Fairy tales by Angela Carter

Based mostly on popular tales, these pieces are mostly Gothic or macabre with an air of melancholy. The one exception explodes with an eclat of ribaldry, brilliantly performed by Richard Armitage. Emilia Fox is seductively smooth.

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Surprised myself

I don't usually go in for this genre, but the promise of outstanding performances by the narrators led me to give it a try. I wasn't disappointed. Probably not fully won over either, but it was a good use of a credit for "Puss-N-Boots" alone. I laughed out loud repeated as the story unfolded in such an amazing retelling. That Richard Arnitage was having such an obviously wonderful time with the story was the best part. His voice tone for each character were delightful and I know I will return to listen again and again. The dark nature of the other tales demanded you ask some hard questions of your own morals and worldview. I found that challenging and even uncomfortable at times. Congratulations to Audible for another successful audio-book and to Ms. Fox and Mr. Armitage for their brilliant work.

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Richard Armitage should read everything

And if there was ever a female narrator on par with him, in terms of sheer sensuality, it is certainly Emilia Fox. (Davina Porter is similarly talented in this regard). Now, if only this were my bag. Most of these stories were too visceral for my taste. The writing is excellent, but for me, a bit too disturbing. Except for the Puss in Boots story and the Beauty and the Beast story. Those were my speed; the former being laugh out loud funny and the latter being quite chaste and beautifully told.

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Lush prose and narration

"Lush". That was my immediate thought as I was listening to these reimagined fairy tales. These are not for children; there is lots of blood and animalistic behavior, all described vividly but with subtlety ( no, that's not contradictory, as you will hear when you listen). The narration is just wonderful by both narrators. The first (4) stories are the best.

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Unnerving Start, Satisfying Finish

The first of these stories crossed a line I didn't quite like. Bluebeard's chamber, in Angela Carter's world, is removed of mystery and overflowing with gore. The end of this chapter, though, was so excellent, and so incongruously amusing, that against my earlier judgment I continued with chapter two.

What followed was a plunge into chill and heat by turns. The writing is so intense throughout the book, that I could smell the earth of the Erl King's den, hear the congregation chant as the widowed groom prepares his silver bullet, and see the pool of blood in the forest snow.

After the truly grim first story, with its mix of musky sex and metallic brutality, my enjoyment of this collection was unalloyed. It's beautifully balanced between suspense and certainty, and fully delivers on the promise of all short stories to twist the ending into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

As if all that were not enough for one audiobook, Emilia Fox and Richard Armitage provide flawless narration and perfect pacing.

One note...these were published in 1979: do any other readers recognize what might well have been the original Thirteen Tales of Change and Desperation?

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Not for Me

Full disclosure: horror is not really my genre so I probably was not going to fall in love with this collection of short stories based on children's fairy tales but retold with a feminist bent. Mostly, I found them uneven -- there were some I loved ("The Bloody Chamber, "Puss-in-Boots," "The Courtship of Mr. Lyon") but others ("The Snow Child," "The Werewolf") left me cold.

I was enticed to listen by the promise of another great performance by Richard Armitage, who is a favorite narrator. And, he did not disappoint: his narration of "Puss-in-Boots" is truly wonderful. In addition, Emilia Fox's narration of the opening story, "The Bloody Chamber," is also excellent. But I couldn't wait until I finished these stories.

The book just wasn't for me.

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A bit uneven

A few of the stories really dragged for me, while others were very good. Puss in Boots was so much fun and so delightfully performed by Richard Armitage that I immediately hit replay and listened to it a second time.

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Nuanced 5-star narration of masterful storyteller

What did you love best about The Bloody Chamber?

Its rich prose and sensual subtlety.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Bloody Chamber?

The moment when the gorish contents locked up in The Bloody Chamber were revealed was one of the most shocking.

Which character – as performed by Richard Armitage and Emilia Fox – was your favorite?

The feline in Puss-in-boots. It was the perfect vehicle to make Mr Armitage's vocal and acting range shine.

Any additional comments?

This project’s such a vast improvement on the trashy pseudo-erotica novel Audible had him record for them last January. Now, THIS is a female author worthy of his talent as a narrator.

And, boy, did he savour each expertly chosen word the way the refined palate of a gourmand pays homage to a gifted chef’s masterpiece! If there was ever any doubt that British English is THE accent to enjoy Richard’s voice and acting talent in all its glory, this work provides ample proof he’s never sounded better than in his homeland’s careful diction and beautiful musicality.

Emilia got to read the longest tales. However, I believe that the selection Richard was assigned was the most suitable to be read by a male. What's more, his masterful and nuanced reading and the quality of the prose definitely make up for the brevity of his performance.

I confess I couldn’t curb my impatience and skipped Emilia’s stories to get to Richard’s first. And now that I’ve relished these first delicious courses, I’m off to savour the rest.

This is definitely a book and rendition deserving of multiple listenings.

Fingers crossed Audible keeps giving Mr. Armitage material of this stature.

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Sick, Twisted Fairy Tales

I usually love alternate tellings of fairy tales. This book-not so much. I didn’t realize it was written in 1979 until after I had finished it (that’s usually the second or third thing I look at, after title and author; somehow skipped over it on this one). That explained a lot to me as far as the weird sexual stuff. I found her writing a bit similar to that of Richard Matheson in Hell House. Both, a reflection of that period in time as far as the sexual climate. Not my cup of tea. However, a couple of Carter’s stories in this collection were pretty good.

The Bloody Chamber – A good start. Child bride discovers the dark secret kept by her new husband. Satisfying ending.
The Courtship of Mr. Lyon – Re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. I didn’t hate it.
The Tiger’s Bride – Another re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. I appreciated the fact that the father was painted as the low life scum that he was; I mean what kind of man gambles away his child? But the end was long, drawn out and a little confusing. However, a nice twist from the Disney version.
Puss in Boots – One of the best of this collection, in my opinion. Although a very adult version.
The Erl King – I have no idea what this was about. So wordy and so confusing.
The Snow Child – This story alone convinced me to never read another work by Angela Carter. It’s a story of a necrophiliac pedophile that apparently lives happily ever after. Who would write such horrible things? What would be the purpose? And who in their right mind would enjoy reading it, or take anything away from it other than a horrible, sick feeling? What was Carter thinking? I had a hard time even continuing on after this one.
The Lady of the House of Love – Vampire story with a very different kind of ending (although she took foreeeeever to get there!)
The Werewolf – Re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood.
The Company of Wolves – Ms. Carter dabbles in beastiality in this one, making sure she covers all the sick, twisted bases.
Wolf-Alice – I was so over this book at this point, none of it made sense, and I just wanted to be done.

The only redeeming qualities of this book were the narrators.

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New Take On Old Tales

Puss In Boots... Brilliant interpretation by Richard Armitage. That's worth the price of admission alone.

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