February 24th 2010
Briar Rose
I’ve mentioned before that Making Light is my favorite Net hangout. The conversation is lively, intelligent, and witty over a large range of topics. And the amazing pun cascades can be neither forgotten nor forgiven. The regular, casual appearance of some of my favorite SF authors further sweetens the experience, and a half remembered comment* added Jane Yolen to my mental list of Authors Whose Work I Should Try.
I finally got a good chance when I saw Yolen’s Briar Rose at Powell’s a couple days ago. I also figured it would be a great chance to compare Briar Rose with Orson Scott Card’s Enchantment, since both are a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with modern characters.
The similarity ends there. Yolen frames the story around a beloved grandmother’s death and the Holocaust; Card alternates between the current time and early-pseudo Russian history, about the time Cyrillic was being codified. Card’s story is literary cotton candy, best consumed young, to be recalled fondly through the distance of years. Yolen’s is a multi-course meal you’ll never forget, eaten with a fascinating companion who, you realize, just altered your worldview a little. Briar Rose is highly recommended, and at a scant two hundred pages, is easily read in a day.
SPOILERS after the break Continue Reading »
