My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me: Forty New Fairy Tales

My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me is a collection of forty fairy tales written by various authors, both well known and somewhat unknown. Each author has submitted a retelling or reimagining of classic fairytales from across the world. The editor and creator of this collection of fairytales is Kate Bernheimer. Bernheimer has been working within the fairy tale genre for some time now and is also the founder of the Fairy Tale Review. In her concise but informative introduction to the book she states that her intention and reasoning for this specific collection of fairy tales was to gather all kinds of literary writers, which she accomplished very well. Bernheimer believes that this is the perfect time for fairy tales to be celebrated and states, "This book can help us move forward as readers in a moment of insecurity about the future of books." The collection of fairy tales includes authors such as, Aimee Bender, Neil LaBute, Joy Williams, and many more. Each of the authors has written an interpretation of a classic fairytale. The book provides a very well structured format for reading fairy tales that is easy to follow, even for fairytale newcomers. The idea for the collection as a whole is very unique and creative and each individual story seems to be better than the next. The variety of authors and style of writing found in the collection makes it truly unique and extremely creative. It gives readers a new view on classic fairy tales. For example, I found Neil LaBute's submission to be particularly entertaining and well done. His story is titled With Hair of Hand-Spun Gold and it is a reimagining of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale. The story takes place in a time period after that of the original fairy tale and told as a nine page monologue by Rumpelstiltskin to what seems to be us, the reader. We are immediately thrown into the story with no pervious knowledge and are left to figure out what is going on. This is my favorite piece in the collection because of the mysterious style it is written in although all the works found in the book are equally as original and creative. Perhaps the best aspects of this novel are the author's notes at the end of each story. After each story there is a short note from the author of the story to the reader which explains their intentions for writing their story and any other useful information they think we should know. Most of the authors include their own exposure to the fairy tale genre and why they like it. I felt this was one of the most important parts of the book because it gives the reader an inside look at what the authors of these stories think of fairy tales and why they are important to them. This allows the reader to get a better understanding of why fairy tales are essential to the literary world, as well as the film industry. Bernheimer's collection of modern fairy tales has done exactly what the author intended. After reading the book the reader is left with a new found appreciation for the fairy tale genre regardless of their prior knowledge of fairy tales. The book does a great job of showing its readers that fairy tales can still and are still being written. It also lets the reader know that this is only a small sample of the writing that is available in the fairy tale genre and it leaves the reader wanting more. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in fairy tales or people who just want to become more familiar with them and the true stories that lie behind the Disney versions.

I've always loved fairy tales and old folklore and this update on old themes was refreshing. It took me some time to get through, since some of the stories are a little dense and the themes are heavy, but the effort was worth it. The darkness in a lot of the stories reminded me of how fairy tales used to be - and still should be! They were dark and brilliant and unforgiving and unapologetic before the PC phase swept through and sedated the old stories. With My Mother She Killed Me..., the PC lameness is left behind.

I'd been eagerly awaiting this book's publication for months, and my expectations have been greatly exceeded. These are fairy tales for grown-ups...or, I should say grown-up children. The authors and stories are diverse; there is no consistent literary style. As the editor writes: "The goal was to bring together a variety of writers...whose work had suggested 'fairy tales' to me." Here are the writers and the fairy tales each used as inspiration: Joy Williams, Baba Yaga Jonathon Keats, The Snow Maiden Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, Ivan Tsaevich Alissa Nutting, The Juniper Tree Francine Pose, Hansel and Gretel Kevin Brockmeie, Rumpelstiltskin Neil LaBute, Rumpelstilstskin Shelley Jackson, The Six Swans Joyelle McSweeney, The Bremen Town Musicians Lydia Millet, Snow White and Rose Red Saah Shun-Lien Bynum, The Erlking Brian Evenson, Dapplegrim Michael Cunningham, The Wild Swans Kaen Joy Fowler, The Wild Swans Rikki Ducornet, The Little Match Gil Timothy Schaffert, The Little Mermaid Katherine Vaz, The Little Mermaid Karen Bennan, The Snow Queen Lucy Corin, The Tinder Box Ilya Kaminsky, The Teapot Michael Martone, Jack and the Beanstalk Kelly Link, Catskin Chris Adrian, Teague O'Kane and the Corpse Jim Shepard, Jump Into My Sack Kathryn Davis, Body Without Soul Kellie Wells, The Story of Grandmother Sabrina Orah Mark, The Young Slave Aimee Bender, Donkeyskin Marjorie Sandor, The White Cat Joyce Carol Oates, Bluebeard John Updike, Bluebead Rabih Alameddine, Sleeping Beauty Stacy Richter, Cinderella Neil Gaiman, The Odyssey Francesca Lia Block, Cupid and Psyche Lily Hoang, The Story of the Mosquito Noako Awa, A Kamikakushi Tale Hiomi Ito, Sansho the Steward Michael Mejia, Tales from Jalisco Kim Addonizio, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Kate Bernheimer, The Oval Portrait Don't expect the stories to stick too closely to the source material. But do expect to find some new favorite writers. If I could have bought only one book this year, it would be collection.

A collection of older horror tales, not a great collection as far as they go. I’m suffering from buyers remorse

Like any collection, there are highs and lows. But an amazing, bloody collection with incest, murder, hate, love, schemes, plots - all the stuff that makes children's tales worth reading. "Cat's Skin", "Mermaid in The Tree", "The Brother and The Bird", "Hansel and Gretel"...and many others. Can't recall Neil Gaiman's bit but it didn't work, and a couple of others fell flat. But even the ones that left me wondering like "The Half Life of Rumplestiltskin" are challenging are weird. If you like creative non-fiction and/or are into fairy tales, this is the one for you.

Sounds a little morbid, but the short stories are varied in tone. All of them are great in their own way. If you love fairytales, but get tired of reading the same stories over and over, then these uniquely inspired adaptations are perfect.

I happened to have downloaded the Brother's Grimm book right before purchasing this one and I have to say that reading some of these fairy tales side by side with "My Mother" was a true delight! There is truly a sense of grittiness in each of these new fairy tails, as if to revive the old warnings of misfortunes should the reader disregard each story's moral. Also, on a different level, I've been teaching Aesop's Fables to my students. It feels like this anthology of new fairy tales was the icing on the cake as I got to taste a variety of fantasy. Despite the heavy coin spent on this electronic version, "My Mother" was a fun and easy read. A must for fantasy lovers!

This is not a review of the whole book. I only read a couple of the stories before I deleted the book. They were not the type of story I usually like to spend time reading. I found them quite dark. I recommend downloading a sample to decide if they are to your taste.

A fresh take on old fairytales.

El libro llegó en muy mala condición. La pasta está doblada de las esquinas, rota y por dentro también está dañado. 😭

I love the title but this book was a dull read. Maybe I got too old but these fairy tales really challenged me to understand and like them. They let me with a feeling of 'yuck'.

40 fiabe, dai Grimm ad Andersen, dalla tradizione russa a quella nordica, riscritte da autori di successo. Bello e divertente.

I really enjoyed My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me. It’s a great, diverse collection of stories. I love fairy tales, especially darker ones intended for adults. Some of my favourite stories are the adult fairy tales edited by Ellen Datlow. I loved the cover and this is one of the reasons I bought the book. That and the crazy title. My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me contains a good mix of stories and there’s something for everyone. I loved how some stories pretty closely resembled the original fairy tale and how some were unrecognisable. Among my favourites were Baba Iaga and the Pelican Child by Joy Williams, Snow White, Rose Red by Lydia Millet, The Wild Swans by Michael Cunningham, A Bucket of Warm Spit by Michael Martone and Blue-Bearded Lover by Joyce Carol Oates.