Review of Lizz Donnelly, “Evening Chorus” in Rhonda Parrish, ed., Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline: Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales, (World Weaver Press, 2019): 42-51 — Purchase here. Reviewed by Sara L. Uckelman. (Read the review of the anthology.)
Following quick on the heels of the previous story we have another story wherein women are predominantly in the story to be treated as things to be owned and manipulated — and in the case of Jenny, this gets taken quite literally. As with Alejandra’s story (read the review), I sort of felt like I wanted more out of this one — not just a retelling of the original tale, but a questioning and a subverting of it. What would it have been like, if women were not merely objects?
On the other hand, before this story I was not familiar with the tale it was based on, Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Nightingale”, and the story made me curious to read it, so that’s definitely a point in its favor.
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