Spindle's End

Robin McKinley is fantastic at re-imagining fairy tales in a way that puts women and their relationships with each other front and center. This retelling of Sleeping Beauty is no exception. The story focuses on Rosie, her upbringing by two fairies, and her deep friendship with next door neighbor, Peony. On the fringes are the Queen's mourning for her mother and the plans of the vengeful Pernicia.

This is very much a comfort read. It does some fun things with mechanics of the traditional story. The gifts from the fairy godparents, things like curling hair, pale skin, and a beautiful singing voice, play out wonderfully. The curse and the country's reaction to spindles is fun. And I loved, absolutely loved, that the kiss that brings the princess out of her cursed sleep is delivered not by the prince (who she does love, truly) but by her best friend, with whom she shares everything.

The only downfall of the book is the confusion of the narrative, which jumps around willy-nilly. Sometimes this works, but here it just falls flat. Flashbacks are entered and go on so long that you forget what's happening in the present. Years of time are covered in a paragraph before the narrative backs up to explain some important things that happened during that time. Tangents beget tangents, and it can be hard to keep everything straight. The saving grace is that the reader more or less knows what's going to happen and is able to sort it out.

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