The nominees for the 2009 World Fantasy Awards have been announced. Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan is a nominee for best novel. The rest of the nominees are listed here. Congratulations to all the nominees although I'm not listing them here beyond Lanagan since her work is most pertinent to this blog. Others are quite close, such as Neil Gaiman's Odd and the Frost Giants, which was inspired by Norse mythology and nominated for best novella.
Tender Morsels is a dark retelling of Snow White and Rose Red and has already garnered nominations and awards this past year. Retellings of this tale are rare and this is perhaps the darkest to date. There has been debate over its suitability for teens with the graphic content, so be warned of such. However, the story is resonating with many with its themes of abuse and survival.
The book also joins a short list of fairy tale retellings that unabashedly deal with abuse, especially in women's lives. The long out-of-print The Armless Maiden edited by Terri Windling and still in-print Deerskin by Robin McKinley are among the best. Short stories by several authors have also appeared in other Datlow & Windling collections and those by individual authors, too. The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block may also appeal to fans of this subgenre.
I've had Tender Morsels and Deerskin on my to-read list for quite some time, but I'm just learning about the Datlow and Windling collections (thanks to you). And by the way, I've finally just checked out your cafe press site - you have some fabulous items!
ReplyDelete