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Hansel and Greta: A Fairy Tale Revolution
Jeanette Winterson retells 'Hansel and Gretel'. A Fairy Tale Revolution is here to remix and revive our favourite stories.
'Deep in the wood'
Greta lives with her brother Hansel on the edge of a great forest - a forest in danger of destruction.
GreedyGuts, their aunt, doesn't appreciate Hansel and Greta's plans to replant trees and save the forest. In fact, she thinks they're horrible little vegetarians.
GreedyGuts doesn't give two hoots about nature. She favours luxury and living it up: eating, shopping and partying hard. And so she hatches a plan to get rid of the meddling, do-gooder kids...deep in the wood.
'Deep in the wood'
Greta lives with her brother Hansel on the edge of a great forest - a forest in danger of destruction.
GreedyGuts, their aunt, doesn't appreciate Hansel and Greta's plans to replant trees and save the forest. In fact, she thinks they're horrible little vegetarians.
GreedyGuts doesn't give two hoots about nature. She favours luxury and living it up: eating, shopping and partying hard. And so she hatches a plan to get rid of the meddling, do-gooder kids...deep in the wood.
28 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2020
About the author
Jeanette Winterson
125 books7,925 followersNovelist Jeanette Winterson was born in Manchester, England in 1959. She was adopted and brought up in Accrington, Lancashire, in the north of England. Her strict Pentecostal Evangelist upbringing provides the background to her acclaimed first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, published in 1985. She graduated from St Catherine's College, Oxford, and moved to London where she worked as an assistant editor at Pandora Press.
One of the most original voices in British fiction to emerge during the 1980s, Winterson was named as one of the 20 "Best of Young British Writers" in a promotion run jointly between the literary magazine Granta and the Book Marketing Council.
She adapted Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit for BBC television in 1990 and also wrote "Great Moments in Aviation," a television screenplay directed by Beeban Kidron for BBC2 in 1994. She is editor of a series of new editions of novels by Virginia Woolf published in the UK by Vintage. She is a regular contributor of reviews and articles to many newspapers and journals and has a regular column published in The Guardian. Her radio drama includes the play Text Message, broadcast by BBC Radio in November 2001.
Winterson lives in Gloucestershire and London. Her work is published in 28 countries.
One of the most original voices in British fiction to emerge during the 1980s, Winterson was named as one of the 20 "Best of Young British Writers" in a promotion run jointly between the literary magazine Granta and the Book Marketing Council.
She adapted Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit for BBC television in 1990 and also wrote "Great Moments in Aviation," a television screenplay directed by Beeban Kidron for BBC2 in 1994. She is editor of a series of new editions of novels by Virginia Woolf published in the UK by Vintage. She is a regular contributor of reviews and articles to many newspapers and journals and has a regular column published in The Guardian. Her radio drama includes the play Text Message, broadcast by BBC Radio in November 2001.
Winterson lives in Gloucestershire and London. Her work is published in 28 countries.
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November 15, 2023
‘At the heart of one story is another,’ writes Jeanette Winterson in the afterword to Hansel and Greta, a retelling of the classic fairy tale for Haymarket Books’ Fairytale Revolution series. ‘Fairy tales are like their own forests: hidden paths, twists and turns, bigger than they look, resistant to mapping,’ she describes, and inside the story of Hansel and Gretel, Winterson has found a new story to tell on the all-consuming hunger of greed and capitalism. Which sounds like a great way to re-frame the story, add in that the woodcutter father has realized the environmental destruction of his industry and decides to make a change and the narrator’s name has been refigured from Gretel to Greta as a nod to environmental activist Greta Thunberg and it seems like something I would love even if it is heavy-handed. Alas, this was a big swing and a miss for me, which pains me to say as Winterson is my favorite author. It’s pretty zany and while I do enjoy the whole move of Winterson into the quirky aunt telling kid’s stories that are all over the place and super stick-it-to-the-man, this just feels like too much going on at once and jumping from one thing to the next without enough to really hold it all together. The little illustrations are cool though:
All that said, this was still worth the read and I like a lot of the actual messages here. I feel like children’s stories, especially fairy tales, are a great vessel for social criticisms where you can be more heavy handed but this felt a bit over-caffeinated in its telling instead of being charming like it was intended. I’ve seen Winterson pull it off elsewhere and even the goofiest of stories in her Christmas Days collection land better. It just tries to pull together too many things and becomes so far from the original fairy tale that it is likely to lose people. We have the whole environmental story, which would have worked well on its own, but then it ties into the story of the aunt eating everything and then later into a twist on the gingerbread house story with a witch and its just…too much. The aunt being an ogre is kind of fun (it does have a bit of a fatphobia element that I’ve sometimes noticed in her earlier works) but its almost too silly. The aim is children though so perhaps it works better at that age. I do like, however, how it is a clear metaphor for greed:
I also liked how the witch has a redemptive arc here (shoutout to witches) and it isn’t her that is evil but the Gingerbread House itself, being made out of an addictive gingerbread. It’s all a scheme of the ogre that the witch has become trapped in, so I’m pretty into Winterson doing a metaphor to mock things like MLMs or the horrors of people like the Sackler family getting people addicted on pills in order to keep the profits coming in.
But overall, this just didn’t land beyond a few chuckles. I’ve enjoyed others in this series though and I think its all a cool idea, and I love Winterson. Everyone misses sometimes.
2.5/5
All that said, this was still worth the read and I like a lot of the actual messages here. I feel like children’s stories, especially fairy tales, are a great vessel for social criticisms where you can be more heavy handed but this felt a bit over-caffeinated in its telling instead of being charming like it was intended. I’ve seen Winterson pull it off elsewhere and even the goofiest of stories in her Christmas Days collection land better. It just tries to pull together too many things and becomes so far from the original fairy tale that it is likely to lose people. We have the whole environmental story, which would have worked well on its own, but then it ties into the story of the aunt eating everything and then later into a twist on the gingerbread house story with a witch and its just…too much. The aunt being an ogre is kind of fun (it does have a bit of a fatphobia element that I’ve sometimes noticed in her earlier works) but its almost too silly. The aim is children though so perhaps it works better at that age. I do like, however, how it is a clear metaphor for greed:
‘The point of life is to eat as much as possible, make as much money as possible, go on vacation as much as possible, have as many clothes as possible, buy thousands of household appliances, two new cars every year, a Jacuzzi in the yard, and a Luxury-Level Executive Home. Not oats, lettuce, and a bicycle’
I also liked how the witch has a redemptive arc here (shoutout to witches) and it isn’t her that is evil but the Gingerbread House itself, being made out of an addictive gingerbread. It’s all a scheme of the ogre that the witch has become trapped in, so I’m pretty into Winterson doing a metaphor to mock things like MLMs or the horrors of people like the Sackler family getting people addicted on pills in order to keep the profits coming in.
But overall, this just didn’t land beyond a few chuckles. I’ve enjoyed others in this series though and I think its all a cool idea, and I love Winterson. Everyone misses sometimes.
2.5/5
July 25, 2021
When I saw that Winterson wrote a children's book, I just had to see how this would turn out. An old fairy tale taken place in modern times. Yes, there is a woodcutter with two motherless children, but he is a wood cutter with an environmental conscience. This consciousness would have many consequences. There is no wicked stepmother but a supposed aunt called Greedyguts, who eats everything in sight. Very prodigious appetite. She is wicked though and it is she who sends the children to the forest.
There is a young tree that can walk and a witch who travels by vacuum cleaner as brooms are an outmoded source of travel. The story takes many twists and turns not seen in the original. Putting my self in a much younger frame of mind, not always easy, but I do think a seven or eight year old would find this entertaining. Very different but also unique and imaginative.
ARC from Edelweiss.
There is a young tree that can walk and a witch who travels by vacuum cleaner as brooms are an outmoded source of travel. The story takes many twists and turns not seen in the original. Putting my self in a much younger frame of mind, not always easy, but I do think a seven or eight year old would find this entertaining. Very different but also unique and imaginative.
ARC from Edelweiss.
November 13, 2023
The positives out the door first: it's always a commendable mission to teach children, especially young children who haven't yet acquired environmentally-damaging habits, about the necessity to be mindful of ecology and environment, how to protect it and how to take advantage of it responsibly. That can never be a bad idea to put into books, ones with beautiful art that they can gaze at and enjoy as they learn these important lessons.
In that sense, Winterson's Hansel and Greta has a great premise, to retell the Grimms' "Hänsel and Gretel" as a tale about ecology, a story in which the children grow up near a forest with a forester father who loves the environment, a love they both share. And all done with accompanying art by Laura Barrett, which is simply gorgeous, all in green and two-tone palettes throughout, quite apt for both the plot and the woodsy atmosphere. This I adored a lot.
However, it's equally important to not talk down to children and not be preachy when imparting knowledge that should shape their worldview. Unfortunately, the storytelling falls into these traps, and ultimately results in a badly-written story with little resemblance to the original fairy tale. Characters are either sanctimonious (the good ones) or off-puttingly cartoonish (the baddies). There's no story about an absent father that allows his wife to abandon his kids in the woods only to survive by their outwitting a witch; instead there's a father that does care for protecting the woods from destruction but is too weak-willed to do much, leaving every sensible deed and decision to his kids, who also have to wrestle with the presence of an aunt with the absurd name of GreedyGuts, portrayed problematically as an insatiable glutton with undertones of caricaturising people with food-related unhealthy habits. I imagine her and BeardFace the Boss, another absurdly-named character, are meant to lampoon greedy and selfish big corporations, or perhaps it was satire. Whichever the case, it wasn't written optimally.
Hansel and Greta are good kids and have good intentions, which is also why I wish they hadn't been written so disagreeably. There's plenty of instances where they shove it down your throat with one-liners about plastic bags, carbon, waste, etc., all the while the cartoonish GreedyGuts acts like a pamphlet villain dialed up to eleven. It's all so random, all over the place, and doesn't follow a cohesive storyline, which gives the impression that it's merely dropping tidbits about what shouldn't be done instead of teaching childrean about our environment.
Oh, and Greta Thunberg is mentioned in here too, if you're curious. Another reason for me to wish harder that this had been better.
I received an advance review copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
In that sense, Winterson's Hansel and Greta has a great premise, to retell the Grimms' "Hänsel and Gretel" as a tale about ecology, a story in which the children grow up near a forest with a forester father who loves the environment, a love they both share. And all done with accompanying art by Laura Barrett, which is simply gorgeous, all in green and two-tone palettes throughout, quite apt for both the plot and the woodsy atmosphere. This I adored a lot.
However, it's equally important to not talk down to children and not be preachy when imparting knowledge that should shape their worldview. Unfortunately, the storytelling falls into these traps, and ultimately results in a badly-written story with little resemblance to the original fairy tale. Characters are either sanctimonious (the good ones) or off-puttingly cartoonish (the baddies). There's no story about an absent father that allows his wife to abandon his kids in the woods only to survive by their outwitting a witch; instead there's a father that does care for protecting the woods from destruction but is too weak-willed to do much, leaving every sensible deed and decision to his kids, who also have to wrestle with the presence of an aunt with the absurd name of GreedyGuts, portrayed problematically as an insatiable glutton with undertones of caricaturising people with food-related unhealthy habits. I imagine her and BeardFace the Boss, another absurdly-named character, are meant to lampoon greedy and selfish big corporations, or perhaps it was satire. Whichever the case, it wasn't written optimally.
Hansel and Greta are good kids and have good intentions, which is also why I wish they hadn't been written so disagreeably. There's plenty of instances where they shove it down your throat with one-liners about plastic bags, carbon, waste, etc., all the while the cartoonish GreedyGuts acts like a pamphlet villain dialed up to eleven. It's all so random, all over the place, and doesn't follow a cohesive storyline, which gives the impression that it's merely dropping tidbits about what shouldn't be done instead of teaching childrean about our environment.
Oh, and Greta Thunberg is mentioned in here too, if you're curious. Another reason for me to wish harder that this had been better.
I received an advance review copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
December 26, 2020
This book was deeply disappointing, I wish I could give it zero stars.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that the writing is poor, and the story meandering, winterson tops this all off with a large helping of fat-phobia and body shaming on almost every page. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been quite so jarring if Hansel and greta’s aunt had any traits other than ‘fat’ and ‘eats a lot’, but the way that she’s portrayed is deeply uncomfortable and mean spirited. I think it says more about winterson’s attitude towards fat people than anything else.
This book tries to present itself as a clever reimagined story, however in my opinion, its attempts at cleverness fall flat and the result is a dull, sanctimonious book that is not worth the paper it’s printed on.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that the writing is poor, and the story meandering, winterson tops this all off with a large helping of fat-phobia and body shaming on almost every page. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been quite so jarring if Hansel and greta’s aunt had any traits other than ‘fat’ and ‘eats a lot’, but the way that she’s portrayed is deeply uncomfortable and mean spirited. I think it says more about winterson’s attitude towards fat people than anything else.
This book tries to present itself as a clever reimagined story, however in my opinion, its attempts at cleverness fall flat and the result is a dull, sanctimonious book that is not worth the paper it’s printed on.
April 11, 2021
This was not very well written, incredibly chaotic and included a lot of fatphobia - but the illustrations are beautiful.
April 15, 2022
…. what the hell
May 11, 2021
Reflections and lessons learned:
“Trees have trees!”
So many life lessons on this one but the main themes of greed and expectation vs care and learning all wrapped around some comedy names and rhymes - very apt for a world becoming more reliant on food deliveries!
“First you have to believe that the treasure is really there”
“Trees have trees!”
So many life lessons on this one but the main themes of greed and expectation vs care and learning all wrapped around some comedy names and rhymes - very apt for a world becoming more reliant on food deliveries!
“First you have to believe that the treasure is really there”
Want to Read
September 21, 2021Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
December 9, 2020
eanette Winterson’s ‘Hansel and Greta’ is a very 2020 reinterpretation of the classic fairy tale. Whilst the story is still about two children lost in the forest, lots more is threaded into the narrative: the woodcutter denounces deforestation, and ends up having to take a low paid job in the next town. Greta is a not-accidental-namesake of Greta Thunberg.
Winterson has emphasised the greed in the story to reflect our greedy times. The junkfood-necking stepmother GreedyGuts is a gorging grotesque, eating them out of house and home.
The witch in the woods from the tale of old gets a redemptive arc - she is a friend to Little Tree, and is the one who helps Hansel and Greta to get their home back with their father.
I found the humour didn’t quite land and the text felt laboured. It wouldn’t necessarily make the children laugh.
As an example, the character BogFace is described as ‘sweating like a sizzling sausage’ and GuzzleGuts is described as looking ‘like a human being made out of a bar of chocolate’. This comparison humour is below the age level that this book feels pitched at, in terms of its sentence length and style.
I am a fan of Winterson’s writing more generally, and I think if her aim for children’s humour was a little older, the comic and silliness would land more for a child reader. Some of the perverse humour of the Dog-Woman from Sexing the Cherry could work for older child readers more than GreedyGuts does.
This said, in Winterson’s note at the end, she writes about liking pantomime humour , and when I read it back with panto in mind, I ‘get it’ a bit more.
This lacked the lols of AL Kennedy’s ‘Uncle Shawn and Bill’, which has a similar comic storytelling style, and Spike Milligan’s ‘Badjelly the Witch’, which has a lot of plot similarities.
Winterson has emphasised the greed in the story to reflect our greedy times. The junkfood-necking stepmother GreedyGuts is a gorging grotesque, eating them out of house and home.
The witch in the woods from the tale of old gets a redemptive arc - she is a friend to Little Tree, and is the one who helps Hansel and Greta to get their home back with their father.
I found the humour didn’t quite land and the text felt laboured. It wouldn’t necessarily make the children laugh.
As an example, the character BogFace is described as ‘sweating like a sizzling sausage’ and GuzzleGuts is described as looking ‘like a human being made out of a bar of chocolate’. This comparison humour is below the age level that this book feels pitched at, in terms of its sentence length and style.
I am a fan of Winterson’s writing more generally, and I think if her aim for children’s humour was a little older, the comic and silliness would land more for a child reader. Some of the perverse humour of the Dog-Woman from Sexing the Cherry could work for older child readers more than GreedyGuts does.
This said, in Winterson’s note at the end, she writes about liking pantomime humour , and when I read it back with panto in mind, I ‘get it’ a bit more.
This lacked the lols of AL Kennedy’s ‘Uncle Shawn and Bill’, which has a similar comic storytelling style, and Spike Milligan’s ‘Badjelly the Witch’, which has a lot of plot similarities.
April 20, 2026
Hansel and Greta is a retelling of the more popular Hansel and Gretel fairy tale but with all the political trappings of the modern day Disney propaganda machine and the loathsome detailing of a Roald Dahl read.
The story is told from Greta's position and covers more time as a whole than the original story. The vile stepmother of yore is replaced by an ogress relative whom the book loves to point out as gluttonous and massive in all their various synonyms while also on a continual rotation. Furthermore it is only people like her throughout the read that receive such descriptive nicknames to match their personalities while everyone else is presented with actual names.
Meanwhile the whole story takes on a green message in which the children's father takes on a role of recognizing his role in the forest's destruction and chooses to change his horrid ways while the children back him 100% with a homesteading lifestyle change. Unfortunately Auntie Dearest in all her corporate gluttony and greed can't handle the lean times so browbeats the spineless man only after robbing them blind to the city to make money for them all.
From there the story moves pretty fast but makes some weird plot holes such as for a forester chopping down trees all of a sudden the children find burnt trees instead. And for those who are meant to tend the land, they sure aren't against using lives to help them in their own means of survival and to get home.
The book ends on a final preachy note on how bad sugar is for you and that its products makes one basically not want real food once you eat it.
Meanwhile the book is illustrated with two-tone illustrations that are not only in silhouette for all the characters but also just in green and black
All in all it was a strange retelling and one that really lost me at Greta Thunberg for its star mention.
The story is told from Greta's position and covers more time as a whole than the original story. The vile stepmother of yore is replaced by an ogress relative whom the book loves to point out as gluttonous and massive in all their various synonyms while also on a continual rotation. Furthermore it is only people like her throughout the read that receive such descriptive nicknames to match their personalities while everyone else is presented with actual names.
Meanwhile the whole story takes on a green message in which the children's father takes on a role of recognizing his role in the forest's destruction and chooses to change his horrid ways while the children back him 100% with a homesteading lifestyle change. Unfortunately Auntie Dearest in all her corporate gluttony and greed can't handle the lean times so browbeats the spineless man only after robbing them blind to the city to make money for them all.
From there the story moves pretty fast but makes some weird plot holes such as for a forester chopping down trees all of a sudden the children find burnt trees instead. And for those who are meant to tend the land, they sure aren't against using lives to help them in their own means of survival and to get home.
The book ends on a final preachy note on how bad sugar is for you and that its products makes one basically not want real food once you eat it.
Meanwhile the book is illustrated with two-tone illustrations that are not only in silhouette for all the characters but also just in green and black
All in all it was a strange retelling and one that really lost me at Greta Thunberg for its star mention.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2021
This story takes a green twist on the similarly named Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Being such a beloved classic, it seems like it would be hard to mess up an environmentally friendly re-telling, and yet it succeeds [in messing it up.] It’s true to its subtitle, “A Fairy Tale Revolution,” being - in part - fairy tale and - in part - the kind of vitriolic villainization of out-group members that one sees in the diatribes of political revolutionaries.
In one of the only non-rant departures from the original story, the witch is made a good character. This might be viewed as a progressive and charitable turn of the story were it not for the fact that the author just – unconsciously or consciously – shifts villainization over to another group: fat people. In the story, fat characters not only consume more food, they are in every way materialistic, gluttonous, and environmentally hateful -- as opposed to the skinny in-group who aren’t at all part of the problem. This us-them tribalization is particularly unproductive in dealing with environmental problems because we are all part of the problem, and we all need to be engaged.
I don’t know whether Winterson got caught up in her own ideological anger, or whether she thought young readers need to have the issue oversimplified and the villains made over-the-top. It seems to me like reading Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree” results in kids wanting to plant trees and be more aware of how they use natural resources. Reading this book is more likely to make the child want to slap food out of a fat kid’s hands and shame him for his gluttony.
I can’t really recommend this book for kids. It’s more for parents who want their kids to know how to virtue signal than to be thoughtful about using resources.
In one of the only non-rant departures from the original story, the witch is made a good character. This might be viewed as a progressive and charitable turn of the story were it not for the fact that the author just – unconsciously or consciously – shifts villainization over to another group: fat people. In the story, fat characters not only consume more food, they are in every way materialistic, gluttonous, and environmentally hateful -- as opposed to the skinny in-group who aren’t at all part of the problem. This us-them tribalization is particularly unproductive in dealing with environmental problems because we are all part of the problem, and we all need to be engaged.
I don’t know whether Winterson got caught up in her own ideological anger, or whether she thought young readers need to have the issue oversimplified and the villains made over-the-top. It seems to me like reading Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree” results in kids wanting to plant trees and be more aware of how they use natural resources. Reading this book is more likely to make the child want to slap food out of a fat kid’s hands and shame him for his gluttony.
I can’t really recommend this book for kids. It’s more for parents who want their kids to know how to virtue signal than to be thoughtful about using resources.
December 10, 2020
As the title implies this is a reworking of the classic fairytale.
The original fairytale was quite disturbing, but this new version is a total jumble and mishmash of themes as it tries to cover too many bases. The concept was good, an ecological modern update, and the title is perfect, but it just doesn't flow. The narrative veers all over the place, perhaps more humour would have lightened the load.
As an example Hansel and Greta are transported into the forest to be left there (to die) and they leave a trail of marbles, marbles? This is never explored or even referred to again. It is just plonked in the story, as a reference to the original tale. It doesn't lead anywhere and misses the mark.
The images in the book are also dull green and black motifs, unfortunately I really can't see the book appealing to many people, old or young.
The original fairytale was quite disturbing, but this new version is a total jumble and mishmash of themes as it tries to cover too many bases. The concept was good, an ecological modern update, and the title is perfect, but it just doesn't flow. The narrative veers all over the place, perhaps more humour would have lightened the load.
As an example Hansel and Greta are transported into the forest to be left there (to die) and they leave a trail of marbles, marbles? This is never explored or even referred to again. It is just plonked in the story, as a reference to the original tale. It doesn't lead anywhere and misses the mark.
The images in the book are also dull green and black motifs, unfortunately I really can't see the book appealing to many people, old or young.
June 25, 2021
trigger warning
Hansel and Greta are living with their dad in the forest, and everything would be so nice, were it not for their mother's sister, whom they suspect of being an ogre.
As in Blueblood, we have an illustrated tale that plays with a familiar fairytale.
The illustrations here are in shades of green, and gain, the people are shown as shades which is a nice way of depicting something but still letting the reader's imagination run wild.
The setting is very contemporary, as even Greta Thunberg is mentioned. The witch and the gingerbread house are in here, but in an unexpected way.
I am not sure if I would seek this series out beyond the arcs that I have, but since I also have the Duckling, I will give that one a go for sure.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
Hansel and Greta are living with their dad in the forest, and everything would be so nice, were it not for their mother's sister, whom they suspect of being an ogre.
As in Blueblood, we have an illustrated tale that plays with a familiar fairytale.
The illustrations here are in shades of green, and gain, the people are shown as shades which is a nice way of depicting something but still letting the reader's imagination run wild.
The setting is very contemporary, as even Greta Thunberg is mentioned. The witch and the gingerbread house are in here, but in an unexpected way.
I am not sure if I would seek this series out beyond the arcs that I have, but since I also have the Duckling, I will give that one a go for sure.
The arc was provided by the publisher.
March 1, 2025
“Çocukların Masal Devrimiyle İleride Bambaşka Bir Nesle Dönüşeceğini Düşünüyorum” demiş yazar. Buna ek olarak ben de, çocuk kitaplarının hayal gücü bulutunda sihirle harmanlanan birer manifesto olduğunu düşünüyorum.
Doğayı umursamayan teyzeleri Doymakbilmez; tüketim çılgınlığının, herşeyi yeme isteği ile yaşadığı dünyaya tehdit niteliğindeki insanlığın temsili, günümüzün canavarı.
Ona karşı savaşan iki kardeş Hansel ve Greta yanlarına ağaçların bilgeliğini, peri masallarında varolduğuna inanılmayan iyi bir cadının gücünü alıp bir maceraya atılıyorlar. Ezberbozan, eğlenceli, üslubu ve kelime tarlaları keyif veren, ayrıca çevirisi çok da leziz olan devrimci bir peri masalı.
Doğayı umursamayan teyzeleri Doymakbilmez; tüketim çılgınlığının, herşeyi yeme isteği ile yaşadığı dünyaya tehdit niteliğindeki insanlığın temsili, günümüzün canavarı.
Ona karşı savaşan iki kardeş Hansel ve Greta yanlarına ağaçların bilgeliğini, peri masallarında varolduğuna inanılmayan iyi bir cadının gücünü alıp bir maceraya atılıyorlar. Ezberbozan, eğlenceli, üslubu ve kelime tarlaları keyif veren, ayrıca çevirisi çok da leziz olan devrimci bir peri masalı.
December 21, 2025
Ok, naysayers, it's not really about the fat. The wicked woman is an actual ogre, and is described as big and greedy, not fat. It's like a nod to Roald Dahl.
And the story is meant to be kinda chaotic, kinda busy, and kinda preachy. That's the point. It's funny.
The art is absolutely wonderful, retro silhouette style.
Still, I can't quite round up to four stars. Though I might have liked it more as a child.
And the story is meant to be kinda chaotic, kinda busy, and kinda preachy. That's the point. It's funny.
The art is absolutely wonderful, retro silhouette style.
Still, I can't quite round up to four stars. Though I might have liked it more as a child.
November 8, 2022
It’s rather ironic how a book on environmentalism ended up being an utter waste of paper. Did the trees really have to die for this? A green retelling of Hansel and Gretel except she’s an overt reference to Greta Thunberg that I highly doubt she would appreciate. Not funny, not charming, unintentionally feels like the cause it’s fighting for is being made fun of. Sadly the first work of hers that I’ve read but still, I’ll try to soldier on with her catalogue.
November 20, 2021
It should be a children book but I think it's more adult oriented as some parts could be a bit hard for children.
That said I liked it even if it's not the best WInterson's book.
Well written, humorous and full of food for thought.
It was an engrossing and entertaining read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
That said I liked it even if it's not the best WInterson's book.
Well written, humorous and full of food for thought.
It was an engrossing and entertaining read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Did Not Finish
February 27, 2022I don't think jeanette winterson's writing is for me, dnfing because of the fatphobia (which is a problem I've had with their work before) and overall writing style not working for me.
One good thing: Absolutely gorgeous cover art, and because of that I will probably try one of the other picture books in this series since I own them all.
One good thing: Absolutely gorgeous cover art, and because of that I will probably try one of the other picture books in this series since I own them all.
Read
June 26, 2021
Trigger & Content Warnings
Death of a pet
Death of a pet
December 11, 2021
An interesting teen graphic novel, and I loved the author’s afterthought, but just unsure where it should be categorised!
February 20, 2022
All the reviews noting the fatphobia are spot on. Really disappointed that Haymarket published this.
February 21, 2022
I expect more when she re-imagines a fairy tale.
June 2, 2022
A retelling of Hansel and Gretel with ogres, witches that aren't really so bad, and talking trees!
August 7, 2022
Delightful, quick read.
I know I am biased by my inner large Winterson fangirl.
I know I am biased by my inner large Winterson fangirl.
November 16, 2022
This is my least favorite one in the series. In some ways, it feels too long. Yet, it is an interesting retelling and the use of environmental issues is apt.
December 19, 2022
A fun and different retelling
Read
March 3, 2023I enjoyed the scherenschnitte art by Laura Barrett more than the story.
September 26, 2025
Winterson'dan çok daha iyisini bekliyordum, yaratıcılığı az, karman çorman bir metin olmuş
April 8, 2022
This is unbelievably fatphobic right from page one where Greta introduces readers to her aunt “GreedyGuts” her mom’s “REALLY big sister” who eats all day. I get what Winterson was going for but I have no use for it. Also not sure who the audience is for this one with trim size that reads "picture book" and text that reads "novel" with small, full pages of text.
*A copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
*A copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
May 5, 2024
Terrible book. Weird story and poorly written. However, I can tell the author can write because the afterword was straightforward. Would not read this to a kid.
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