Cinderella Liberator

Book, 2019

Premise - A retelling of one of the most famous fairy tales of all time, and perhaps one of the most controversial fairy tales in the context of modern society. This adaptation in an illustrated children's book modifies the pieces of Cinderella's story that modern feminism may find unsettling, and thereby liberates the character from the trappings of both her life covered in cinder, and the suffocating life she could have had as a princess.

Review - I was really excited for the concept of this book because I love Cinderella as a fairy tale (see the separate review I wrote, the 2015 film is great!) in spite of the ways people dismiss it nowadays. The original story is about the virtue of kindness. Unfortunately, within a patriarchal framework, those virtues were taken too far to create the legend of a princess who was so kind she was passive, gullible, and taken advantage of. But I love kindness more than anything, and therefore would love to celebrate it with modern adaptations of Cinderella where she is kind, but also strong. From the premise alone, this seemed like a book that kept the charm and fairy tale nature of the original tale but just put some modern twists on it. And, more or less, that was what author Rebecca Solnit was trying to do. I still give her major props for the attempt, but I was disappointed in the execution.

Let's retell age-old tales in new, fun ways. Let's tell stories with liberated female characters. But actually, let's show, not tell. The places where Solnit makes actual adaptations to the story (the prince no longer wants to be a prince, and Ella opens a cake shop, etc.) were great adaptations that I LOVED. But a lot of the times Solnit didn't adapt the story, but just threw in her modern ideals as afterthoughts within the retelling of the old tale. I'm not exaggerating when I say it would be something like "And then the stepsisters tried to make themselves beautiful by doing their hair. BY THE WAY, beauty comes in all shapes and forms!" like literally just putting random inserts. It did not flow well. All fairy tales are morality tales in some way, shape, or form, but they are supposed to do it allegorically, not just shout life lessons at you.

I was also surprised at how short it was. For some reason, in my head I had worked up some expectations for a short novel. Instead it was a picture book that only takes a few minutes to read through. It's meant for children, of course, which is another reason why I think subliminal messaging through plot changes have a more implicit, lasting impact than straightforward words.

Perhaps a lot of my disappointment is unfair because the story is meant to be consumed as a picture book. I listened to the audiobook (why did they even make an audiobook of a picture book?). So as to not miss out, I googled the images that accompany the book and was stunned by how beautiful they were as a complement to the story. Absolutely gorgeous, unique, lively, silhouette-style drawings that allow one to project themselves onto the characters no matter what they look like. These images appear to be the highlight of the book, though the book itself had little to offer for me personally. (31/100)

Quote - "Because the best dresses have pockets"

What to Read For - I'd rather look all day through those illustrations than read the book

PS This was an Our Shared Shelf pick (Emma Watson's book club), and the last, as Emma Watson just announced the end of the book club. I still have more to read, but I am so sad that more recommendations won't be coming our way on a regular basis! Whether or not I personally liked the book (this was a lesser favorite, for example) I learn something powerful every time. I now have more Rebecca Solnit books to read!

If you liked this book, I'd recommend Cinderella (2015)!

Written by Rebecca Solnit
Illustrated by Arthur Rackham
Published by Haymarket Books