Have you been able to glean already, from my previous posts, how much of a classics chick I am?
If you haven’t then let me say it now – I LOVE READING THE CLASSICS. They’re my first love, my soul’s fire, the book to my wyrm. If I could be any more of a quintessial classic lover, I’d buy myself a villa and name is Manderley Rochester Heights.
While I do read classic books, I somehow skip on the classic retellings. Truth be told, before book blogging, I wasn’t even aware there were book retellings for fairytales or classic novels even existed!
So, anyway, once I came to know about their existence I was beyond pleased! Like yes, finally! I might find closure reading beloved characters in different genres or even getting the dark side of the story. I have read quite a few so far but was sorely disappointed because they didn’t meet what expectations I had. This has made me wary of picking up any retellings especially those of classic novels, however, I’m quite partial to fairytales and mythology.
There’s a certain charm to fairytale retellings that I cannot seem to get enough of. I’d written a post on my expectation for fairy tale retellings, if you’d like to read that.
What draws me to pick up a certain retelling would be the how different this retelling is going to be. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and Cinder by Merissa Meyer drew me in for this reason. One is a Jungle Book retelling with ghosts and another is Cinderella + science fiction! I’m always keen for retellings with a dark premise which is what To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo promises!
Speaking of which, who doesn’t love a good murder in their re-tellings? Macbeth by Jo Nesbo is one I’m excited for. Firstly, I enjoy Shakespeare’s works and I’d love to know how the drug-world fits into this! Finally, The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd sounds creepy, speaking to my love for a bit of humanity’s twisted.
This week’s discussion is a part of The Book Blogger Hop hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.
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I think some classic retellings can be really innovative and able to stand on their own. They can make you look at the original text from a different perspective. But of course, those are few and far between. There are a lot of rehashes out there too.
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Yep, have you read any you’ve loved? Would love some recommendations!
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Wide Saragasso Sea by Jean Rhys ( Jane Eyre)
March by Geraldine Brooks (Little Women)
The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Mrs. Dalloway)
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (The Odyssey)
On Beauty by Zadie Smith (Howard’s End)
I don’t know if I’d call these innovative or literary but they’re a lot of fun:
Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding (Pride and Prejudice)
Longbourn by Jo Baker (also Pride and Prejudice)
Going Bovine by Libba Bray (Don Quixote)
Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye (Jane Eyre)
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Oh wow, I’ve read The Graveyard Book but I didn’t even make the connection to the Jungle Book! In any case, I love fairytale retellings, especially The Little Mermaid retellings. My favourites are The Summer of Chasing Mermaids, and The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist, but I’m also excited about The Seafarer’s Kiss and by Julia Ember and Sea Witch by Sarah Henning, which I’m yet to read 🙂 I also heard good things about The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer (Hades and Persephone, f/f), Ash by Malinda Lo (Cinderella, f/f) and In Ageless Sleep by Arden Ellis (Cinderella).
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I didn’t know about that either! I came across it by chance and was very interested 😀 Oooh The Dark Wife sounds like my type of read!
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I’m pretty happy to read a fairytale retelling 🙂 but I’m not always sure about classics retellings. I’ve recently read a Pride and Prejudice retelling I liked (Eligible), but I’m not sure I’d want to read someone butchering my favorite classics, for example, Jane Eyre or something 😀 it would have to be a classic I’m not very passionate about 😀
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Same here! With classic retellings, I’m almost never convinced to pick up the book especially if it’s a contemporary retelling but give me a fairytale retelling and I’m happy.
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I’ve been reading a lot of retellings lately, both fairytales and classics. For some reason, I’ve read a lot of Pride and Prejudice retellings. They’re fun, especially when they’re updated and modernized. It’s interesting to see how the characters are adapted to today’s social standards.
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Oooh, I don’t think I’ve read any related to Pride and Prejudice. Any you’d recommend?
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I actually love retellings. Owl Eyes by Molly Lazer is one I finished yesterday. Dark Cinderella retelling and I really liked it! As for classics.. I honestly don’t like them but I have to admit that I haven’t given them a proper chance YET. I’m planning on it! I have a huge stack of them at home.
The first classic I’ll read it probably Mansfield Park because I read a retelling of that one that I absolutely adored – Seeking Mansfield by Kate Watson. So, maybe I’ll end up saying a retelling was my way “in” when it comes to classics. Who knows!
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Aaah I love when retellings take on a darker note! I haven’t any classic retellings on my list yet but that may change in the future :p
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Same!
Haha, if it wasn’t for that one classic retelling, I probably still wouldn’t be considering picking up an actual classic. 😛
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the manman’s daughter sounds so interesting, the TITLE and the gorgeous creepy af cover??????? also I clicked your instagram link and it said page not found :OOOOOO
*sadness*
w is your IG handle? ❤
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Whaaaa? that’s weird! My IG name is camilleareads 🙂
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That’s why I want to read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman this year too! I just read The Darkness Shows the Stars which is a Persuasion retelling… I quite loved it… And Scarlet is really good, I actually liked it more than Cinder… I’m reading Of Metal and Wishes which is a Phantom of the Opera retelling set in Asia and I’m liking so far. ❤ I so agree about loving retellings of classic literature!
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Of Metal and Wishes sounds interesting! I haven’t read Phantom of the Opera but I did watch the movie for it and was pretty much blown away!
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Woohoo I love that you’re a classics chick!!! 😀 ❤ I absolutely love fairytale retellings too 😀 Cinder was fun 🙂 And I really liked Graveyard book. And I need to read to kill a kingdom- it sounds so cool!! Great post!
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