'The Language of Thorns' Spoiler Free Review


The Language of Thorns was a fantastic collection of short stories retelling classic fairy tales from a feminist perspective. As a massive fan of the fairytale genre, this collection certainly does them justice. Although not as graphic/ sexual as other works in the genre such as Angela Carter's The Boody Chamber or even the original Grimm tales, The Language of Thorns is still some of the best works of the genre I have read. There are six stories in total:

- Ayama and the Thorn Wood: Which I think is based off both Beauty and The Beast and Red Riding Hood.
- The Too-Clever Fox: Which is based off the Velvatine Rabbit.
- The Witch of Duva: Which is the most obvious retelling, being based off Hansel and Gretal.
- The Little Knife: Which I think was based off Sleeping Beauty.
- The Soldier Prince: Which was based on The Nutcracker.
- When Water Sang Fire: Which was based on The Little Mermaid.

I say 'I think' for a lot of these because the stories were distinct enough in their own way that they were almost unrecognizable from there source material. All of the stories challenge themes of parenthood and the idea that your parents are always right, which is consistently reinforced in the classical tales. All the stories are also concerned with nature, more so than the original tales, whose stories toe the line on whether or not we can trust it. In Bardugo's stories, nature is an absolute place of sanctuary. With this collection being feminist retellings all of the women are strong in their own right. There is quite a strong LGBT representation in this book, particularly in The Little Knife and more subtly in When Water Sang Fire. The book is also filled with beautiful illustrations by Sara Kipin who adds so much to the stories through her drawings. This was the first Leigh Bardugo book I have read so I don't know how it connects to the rest of her Grisha series and can't change rating based on that. That being said this book definitely has me excited to read more. I plan on at least reading Shadow and Bone and Wonder Woman: Warbringer over this summer.
Matthew Gurteen.

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