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What I want in my ideal fairy tale fiction.
What I want in my ideal fairy tale fiction.
A Unique Twist.
I don’t want to simply read a retelling of Cinderella where she’s suddenly speaking up for herself more, I want there to be a reason behind the fairy tale, a twist we never got from the Grimm Brothers. That’s why books like Ella Enchanted, Golden, and Fairy Godmother work for me – they aren’t just the same old story. They use a fairy tale as a starting point, a what if, but the following story is all their own.
Believable Romance.
Sure, in the original three page oral stories the prince and runaway princess can fall in love in an instant, but if it’s going to be a novel, I want well-built romance. There have to be reasons for the growing attraction and a genuine connection between the couple in love. It’s even better if the main character actually questions whether or not they can fall in love over the course of two days. The Rose Bride, Wildwood Dancing, and Ella Enchanted all do a good job of this for me.
Realistic Portrayal of Women.
In humorous fairy tale parodies, it doesn’t really matter whether the women are realistic or not, but whenever an author tries to give a fairy tale historical backing, I just cringe when the main girl is suddenly demanding to choose her own husband and work outside the home, or other such out of place actions. I want realistic reactions from the people she encounters. I admire any author who can make the woman seem both realistic for her time and still a sympathetic and connectable character to modern day women. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of a good example for this, though the Alanna books are some good general fantasy that deal with the place of females in historical societies.
Humor.
Typically, I want humor in my fairy tale fiction. Better yet, I want my humor drawn from elements that I recognize from other tales. Nothing is funnier to me than an element of another tale pulled out and twisted to fit a new tale. Books like Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles crack me up because she pulls out different elements and unexpected consequences of various fairy tales. Like when the main characters come across Rumpelstiltskin, who now has far too many babies, since princesses keep not being able to guess his name. The main characters suggest that he starts a boarding school and charge the parents for tuition (since the kids always end up leaving to go back as the unknown heir eventually). Elements like that are great in a fairy tale novel. Goose Chase, Enchanted Forest Chronicles, and Ella Enchanted all top my list for humorous fairy tales.
And yes, apparently Ella Enchanted is the perfect example of my ideal fairytale fiction.
Ah, Ella Enchanted is a great book. I love the story. I can’t even remember how many times I’ve reread that book… Absolutely wonderful : )
I know. I reread it about once a year. I need to reread the sequel though, because I don’t have a very good memory of it - just didn’t leave an impact.
I love Ella Enchanted. The characters are all so believable! Another fairy tale fiction I love is Poison by Chris Wooding. Although it lacks romance *pout*
Hmm, I just looked that one up on amazon, never heard of it before, and it sounds really interesting. I’ll have to check it out.