard around this anthology. 

retelling of the "Blue Beard" tale, like no changes or what juste the time period and the context I guess. Nothing was brought to this retelling, the same can be told for two following short stories (

). Although, I would say The Tiger's Bride was probably my favourite but note that the bar is not high lol. This is an anthology were I tried to take my time with it and spaced out my reading between the short stories to process them. 

Some short stories, I didn't know what was their point of being there really, those stories were confusing and I didn't manage to understand or see any messages behind it. ( looking at you, the werewolf stories lol, and omg puss-in-boots 🙅🏻‍♀️ )

 The general critique said there's some social commentary and I honestly couldn't see it except a few on female condition in this time around but really I wanted to see more of it otherwise the stories felt pointless 

It probably sounds mean but that's how I felt as a reader who expected much more from this anthology.

Yeah 3 stars is really a nice rating when you see that I am basically ranting in this review lol.

Amira BEN

It's a small 3 stars for me. Looking back at it, it felt a bit mediocre I guess ? I expected more from what I've heard around this anthology. The Bloody Chamber felt like a literal retelling of the "Blue Beard" tale, like no changes or what juste the time period and the context I guess. Nothing was brought to this retelling, the same can be told for two following short stories (courtship of mr Lyon and the Tiger's bride). Although, I would say The Tiger's Bride was probably my favourite but note that the bar is not high lol. This is an anthology were I tried to take my time with it and spaced out my reading between the short stories to process them. 

Some short stories, I didn't know what was their point of being there really, those stories were confusing and I didn't manage to understand or see any messages behind it. ( looking at you, the werewolf stories lol, and omg puss-in-boots 🙅🏻‍♀️ )

 The general critique said there's some social commentary and I honestly couldn't see it except a few on female condition in this time around but really I wanted to see more of it otherwise the stories felt pointless to me. It probably sounds mean but that's how I felt as a reader who expected much more from this anthology.

Yeah 3 stars is really a nice rating when you see that I am basically ranting in this review lol.

A beautiful and sharp collection of reimagined fairytales, in which the female characters are not only impassive damsels to be rescued by a prince in shining armor, but have the strength to fight for their life, their sexuality and self-determination.

arwen

my favorites were the erl-king and the lady of the house of love

oh classic for a reason this was sharp and delicious

Ceej Manaloto

It's like Peter Pan but instead of having faith, trust, and pixie dust in order to fly, Angela lets her heroines live with(terrible) fate(s), (a whole lot of) thrust(s), blood, blood, more blood, oh, and did I mention blood? Yeap, blood.

Andddd, no Tinkerbel coz I think she killed her off too

...brutally.

Perfect October read though.

the lady of the house of love has to by my favorite story

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY HELEN SIMPSON From familiar fairy tales and legends âe" Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves âe" Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.

Ann Gabrielle

loved the imagery but these were not the feminist retellings i thought these were going to be. understand that this wasn’t carter’s main goal anyways. however, and despite the luscious imagery, i didn’t rejoice for the female protagonists as much as i anticipated. also dragged a bit in building atmosphere during certain points. 4 stars anyway for the conceptualization and overall attempt.

Zachary Tan

Angela Carter has taken old fairy stories, subtly altering and changing them to create strange glittering tales that will haunt the reader.

Lila R E

objectively this seems like good literature but a lot of it probably just went over my head.

karissa🌙

The Tiger's Bride: ☆☆☆.5

The Erl King: ☆☆☆☆

This is my first experience with Angela Carter's writing, but after listening to this, I want to find much more of her work to read because the prose and themes are exactly my vibe

Emma Lechner

Lara Engle

As usual, some stories in this collection are great, and others are meh. Watch out for some visceral descriptions and sudden sexual aggressions. These stories are sometimes grim, sometimes vengeful, but almost always compelling. I love the use of language. Carter's imagery can make your skin crawl as you attempt to get the smell of moss and mildew out of your nose. These tales are disturbing, but I enjoyed experiencing them.

Wynter

Loved it! Angela has a way with words in this little collection. She genuinely has fun with lexicon in ways I only dream of handling English language. Puss-in-Boots could be a fine short play, in the vein of Shakespearean comedy, slightly on the bawdy side. The Bloody Chamber is the perfection of gothic fiction. If you desire something more short, punchy, and surreal, The Snow Child or The Werewolf might be your perfect companions. Immensely dark, erotic, and self-aware. I can't recommend it enough.

some stories (the bloody chamber, the lady of the house of love) were pretty great, some were just not it for me. i personally found it a bit repetitive and not captivating enough to keep my attention, but i appreciated the gothic elements.

I thought the stories were good, overall, but some of the topics and themes made me uncomfortable. Also, sometimes the writing is hard to follow and overly complicated

Paola Martínez

Toyah Blackburn

I was expecting great things from this book, having had it recommended to me numerous times. I found that I just couldn't get into it at all. Her style, I felt, was overly flowery and uninspiring. I had to give up halfway through the first story.

not sure what my expectations were exactly but i cannot help but feel this turned out different from what i thought it would be. not bad but different.

it is clear that carter is a talented and capable author; she has a good hold of the dark fairy tale and the gothic. there is, after all, a certain level of competence and ability required in order to imitate and fully commit to the prose style fitting to each story should they have been original fairy tales dated from 17th, 18th, 19th century. however, sometimes that the style would make the stories difficult to focus on and truly immerse oneself into ('puss-in-boots' being the particular example).

regardless, i can see why some of the stories have haunted generations and will haunt me. favourites were 'the bloody chamber', 'the courtship of mr lyon', 'the erl-king', 'the lady in the house of love' and 'the company of werewolves'.

Becky Carpenter

Angela Carter is the master of feminist magical fairy tales. A must-read for anyone.

Abigail Auvray

Discover Angela Carter’s classic feminist retelling of favourite fairy tales interwoven by a master of seductive, luminous storytelling. From familiar fairy tales and legends - Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves - Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories. ‘Magnificent set pieces of fastidious sensuality’ Ian McEwan ‘A quirky, original, and baroque stylist’ Margaret Atwood Featuring an introduction from award-winning short story writer Helen Simpson

Unpredictable recollection of tales, read with an open mind, but in the end, I loved it!

Chiara Malaspina di Orezzoli

Bisogna premettere che le raccolte di racconti, per quanto mi sforzi di leggerne almeno un paio all'anno, non riescono mai a soddisfarmi. L'idea del cambio di tono -e punto di vista- applicata a fiabe "comuni" è interessante, così come lo è la scrittura che sa essere al tempo stesso lussureggiante e lineare. È stato un saliscendi impervio: alcuni racconti li ho amati moltissimo (The Lady of the House of Love, The Earl King, The Snow Child), altri invece li ho trovati mediamente vuoti, più simili alla ripetizione del concetto che tiene insieme la raccolta come esercizio di stile. Tre stelline e mezzo.

Grace O'Callaghan

As I’m studying this for school I don’t have the most original thoughts about this yet. I may add more once I have a better understanding of it, all I know is that I enjoyed this.

Just like any short story collection there were some I didn’t care for and some I loved. The Bloody Chamber and The Erl King are probably the most standout ones of the collection. My least favourites were Puss in Boots and The Courtship of Mr Lyon as they just weren’t memorable.

I loved Carter’s critiques on patriarchy and sexuality. They’re not handed to you on a silver platter but are woven into the story leaving you with questions and ideas that make you engage with the text. I also just love gothic tales in general. So much angst.

All in all, I found this collection to be masterfully crafted and something I’ll be happy to return back to once I’m not studying it. Unlike other collections I’ve read it feels like these stories were purposefully written and inform one another, it’s hard to get the full picture with just one of the stories.

Sophia De La Garza

Loved a portion of the stories, some weren't favorites. Overall an awesome collection of fairy tale reimaginings. 

4 out of 5 stars

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories

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