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fiveforsilver124. *Ash by Malinda Lo (272)
Ash lives with her father near a forest which is known for the fairy tales told about it. Few believe those tales anymore, but Ash's mother is one who does and after she dies, Ash begins having experiences that make her believe as well.
I enjoyed this book, though not as much as I had hoped. It's a retelling of the story of Cinderella, but unlike most fairy tale retellings I've read, the plot diverges from the familiar tale and becomes something very different. The plot and the writing style were quite good, the few characters that we got to know well were intriguing, and I liked many of the departures Lo made from the fairy tale.
Part of my problem with this book is the details that were left out. There were parts of the story that were missing - important characters that we learned almost nothing about - vital scenes that we didn't see. This gave the whole thing a slightly disjointed feel. In the reverse of so many books today, an additional ten or twenty pages could have added a great deal without harming the integrity of the story.
Also, part of the reason I originally picked this book up was because it was supposed to be "a lesbian retelling of Cinderella (...) in Ash’s world, homosexuality is entirely normal. People are more likely to be heterosexual, but nobody blinks when they see a same-sex couple." (Lo) I thought that was an interesting idea. Unfortunately, unless I missed something, it wasn't until half if not two-thirds of the way through the book that anybody saw or even mentioned a homosexual couple, Ash's new friend in the city never considerd the possibility that she might not be looking for a husband, and Ash's ambitious sister never considered flirting with any wealthy women. While nobody commented when they did see homosexual couples, nothing else seemed to support it being a normal part of life. This aspect of the story was tacked on after most of the story had already been written, and unfortunately it shows by not being particularly well integrated into the rest of the tale.
124 / 150 books. 83% done!
69 / 75 *new books. 92% done!
5 / 10 ^non-fiction. 50% done!
35280 / 45000 pages. 78% done!
Audiobooks: 26h30m
Ash lives with her father near a forest which is known for the fairy tales told about it. Few believe those tales anymore, but Ash's mother is one who does and after she dies, Ash begins having experiences that make her believe as well.
I enjoyed this book, though not as much as I had hoped. It's a retelling of the story of Cinderella, but unlike most fairy tale retellings I've read, the plot diverges from the familiar tale and becomes something very different. The plot and the writing style were quite good, the few characters that we got to know well were intriguing, and I liked many of the departures Lo made from the fairy tale.
Part of my problem with this book is the details that were left out. There were parts of the story that were missing - important characters that we learned almost nothing about - vital scenes that we didn't see. This gave the whole thing a slightly disjointed feel. In the reverse of so many books today, an additional ten or twenty pages could have added a great deal without harming the integrity of the story.
Also, part of the reason I originally picked this book up was because it was supposed to be "a lesbian retelling of Cinderella (...) in Ash’s world, homosexuality is entirely normal. People are more likely to be heterosexual, but nobody blinks when they see a same-sex couple." (Lo) I thought that was an interesting idea. Unfortunately, unless I missed something, it wasn't until half if not two-thirds of the way through the book that anybody saw or even mentioned a homosexual couple, Ash's new friend in the city never considerd the possibility that she might not be looking for a husband, and Ash's ambitious sister never considered flirting with any wealthy women. While nobody commented when they did see homosexual couples, nothing else seemed to support it being a normal part of life. This aspect of the story was tacked on after most of the story had already been written, and unfortunately it shows by not being particularly well integrated into the rest of the tale.
Audiobooks: 26h30m
