Reviews
Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman and Lorenzo Mattotti is a graphic novel retelling of the 1857 Grimm brothers' tale. In this version the guilt is shared among all the adults: the parents and the witch. The story is also contextualized to set up the encounter between the witch and the siblings. The story is introduced with a back story of a happy couple marrying during prosperous times. They chose to live away from the village where the husband can make money as a woodcutter. During this prosperous time, the siblings are born. Then war comes and with it famine. There is no food and there are no jobs. Siblings wildlands cornfield http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...
As with all Gaiman stories, the prose in this is very readable. However, there's no Gaiman charm. Usually when he tackles a fairy tale, he retells the story in a new, interesting fashion. In this case, all he does is give us the original, just in his words. No unique flare whatsoever. Together with the illustrations, it makes a fine, haunting version of the original, but nothing more. Alas!
Dejé una reseña en español en mi blog: http://natified.com/2016/01/04/libros... My favorite author got inspired by these illustrations made by Lorenzo Mattoti to write Hansel and Gretel, the brother and sister who end up lost in the woods and find a house made of candy, where a woman tries to eat them. It's not a nice story but it is a classic of children literature. I don't really like this story, in general, but it was penned by Gaiman so I bought it. I thought it would be a spin on the classic, similar to what he did with The Sleeper and the Spindle, which is AMAZING, but nope, it's just the classic story, nothing more. I did like the illustrations, they are super dark and I think it fits the spirit of the story better than pretty colorful drawings, so there's that. oh, there's an addendum to the story at the end, about the original written by the Grimm brothers and how the story itself has changed from century to century. I found it to be very interesting, history wise.
I was really disappointed in this book. I'm familiar with this fairytale, and I didn't feel like this book was changed enough to be called a retelling. I didn't get anything out of it. If you have never heard of the fairytale before, then you might enjoy this more than I did. I also didn't care for the illustrations. I found them to be too dark, in the was that there was so much black and I couldn't really see what was drawn. Overall not something I would recommend.
It's Neil Gaiman, the writing is as thoughtful, witty, and entertaining as you'd expect. I didn't like the art, it looks like stylized nonsense. Also, the formatting made it such that you'd read a page of Gaiman's writing, see a picture of what will happen on the next page, then read the page that's associated with the picture. Yes, the pictures spoil the story (although we all know this story, but still...) Edit: Oh, I read this before. One of the joys of fairy tales is the way storytellers take a story everyone knows and adds the details to make it their own. I love the ambiguous nature of the old woman either before a witch, or maybe just a desperate cannibal, who can say? The bleak famine and war that is added to this story makes even the mother, who is the instigator in abandoning the children, sympathetic. Good reread! Still bothered by the picture showing stuff before the text
3.5 stars I was so excited to read this book, because first I love Neil Gaiman. And second, I love Hansel and Gretel. So, I have to get it! The illustration is so beautiful. However, I feel like there’s something in me that is not quite fully satisfy with it. I wish there’s something more. I hope it really took my breath away, but it didn’t. If you want to collect Hansel and Gretel books like me, this book can be easily added to your collection :)
