Beyond Reality discussion

When it comes to retellings, do you prefer to read the original first? What are some of your favorite retellings?

I'm not fond of retellings at all, though I couldn't really say why.

They're so ubiquitous these days it's hard to avoid them. I enjoyed Countess by Suzan Palumbo, a queer, anticolonial retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, because I felt that it captured well the action and pacing of the original well, despite it being a mere novella compared to the sprawling original novel. But mostly I haven't enjoyed very many of the retellings I've read so far. Some just haven't worked, or felt too indulgent, or the author really just wasn't trying to do an actual retelling, just a sort of lazy juxtaposition to the original work, perhaps for a marketing hook.

I hate to sound so cynical but I just haven't found the whole retelling experience overly positive so far.

Depends on the telling. T Kingfisher/ Ursula Vernon writes good ones (though sometimes barely recognizable)

Rachel wrote: "Depends on the telling. T Kingfisher/ Ursula Vernon writes good ones (though sometimes barely recognizable)"

Now that you mention it, Nettle & Bone might have been kind of like a retelling. Though it seems more like taking fairy tale elements and doing her own thing with them.

I also thought of an exception last night. Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass, Apples. Its a twist on the Snow White story and I did enjoy that one.

I don't read retellings on purpose, I just happen to have read some. As there is no forethought, I don't purposely read the original before or after the retelling.
I do tend to avoid the obvious ones, like the Jane Austen versions. Most of them seem gimmicky. Especially the ones that change genders of characters.

But I've a read a few good ones. The Song of Achilles, Spinning Silver, Uprooted, The Penelopiad, Hag-Seed, The Crystal Cave, The Song of Troy, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, & Lord of the Silver Bow

Unless it’s really obvious, I’m not likely to recognize a retelling. Or maybe I don’t really know what a retelling is

For example, I love the basic Arthurian legend and I have read many, many different takes on that story, some featuring the main triangle of king, queen, & knight and others featuring characters we
Ho are more peripheral, so I suppose they are all retellings, in a way. I may or may not have read whatever qualifies as the original for any retellings I happen to read.

I generally read retellings of classic & familiar folk and fairy tales. For example one of my favorites is The Little Red Hen, and I love The Little Green Witch... I love the different ending. (I have a Listopia of Little Red Hen variants and would love more votes and submissions.)

I also seek out retellings of Beauty and the Beast (looking for why the prince was cursed) and Jack & the Beanstalk (looking for why it's ok for Jack to steal from the Giant).

Some of my favorite retellings are of Andersen's The Snow Queen. I never did actually read the original before being enchanted by Breadcrumbs and The Raven and the Reindeer, though of course I was vaguely familiar with the premise.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. I love 'em.

(Little Red Hen: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Oh, and...
The Ant and the Grasshopper: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...)