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The Bloody Chamber
The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories: 75th-anniversary Edition | Angela Carter
For the 75th anniversary of her birth, a Deluxe Edition of the master of the literary supernatural's most celebrated book--featuring a new introduction by Kelly Link Angela Carter was a storytelling sorceress, the literary godmother of Neil Gaiman, David Mitchell, Audrey Niffenegger, J. K. Rowling, Kelly Link, and other contemporary masters of supernatural fiction. In her masterpiece, The Bloody Chamber--which includes the story that is the basis of Neil Jordan's 1984 movie The Company of Wolves--she spins subversively dark and sensual versions of familiar fairy tales and legends like "Little Red Riding Hood," "Bluebeard," "Puss in Boots," and "Beauty and the Beast,"giving them exhilarating new life in a style steeped in the romantic trappings of the gothic tradition. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust theseries to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-datetranslations by award-winning translators.
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Teresereading
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Eggs Excellent 👌🏼 1mo
21 likes1 comment
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JuliaTheBookNerd
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I read this book 20 years ago and I still think about it #ShortButPowerful

#AboutABook… 📖📚📒📘📕📗📙📓

#BookNerd 🤓💙📚

Eggs 🖤❤️🤍 2mo
lil1inblue I'm stacking a lot today! This looks so good. 2mo
50 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Teresereading
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Eggs Great cover! 3mo
16 likes1 stack add1 comment
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merelybookish
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My library holds came in and so my weekend is set. A bit of a contrast between Carter's fairy tales and Betsy-Tacy's small town Minnesota.

Cathythoughts Very nice. I have the tagged one stacked ♥️ 6mo
sarahbarnes Will be interested to hear your thoughts on Bloody Chamber. Sounds like a great weekend. 6mo
vivastory I hope you have a wonderful weekend 6mo
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Ruthiella I‘ll say that is a contrast! 😱 6mo
merelybookish @Cathythoughts The first story is 🔥 6mo
merelybookish @sarahbarnes Love it so far. I also have some planting to do this weekend. 🌱 6mo
merelybookish @vivastory Thanks Scott! You too. 😀 6mo
merelybookish @Ruthiella Indeed!! ☯️ 6mo
sarahbarnes Enjoy that! 🌱🌱🌱 I‘m sad I won‘t have much of a garden this summer. I‘ll live vicariously through yours. 😁 6mo
batsy Love the Bloody Chamber collection ❤️ 6mo
56 likes10 comments
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AllDebooks
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Andrew65 Some great BBC Drama Productions out there. Well done 👏👏👏 12mo
41 likes1 comment
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Cazxxx
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Wearing an antique bridal gown, the
beautiful queen of the vampires sits all alone in her dark, high house under the eyes of the portraits of her demented and atrocious ancestors, each one of whom, through her, projects a baleful posthumous existence; she counts out the Tarot cards, ceaselessly construing a constellation of possibilities as if the random fall of the cards on the red plush tablecloth before her could precipitate her from her chill

AllisonM89 This book is magnificent!
1y
Cazxxx @AllisonM89 one of my favourites! 1y
35 likes2 comments
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youneverarrived
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Pickpick

I want to re-read it already ❤️

So visceral, dark, poetic and I loved the repetition throughout the stories - definitely the most whole set of short stories I‘ve read and a new favourite book of mine. Glad #tbrtarot prompted me to read it as it‘s been on my shelves for ages!

CBee Awesome! 😊😊 2y
Leniverse This is one of my favourites too 💜 2y
sarahbarnes I read this for a class in college and have wanted to revisit it ever since. This might be the nudge I needed. 2y
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Billypar Amazing collection: The Tiger's Bride might be my favorite, but they're all so strong. 2y
Megabooks Stacked!! 2y
Cathythoughts Great review!! Stacked. 2y
batsy Lovely review! Yes, this makes me want to revisit it ❤️ 2y
erzascarletbookgasm I must read this then! 2y
youneverarrived @Leniverse I can see myself re-reading it ❤️ 2y
youneverarrived @Billypar you‘re right they‘re all so strong. I really loved the repetition throughout the stories. I think my favourite was the title story. 2y
youneverarrived @batsy ❤️❤️ 2y
55 likes5 stack adds14 comments
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youneverarrived
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Friday night 🍷 feel like this book would pair better with red wine but this 19 crimes white is lovely! The book is good too - one to read slowly as the writing is quite poetic.

LeahBergen And I see a nice leather bookmark peeking out. 😉 2y
Aimeesue Angela Carter❤️❤️❤️ 2y
Megabooks Enjoy your weekend!! 💜 2y
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batsy I love this collection! Hope you enjoy 🖤 2y
youneverarrived @LeahBergen I asked Alfie to choose one and he picked red to match the book. I‘ve taught him well 🤣 2y
youneverarrived @Aimeesue first time reading her but I‘m loving her writing! 2y
youneverarrived @Megabooks thanks 😘 you too! 2y
youneverarrived @batsy I‘ve only read the first story so far but wow ❤️ I‘m loving her writing 2y
48 likes8 comments
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Linsy
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“Now a great howling rose up all around them, near, very near, ...
Who has come to sing us carols, she said.
Those are the voices of my brothers, darling; I love the company of wolves.“

In "The Company of Wolves," a surprisingly festive retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf and his brothers are born on Christmas Day, when “the door of the solstice stands wide open.“

#winterreadathondailychallenge @andrew_65

Andrew65 That‘s a grand but also scary dog. 🐶🐶🐶 (edited) 2y
52 likes1 comment
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PaperbackPirate
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Mehso-so

I read The Bloody Chamber earlier this month. It had some great stories and some ok stories. There were many retellings of famous stories like Bluebeard and Beauty and the Beast, but told with a more feminist twist. Overall this book was good but not a keeper. However, the Penguin Ink cover (and back cover 💀!) are going to make it hard for me to let go.
🐎🐎🐎
#PenguinInk

IndoorDame The cover is fabulous! I hate it when a cover is way more dynamic than the book itself! 2y
PaperbackPirate @IndoorDame Yes, it‘s sometimes too bad that you can‘t choose a book by its cover! 2y
43 likes2 comments
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Linsy
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Pickpick

Oh how I love this collection!!! Just reread the title story for a class and found even more layers of meaning. Bluebeard meets Dracula meets a bad a** mother, and then there are all the other stories. 💀❤🎼

#skeleton #ominousoctober #scarathlon #teamslaughter #spookoween #pointsathon #bodycountbingo

Becker I love Angela Carter! 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks So pretty ❤️🤍 2y
tpixie Great cover. That sounds like a good story! 2y
TheSpineView 🖤🖤📖 2y
63 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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IndoorDame
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Pickpick

I‘d read the title story years ago, but this was my first time reading the entire collection. Angela Carter is such a beautiful wordsmith, and the tradition of dark retellings owes her so much! #Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash @StayCurious #Spookoween2022 @TheSpineView #31by31 @Catsandbooks #PointsAThon @dieareader @GHABI4ROSES #bodycountbingo @PuddleJumper #witchathon @mdm139

TheSpineView Awesome 2y
KathyWheeler I love that cover. 2y
DieAReader 🎉🎉🎉 2y
WJCintron Beautiful cover!!! 🤩😍🤩😍🤩😍 2y
Catsandbooks Awesome cover! 🖤 2y
52 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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jamyology
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custom limited edition very rare cover :)

ripped through this one in a day and a half. The kind of stories you wonder how you‘ve gone this long without knowing. They‘re a part of me now, and I‘ll visit them often from here on out, especially The Erl-King.

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TheBookWitchON
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Hey @ozma.of.oz look what just showed up.. haha!

BookmarkTavern Oh goodness that is a pretty, pretty book! 😍 2y
TheBookWitchON @ozma.of.oz I sent you an email, but I'm most excited for this book now. 2y
10 likes2 comments
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Vansa
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#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView
1.Definitely an accurate reflection of Carter's off kilter writing!
2 . Not really, I love this book so I re-read it anyway! But I do like eye catching book covers!

TheSpineView Thanks for playing! 2y
15 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Victoriahoperose
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Mehso-so

Quick short story collection to finish on a lazy day. Good writing, but a lot of it was slow and over detailed for me. I liked this one. But I didn‘t love it like I thought I would. Maybe it was the style, but I definitely was expecting more from this one.

SRWCF Those 👀 👁!!! 2y
Victoriahoperose @SRWCF I know. I love them ❤️ 2y
ShelleyBooksie Gorgeous kitty 2y
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sarahbarnes I read this in college and have been wanting to reread it. 2y
danni0075 I liked the concept of the subverted fairy tales where the women are not always the victims! Such a drab and aged concept! 2y
39 likes6 comments
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vlwelser
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Pickpick

I loved this SO much. I want more of them. I get that's an unrealistic desire. But I do plan to read more of her books. I acquired this, I believe, initially because I have a thing for Bluebeard retellings. But all of these stories are fantastic. My favorite might be Puss in Boots.

#DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
56 likes1 stack add1 comment
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vlwelser
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Reading my #DoubleSpin book on the train this AM.

@TheAromaofBooks

ShyBookOwl I love this one! 3y
vlwelser @ShyBookOwl I love it so far. I wish I had a nicer copy. But I guess it still reads the same. 😂 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
37 likes1 stack add3 comments
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HeathHof
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The Bloody Chamber made it here today! Thanks for a fun round!
@rjsthumbelina @AFrostCauseReads @sprainedbrain
#lmpbc

Emilymdxn That's a gorgeous edition! 3y
rjsthumbelina Glad it got back safely! I wrote my notes on post its bc everyone else had written in pencil, and I didn't want to be the only one to permanently deface that edition! 😂 3y
HeathHof @rjsthumbelina too funny! I really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on it. 3y
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rjsthumbelina
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Pickpick

I'm so late reading this! This was my last read for #LMPBC in our #gothic group, and what an ending! This book was probably my favorite of the round. It is just so perfectly things that I enjoy: gothic, fairytale retellings, and short stories. Some of the stories are dark and disturbing, but honestly, I still wasn't mad at it. @Mynameisacolour it should be in the mail back to you by next week! @AFrostCauseReads @sprainedbrain @suvata

HeathHof Did you get a chance to send this one out? It still has not made an appearance. Also, do you or @tdrosebud still have Artemis by any chance? That has not made it back yet either. 3y
tdrosebud @Mynameisacolour Yes and I'm so sorry. I got about halfway through and started struggling. So I set it down hoping a break would help. It didn't. It is sitting on my end table. I think at this point I'm just going to make a note of where I'm at, and send it on back. Maybe one day I'll get it from the library and finish it. I'll let you know when I send it. 3y
rjsthumbelina @Mynameisacolour So, I'm a total schmuck and have had the craziest life drama this month (FIL had a stroke while on vacation alone and we had to drive cross country to get him, my dad was hospitalized for a week, doing 2 jobs at work, and now have had to report elder abuse on a family member in regards to my grandma with dementia 😔). I should have reached out and let you know that I hadn't gotten it mailed yet! It's in my car and will be in the🔽 3y
rjsthumbelina mail tomorrow morning! 3y
HeathHof @tdrosebud no worries, life happens. I appreciate you sending it back. 💗 I'm a little nostalgic about #lmpbc books. @rjsthumbelina I am SO sorry to hear everything that you have been going through, goodness sakes, I hope things get better for you and your loved ones soon💗 3y
45 likes5 comments
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sprainedbrain
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Pickpick

I‘m almost caught up to the end of August with books I read. 😬

This round of #LMPBC, I‘ve been reading gothic with a great group, and I burned through these darkly reimagined fairy tales from Angela Carter. While they were sort of hit-and-miss for me, I definitely enjoyed my time and thought Carter‘s writing rich and sensuous. Loved the title story (a Bluebeard retelling) and The Lady of the House of Love, but The Snow Child had me 🤨.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

BookwormM Is Company of Wolves on this anthology? 3y
sprainedbrain @BookwormM yes it is! I liked that one, too. 3y
BookwormM Yay will have to get this one watched the film recently and if is 🦇 💩 crazy 🤣🤣 3y
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sprainedbrain @BookwormM wait… there‘s a film? 😳 3y
vivastory Love this book. This edition is one of my favorite Penguin editions 3y
BookwormM The Company of Wolves with Angela Lansbury 3y
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KatieDid927
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Pickpick

I finally read this classic for this month‘s #FairyTaleReadingChallenge. There were Red Riding Hood elements in about three of the stories. I love Carter‘s style. It‘s subtle but impactful. It‘s obviously been very influential on more modern fantasy. @Charityann

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AFrostCauseReads
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Pickpick

Wow, I flew through this one. Angela Carter is a master of the writing craft, and I can see how she‘s influenced many popular authors with these fairytale interpretations. More of my opinion later after my group reads it
#lmpbc #groupk @Mynameisacolour @sprainedbrain
@rjsthumbelina this one will be on its way early this month 😊

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Cazxxx
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What are you reading today?

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HeathHof
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Finally finished my #lmpbc for this month. Packing it up and sending it your way! @sprainedbrain ( I hope you won't mind that I'm reusing an IPSY envelope, they are excellent book mailers ♻️) Holding off on reviewing it on here until the rest of the group has had a chance to read it.😬
#lmpbc

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HeathHof
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Spending this muggy afternoon indoors with the AC on high, catching up on this month's #lmpbc. Mixed feelings so far!😬

danni0075 Love that book cover!!! 3y
59 likes1 comment
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CortexVortex
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Pickpick


⁠Originally published in 1979, The Bloody Chamber is a collection of fairy tale retellings, such as Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, and Sleeping Beauty. Carter's prose is gruesome but beautifully captivating. In Carter's version of these stories, females are much more than helpless damsels in distress; they are strong, clever, sexual, and in some cases, brutal. I strongly recommend this story collection.⁠⁠

paulfrankspencer I remember enjoying this in a college class. Maybe it's time for a revisit. 4y
36 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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LaraS
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Anyone else have the urge to bust out the pencil crayons and go to town on this gorgeous cover?🖍

AllisonM89 Love that book! And that cover is magnificent!!!! 4y
11 likes2 comments
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OfPrurientInterest
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A perfect morning catching up on my reading so that I'll be ready to record episode 4 of Of Prurient Interest! I can't wait to talk about Angela Carter's "The Bloody Chamber" with one of my oldest, dearest friends. ??

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thestarlesscasea
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I have a complicated relationship with this book, but here are two of my favorite quotes, of course both about blood ?

"His wedding gift, clasped around my throat. A choker of rubies, two inches wide, like an extraordinarily precious slit throat." -The Bloody Chamber

"My tear-beslobbered father wants a rose to show that I forgive him. When I break off a stem, I prick my finger and so he gets his rose all smeared with blood." -The Tiger's Bride

13 likes1 stack add
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thestarlesscasea
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Still struggling through this collection. At least it's gorgeous out here and I only have two more stories to slog through, thank heavens. ✌🏻

christinaberry13 Looks like the Texas Hill Country. Lovely! 4y
11 likes1 comment
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Soubhiville
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Panpan

I admit to bailing on several of the twisted fairytale retellings in here. I was reading it for bookclub. Very much not for me. All the trigger warnings. Bleh.

BookmarkTavern Yikes! That sounds really not for me. Thanks for the review! 4y
Ruthiella I‘ve never warmed up to Angela Carter. But she has many devoted fans and I liked hearing why they love her, even though it doesn‘t click for me. 😀 4y
LeahBergen I‘ve always somewhat suspected I might not like Angela Carter (and haven‘t ever read her). 4y
BookNAround @Ruthiella She‘s not really for me either. Thank you for making feel less alone in that. 🙂 4y
ValerieAndBooks I‘ve tried her before, and I feel the same. 4y
70 likes1 stack add5 comments
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HeathHof
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Happy #creepychristmas opening day! Thank you @Maleficentbookdragon for a great package! I love everything and the coasters are hysterical.🤣
Thank you for hosting @teebe

JenniferEgnor If you‘re interested in historically creepy Christmas, I recommend this book: The Old Magic of Christmas: Yuletide Traditions for the Darkest Days of the Year‘ by Linda Raedisch. Full of macabre folklore and little known traditions! Fascinating. 4y
HeathHof @JenniferEgnor Oooh, thank you for the recommendation! That does sound fascinating. 4y
MaleficentBookDragon Yay! I know the coasters are random, but I loved them and couldn't resist. 4y
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MaleficentBookDragon I was a little disappointed when the bookmarks came. I thought they were going to be a little more substantial. 🙁 4y
HeathHof I think the coasters fit in perfectly with the theme and the bookmarks are still great! 4y
teebe Looks great! 4y
61 likes7 comments
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thestarlesscasea
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Not gonna lie, I am not loving this book. CW for rape...There is a story where a man essentially Weird Sciences a girl (yep, specifically a child) into existence, his wife (yep, he is already married) gets angry and murders the girl (rather than directing her anger at the man responsible), and the man proceeds to RAPE THE GIRL'S CORPSE. What is the effing point, Carter?! But I'm trying. So, brandied eggnog...takes the edge off. 😉

Soubhiville Whaaaaaat? Wow, maybe the strangest bookclub book we‘ve done yet? 4y
phantomx @ThePageantHam Carter's Bloody Chamber is quite difficult to digest. Some of Carter's stories examine desire and female sexuality through a radical lens, and its dark, violent, and brings up societal taboos. I'm suprised its been chosen for your bookclub. It's as well difficult to talk about with others. 4y
9 likes2 comments
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Billypar
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Pickpick

I'm not an expert about the histories of stories with Bluebeard, Puss-in-Boots, vampires, or werewolves. I don't think Carter wrote these retellings with scholarly intentions - you just get lost in the stories, almost like you'd never heard of them before. There's a lush strangeness to them all, which might be best captured by my favorite story, The Tiger's Bride. It is a 2nd Beauty & the Beast retelling appearing after a more familiar version 👇

Billypar I won't spoil anything, but it really turns the tale on its head. One of the things I loved about these was the texture of the descriptions - blood flows plentifully, but it also drains from faces as scenes shift between visceral fear and wonder. Throughout it all, animal images are constantly straddling the edge of humanity in weird and hypnotic fashion. I loved each story, but read it in the wrong season - this would be a perfect snowstorm read. 4y
Billypar The book pictured behind it is tagged - it describes the folktale inspirations behind horror movies, including werewolves. 4y
readordierachel Great review! I need bump this up my tbr. Sounds excellent. 4y
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batsy It's sucha fascinating collection! "Lush strangeness" is certainly a good way to describe her style. 4y
batsy @readordierachel I think you'll really enjoy it :) 4y
JazzFeathers I bought this book years ago and still haven't read it. Sounds like l need to. 4y
Billypar @readordierachel @JazzFeathers It's perfect if you're ever feeling jaded and need something magical and otherworldly to reignite your reading life. 4y
Billypar @batsy She really gets what makes fairytales and folklore so compelling and the vivid descriptions bring them to life in a fresh way. 4y
40 likes8 comments
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Texreader
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ninergrl6
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WOW. I‘m only one story in & I‘m hooked! I generally enjoy fairy tale retellings (The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer is one of my favorite series) & I‘m totally burnt out on contemporary texts, so this is hitting the speculative spot right now.

I first heard of this book when I was researching texts for a potential feminist lit class. That‘s on the back burner for now, but I‘m really glad I discovered Angela Carter!

#teachersoflitsy

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TCLinrow
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Pickpick

These were engaging retellings (reimaginings?) of classic fairytales. The narration was good and I liked the way it was split between 2 narrators so it was easy to follow where one story ended and the next began. I particularly enjoyed the way they were set in the middle ground between Grimm's and Disney; happy endings, per se, but not sad endings either.

A good collection, well read by the narrators.
#TBRChallenge #AudioBook #LeastRated

phantomx The Bloody Chamber is amazing! There are a lot of other retellings that get a lot of credit, and this one is sometimes overlooked at by readers. I really enjoyed reading "The Lady of the House of Love." Each story is dark and leaves a haunting feeling within you. I'm glad you liked it. Check out Malinda Lo's 5y
TCLinrow @phantomx I had never even heard of The Bloody Chamber but figured I'd give it ago when it was on sale, and I have no regrets! I don't know why it isn't more popular. Ash sounds pretty awesome so I'll keep an eye out for it 😊 5y
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Becker
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Pickpick

If I had to pick just one book that would demonstrate why I love reading, this would be it. ❤️

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Priyanshi08
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Pickpick

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter.
Such a dark and atmospheric setup.
Creepily amazing.

#currentlyreading
#angelacarter
#bloodychamber
#books #2020

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Michael_Gee
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Mehso-so

Because so many people I respect love this book, I recommend it. However, I am more ambivalent. I re-read this after ten years, curious to see if my response would be more enthusiastic or appreciative, but still I find it often gratingly verbose and precious. The stories I liked were the longer ones: the decadent “Lady of the House of Love,” both Beauty/Beast retellings, and the title story. Dark, evocative, and compelling.