Hello everyone!
Today in the post I received a lovely little surprise in the form of a package from the book depository with Neil Gaiman's latest work 'The Sleeper & The Spindle' which was illustrated by Chris Riddell. I devoured this short Sleeping Beauty and Snow White mashup fairy tale retelling instantly not only falling for this gorgeous edition but the magical words Gaiman so artistically strings together.
First of all what instantly hooked me was the way in which it was presented, the book itself is a white hardcover with the image of the sleeping girl on the cover, the best part though is the transparent matte dust jacket which is also gorgeously illustrated with vines and flowers. I absolutely love the simplistic way in which the words and images use the colour scheme of black, white and gold. The images within are stunning black and white line drawings yet insanely detailed. The illustrations have a very traditional and gothic feel whilst adding the creepiness that Gaiman's words describe. I am definitely a sucker for beautifully bounded books and this book has obviously had a lot of detail and effort put into the publishing.
I was quite surprised whilst reading to find out the different angle that Gaiman took whilst writing this retelling, it was different from any other fairy tale or retellings I've ever read. He crafts a beautifully written story in which Snow White is queen and about to be married yet is not to happy with prospects of marriage. Her dwarf friends enlighten her on the plague of sleep that is sweeping across the nation, so she sets off in to find out what is happening. There are many surprises and twists as we delve deeper into the story subtly subverting the normal expectations of a fairy tale. This ending is definitely one you won't see coming. I cannot fault the alluring script and imagery that is created. This is perfect for any lover of beautiful books and stunningly crafted fairy tales. A definite 5/5 read.
Let me know in the comments if anyone else has read this book or can suggest anymore of Neil Gaiman's work!
Annelise xoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment