Status Updates From A Câmara Sangrenta e Outras...

7 pages in i’m understanding why this was big for carmen maria machado

As the final story in the collection, I was not necessarily disappointed but underwhelmed by "Wolf Alice" - it was ok.

3 stars

"The Werewolf" & "The Company of Wolves" are two reimaginings of the Red Riding Hood story. Both were entertaining and offered different symbolic approaches to the same tale.

4 stars

Unfortunately, "The Lady of the House of Love" was not for me (surprising as I usually love gothic satire). I understand that Carter was constructing the necessary atmosphere throughout the first half of the story, but I found this to be too long-winded for the short story format (personal preference being the issue here!). The later clash between the modern rational v archaic supernatural was brilliant.

3.75 stars

Short but definitely not sweet, "The Snow Child" emphasises the destructive nature of the objectification, jealousy, and desire born from a patriarchal society. Told through a dark reimagining of Snow White, Carter is able to squeeze the most into a story that is less than 2 pages long.

4.25 stars

Although "The Erl-King" offers an interesting subversion on the capurer/victim dynamics of fairy tales, it is not my favourite of this story collection. Since reading TPoDG for school, I've discovered that I don't get on well with chapters/stories dedicated to listing properties, whether of inanimate objects or characters.

3 stars

"Love is desire sustained by unfulfillment" Angela carter drops the mic (or the pen)

I read one of the short stories in this collection at the bookstore today and I knew I had to buy it immediately. The writing is sumptuous. It's the kind of prose that makes the amateur writer feverishly jealous. Never thought I'd be into fairy-tale retellings but here we are.