The Sleeper and the Spindle
Ratings117
Average rating3.9
A wonderful tale, brilliantly told. I love Neil Gaiman's writing, and this was no exception!
Contains spoilers
I read this one with a totally diferent idea of what was about. I thougt it was going to be a GL, so I was a bit dissapointed when it wasn't at all, but that also meant that when I read the plot twist I wasn't expecting it at all!
Still, I liked the idea overall and was a nice short read^^
I have been reading graphic novels more lately and this was a recommendation. I'm glad I picked it up from the library.
I love retellings and haven't read many for Sleeping Beauty. I really enjoyed this one, as well as the cameo from Snow White and the dwarves. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and the story itself .. well Neil Gaiman so enough said.
The story was only a 3; entertaining enough but nothing really special. However, the illustrations were beautiful and therefore, bumped the whole thing up a star.
I love the twist where the sleeper is in fact the witch, and the old woman was the princess she cursed. I also love how the queen is revealed to be Snow White living with the trauma of a previous sleep curse, and having learned how to resist magical emotional manipulation (magical gaslighting?) from suffering magic-tinged abuse from her stepmother. I also enjoyed the ambiguous ending wrt what the queen does—it's clear that she chooses not to marry her prince fiancé in her home kingdom, but not whether she chooses to form a relationship with the old woman.
It's unclear if the old woman's youth reverts upon destruction of the spindle, or even if the old woman survives it, since the blood on the wool was initially her own. Does she live? Does she get any of her youth back as she sleeps for the first time in decades? Will a kiss from the queen wake her?
All in all, this story is some excellent twists on Sleeping Beauty...and I'm here for Snow White with a sword, being heroic and kissing women ⚢❤️
I enjoyed it. The art was gorgeous, and the story was interesting with some nice twists and blends of fairy tales. However, the story seemed oddly off-balance, like it either needed to be leaner and slicker to keep things rolling, or longer to flesh out all the ideas.
Amazing illustrations and an interesting take on two well known fairytales combined in an unexpected way
Hate to say it, but “meh”. Kinda forgettable. I listened to the audiobook which was a decent recording. It was really the story that was “meh”. I'd be curious to get a physical copy to see the inside and any illustrations. Otherwise, it's a miss.
A clever, funny and occasionally dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty, elevated even higher by the sublime art of Chris Riddell.
I love when Gaiman does Fairy Tales. He takes what we know, studies it, and builds something new and beautiful. It's never ham-fisted like say making Cinderella into a girl power tale about the French revolution while (stupid revivals) or overdone (look... another Alice and Wonderland epic battle scene), and it's never exactly what you'd expect. One of my favorite short stories of his is “Snow, Glass, Apples,” a vision of a very differen Snow White through the eyes of the queen.
This is (luckily) not the Snow White of that story, but a new creation who then steps out of her epilogue and into Sleeping Beauty's. She is referred to only as “The Queen” and is a strong, stalwart queen without slipping into character. Essentially, the book follows her choices which mirror the big choice of returning to her castle and sleepwalking the rest of her life or fighting off a land of eternal sleep. It's all the stuff of dreams, and that is Gaiman's wheelhouse.
I read the story before when it was collected in “Trigger Warning,” but I highly recommend the Chris Riddell illustrated version. The pictures add a depth and elegance to the story, and I found myself staring at even the tiniest illustrations noticing all the little details snuck into each panel. Riddell is a master illustrator and his collaborations with Gaiman are becoming some of my favorite.
If you like new twists on old stories and are tired of the same twists over and over again, you can't go wrong with this one. Even if you have “Trigger Warning,” you'll probably at least want to keep this version on your shelf. It's just too pretty to not appreciate.
Gaiman is so good. Riddell is equally so.
Gaiman weaves. Riddell joins the dots.
anything else and i'll be into spoilers.
A book of craftsmanship that includes the presentation by Bloomsbury
a fuller review here which may ust hint towards spoilers.
I mean who did do it?
https://smallestroomreviews.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/32/
That was a super quick read. I really loved the black and white drawings with the gold accents, it really added to the experience of this book. I have to say the story was not at all what I was expecting, but it kept my attention nonetheless.
The best part of this book is definitely its aesthetics. It is gorgeous between the cover, the dust jacket, and the illustrations. I also really need to read some other Neil Gaiman books because I really liked the writing style and the subtle humor throughout.
An old fairytale revisited with several twist, well executed and beautifully illustrated. Personally loved it.
I don't think that I'm sold on the art work (although the full page spread of the kiss is truly lovely – I think the skulls in other pages came off as cheesy to me, among other stylistic choices) and I craved more story. I was so looking forward to this, I wanted (and expected) more. It felt very cut, copy, and insert twist here. I liked the combination of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, the 'twist' of the sleeper being the evil magic user , and the dwarves...but there was a luster that was usually there that was lacking this time. The whole thing just made me sigh, it was close, maybe?
3 stars for the story and 5 for the artwork. Gorgeous vellum cover was unexpected and unique!
An awesome feminist fairy tale written like a picture book. Read on the night before my best friend's wedding. Perfect timing.
Stripped of the artwork, this would be a slight but enjoyable tale; a mischevious re-telling/intertwining of familiar fairytales. As ever Neil Gaimon punctures the twee, patriachal, traditional stories, although maybe there is a lack in emotional depth; this sometimes felt more like observing the story rather than inhabiting it. Having said that, the artwork is a treat and takes the book to another level.
As long as you don't expect great things from this book, you won't be disappointed.
What a gorgeous gorgeous book!! I love Chris Riddell's illustrations, they are simply beautiful.
This is a really very short fairytale read, but a good one none-the-less!