#Shirley Rousseau Murphy

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[fictionadventurer]

2, 4, 6, 12, 19

2. First fairy tale retelling you ever read

I already mentioned Ella Enchanted was my first. The more difficult question to answer is which one was second, because I didn't come back to fairy tale retellings until many years later. It's possible it was The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, though this was before I read the fairy tale, so, hilariously, I quit halfway through because I thought the talking dead horse head was so dumb that I couldn't read further. (I eventually did come back to it after reading the original, and I loved it).

4. Fairy tale retelling you've read with the earliest publishing date

If we count The Blue Castle as a "Bluebeard" or "Cinderella" retelling, it takes the earliest slot with the publishing date of 1926.

If that doesn't count, the earliest is the "Cinderella" retelling Silver Woven in My Hair by Shirley Rousseau Murphy from 1977.

(I did once read a few pages of a Cinderella retelling by Louisa May Alcott, but I found it too boring to continue.)

6. Fairy tale you've read the most retellings of

Already answered. It's "Cinderella". By a lot. Second place might go to "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" because there was a point where I made a point of hunting down and reading every retelling of it I could find.

12. Fairy tale retelling you wish more people would read

I've gotten a few people to read this one, but I'll always shill for Kate Stradling's Brine and Bone as a "Little Mermaid" retelling that follows the original plot while making it clear that the ending is happy.

19. A fairy tale you'd like to retell

Right now, I yearn to retell "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" in a way that captures what I've always wanted in a retelling, but I can't find an angle that gives me a way in to the story.

[the25centpaperback]

The Wolf Bell by Shirley Rousseau Murphy, cover by Michael Mariano (1979)

[invertedeidolon]

The Longest Library #2: Cat Raise The Dead by Shirley Rousseau Murphy (AKA cat balls)

This is a series in which I attempt to read and review all (or most of) my library of 297 books.

Rundown: Two sentient, talking cats solving a mystery involving disappearing old folks and a cat burglar. I give it a 2/5 because it's like a slightly undercooked brownie, you think you like it but by the third bite it's falling apart and isn't holding together very well and you kind of want it to reach the end and it doesn't feel great anymore. You have to put it down and pick out the nice bits and kind of ignore the other bits and just drink a tall glass of milk afterwards.

So what I mean by that, is that the pacing, both in the narrative sense and the pace at which clues are revealed or become more concrete, is too slow. It felt like I was being shown a bunch of unrelated stuff, and the one or two things I did connect painted a much more interesting picture for myself than it turned out to be. I felt shorted. After the descriptions of the frighteningly lifelike dolls and the missing old people I was ready for some real serial killer shit. There was too much space between finding clues and the climax (where everything came together). It felt like I was handed 5 out of 500 puzzle pieces, and then shown the rest of it at the last minute. None of those five fit together in any way. The author was a little too guarded about the conclusion.

Now, not to diss the big mystery itself. It's effective and devilishly practical, and literally would have been an air tight scheme if not for those meddling cats.

The secondary sub-mystery feels unnecessary. It could have stood alone as it's own thing, or have been concluded in the first half. It feels very haphazardly tied to the main mystery.

There's quite a few run on sentences that could have done with some pruning. The imagery is vibrant, and would be great if the book was only about the cats. But it's not. The narrative keeps weaving in and out of cat-centric things like hunting in the moonlight and a gnarly rat fight, and back to the mystery again. It feels disjointed, and could do with some tightening.

Also the author keeps "showing and not telling" me that the main cat is clearly not neutered. God please. Effective imagery. But holy fuck stop showing me this cat's little furry balls.

Now for some lines I wanted to comment on.

"Last week, coming out of the Felther house up on Ridgeview, with her inner coat pockets loaded with a lovely set of Rose of Erin sterling and a fine array of serving pieces, when she saw the gray tom watching from atop a black station wagon and she faced him and swore at him, his eyes had flared with rage. Sentient rage. The kind of violent anger you see only in human eyes."

"He turned away, trotted away purposefully up the side street as if she didn't exist, moved off toward the front of the house, prancing insolently up the center of the sidewalk under the streetlight, his stub tail wiggling back and forth, his tomcat balls making him walk slightly straddle-legged."

"The hunting would be fine, the rabbits giddy and silly in the racing light. She felt giddy herself, felt suddenly moon silly. Felt like rolling and playing."

ZOOMIES

"Harper looked the car over, took out a pack of cigarettes, then changed his mind and put them back in his pocket. As if he didn't want to smoke up the pristine beauty. [...] Again he took a cigarette, slipping it from the pack in his pocket in an automatic reflex. He started to tamp it on the door of the Bentley, then put it back again."

The author is really good at small details like this, little character details and mannerisms that get lost in the rest of the incredibly dense descriptions and things-that-aren't-moving-the-plot-faster.

"She was dressed in jeans and one of those T-shirts that made a statement, a shirt she had obviously selected as appropriate for the occasion. Across her chest four cats approached the viewer, and on the back of the shirt, which he'd seen as she came around the car to get in, was a rear view of the same four cats walking away, as if they were stepping invisibly through the wearer's chest, thier tails high, and, of course, all their fascinating equipment in plain sight."

This is Dillon. She's like, 15. Please choose a different shirt Dillon. Author, please stop talking about how fascinating cat balls are for like one second, oh my god.

"He and Dr.Firreti were waiting to see if the pills would snap Barney out of it. It was midafternoon now, and he wondered if Clyde was at home. Worrying, he said a little cat prayer for Barney."

I want a church cat, to go to church, and reeeead his biiiiblee~

"...her spike heels sharp enough to puncture a cat's throat. It was Dulcie who glanced away. This was the woman who could afford a three hundred thousand dollar Bentley Azure but who presumably spent her days among bedpans counting soiled sheets and inspecting medication charts. A woman who had to be driven totally by love for humanity; why else would she do this? This woman who, Clyde had told him, supervised every detail of the retirement villa like an army general. As she disappeared into an office, Joe shivered, and he, too, looked away."

ALERT, EVIL VILLAIN SPOTTED, SHE IS OBVIOUSLY UP TO NO GOOD (tm)

"If Clyde ordered you not to go near Casa Capri, you'd be up there in the shake of a whisker." [...] "Joe wanted to say, 'You thought visiting the old folks would be all kippers and cream,' wanted to say, 'Casa Capri didn't turn out like you expected.' But she glared as him so crossly he shut his mouth."

There's a lot of colorful writing meant to invoke the sharpness and whimsicality surrounding life as a cat, but it suffers from (what I feel are) tone problems. 'kippers and cream' and 'a shake of your tail' right alongside visceral descriptions of the killing blow on a wild rabbit, slowly devouring/pulling it apart. It would be immersive if not for the cat puns and colloquialisms that sound like they belong on a plaque someplace in your Nan's house.

"Tramping heavy-pawed among the delicate bottles, he posed before the mirror, twitching a whisker, giving her a toothy grin. Panning and turning, he glanced over his shoulder, studying his stub tail and his tomcat equipment. She hadn't known he was such a ham."

ANYWAY, 2 down, 295 to go.

[thekimdelacreme]

Read Cat Chase the Moon.

[roseunspindle]

The Catswold Portal

[sandythereadingcafe]

REVIEW:

CAT CHASE THE MOON (Joe Grey Mystery) by Shirley Rousseau Murphy at The Reading Cafe:

‘a fun series, exciting mysteries, and fantastic characters’

http://www.thereadingcafe.com/cat-chase-the-moon-by-shirley-rousseau-murphy/

[allcatsconstitutethesamefamily]

From The Cat, the Devil, and Lee Fontana by Shirley Rousseau Murphy, 2014.

They've had many lives and many ages: cats I've met in my time travels.

Wondering about this post?  Wait for the dissertation (TBA). For now:  Weblog ◆ Books ◆ Videos ◆ Music ◆ Etsy

[thesconesyard]

Book dump!!!

One of the great parts of being an adult is that I can get in my car and go to my favorite used bookstores whenever I want. (SUPPORT YOUR LOCALS!!)

Today my partner is out of state for work, my little is with grandparents and I have had a glorious day of nothing. I should have done some chores (and I probably still will) but I took my ass to my two faves and loaded up!

Starting from the bottom, I grabbed a Leslie Patricelli for the little. We love her books. Her illustrations are fun and the stories just right for someone growing (little is 3.5.)

Then we have a handful of the Time Warp Trio by Jon Scieszka. Those are kinda for little when bigger, but also mostly for me because they’re awesome and I’ve read all of the series the library has. (You may know Scieszka from The Stinky Cheeseman.)

Next is Cat After Dark by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. This is a mystery series my mom got me hooked on. It’s about Joe Grey, a talking cat who secretly solves mysteries and calls in anonymous tips to the local police force. It’s good I promise.

A couple of Agatha Christies because who doesn’t like a good, well written murder. Mystery! A good, well written mystery.

Lonesome Dove I started to read on archive.org, but kept forgetting my place when I couldn’t stay logged in. Yes, I’m secretly a cowboy at heart. Yes, I’m going to watch the movies when I finish. Yes, that means I will eventually watch Karl play a cowboy 🤠

Keith Laumer. This is an odd one. Back at university, a classmates gave me a random stack of sci-fi to read. It took me years to remember the author’s name. So I decided why not give him a try. If I don’t like it I’ll drop it in Mom’s bag to sell back and earn a dollar or so on her account.

The Man in the Thick Lead Suit is also a gamble. I have a strong interest in nuclear disasters and nuclear development. I got this one from the nuclear history section. I can’t find a summary to tell me what it’s about, but someone is selling it on Amazon for $719.

Lastly, Neal Stephenson. Another I haven’t read yet, but I trust that it will be good. This will be my third of his and his second one was one I randomly picked up too. His book Seveneves was so good that I trust anything by him will be interesting. (Seriously, if nothing else, look up the opening line to Seveneves. It will hook you.)

Off to read now. Write some more scones later too. Later lovelies!!

[fictionadventurer]

A Ranking of all the Cinderella Retellings I’ve Read

(Completed via a very unscientific method where I try to balance between “I liked it” and “It was well-written.” Your mileage may vary and my ranking would probably vary if I made this list again.)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: The Gold Standard. The retelling that started it all for me. Manages to twist the fairy tale (even dislike some parts of it) while remaining true to the heart of it. A+ worldbuilding, A+++ ending.

A Cinder’s Tale by Stephanie Ricker (in the Five Glass Slippers collection): A sci-fi retelling where Cinderella works a highly-dangerous space mining job. Fantastic worldbuilding with a wonderful ensemble cast.

Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley: Cinderella meets Joan of Arc. Has a fantastic multi-first-person-narrator structure. Some of the fairy tale plot points are an awkward fit, but I still enjoyed it.

Before Midnight by Cameron Dokey: A fairly basic retelling with a fantastic autumnal atmosphere that tempts me to reread it every year, even though the story’s rather basic and the ending’s too convenient.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer: The famous science-fantasy retelling. There are things I don’t like about the series, but this first book is a solid retelling with some good twists. I like it less than several others on this list, but it’s too solid to rank it much lower.

The Stepsister and the Slipper by Nina Clare: If Georgette Heyer wrote fantasy. Cinderella’s spunky stepsister and a roguish hero manipulate each other in competing schemes. The worldbuilding’s sketchy and the ending’s very rushed, but I had too much fun to care too much.

Soot and Slipper by Kate Stradling: Fantastic twist, adorable relationship between Cinderella and her prince, a sweet and melancholy atmosphere, and an underwhelming ending.

The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo: Wodehouse meets Cinderella, starring a very grumpy fairy baker. Gets a bit too slapstick, but its snarky, silly vibe is a breath of fresh air in a YA-romance-dominated retelling world.

Traitor’s Masque by Kenley Davidson: I love the Ruritanian atmosphere and the political tension between the two brothers, even though it’s at least 33% too wordy and the plot makes less sense the more you think about it.

The Windy Side of Care by Rachel Heffington (from the Five Glass Slippers anthology): Cinderella meets Shakespeare. Has a strong voice, a heroine with a ton of spunk, and a fun “fairy godfather”.

Fated by Kaylin Lee: Great magical-1930s worldbuilding. The characters were also solid. The plot was a bit too long and too convenient at points. But the worldbuilding is the draw here.

The Earl of Highmott Hall by Nina Clare: Another Regency fairy tale by this author. Probably technically better-done than The Stepsister and the Slipper but I found it less fun.

Silver Woven in my Hair by Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Short and sweet little book with minimal magic and a lot of charm, but I don’t remember much about it anymore.

Midnight’s Curse by Tricia Mingerink: Set in a European-castle + American frontier setting that’s unique (even if I can’t quite decide if it’s cultural appropriation), with some interesting twists and themes.

The Spinner and the Slipper by Camryn Lockhart: Mashes up Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin with just a touch of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. If I remember right, it did a decent job of it. The loving competition between Auberon and Titania was fun.

Letters by Cinderlight + Wishes by Starlight by Jacque Stevens: A Russian-ish retelling with some fantastic ideas (parts of it reminded me of Ella Enchanted) and unfortunately shaky execution. If it had been better written, it may have been one of my favorites.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix: I was pleasantly surprised by parts of this (mostly Ella’s character arc of learning to accept help) and hated other parts (the villains were completely unbelievable strawman caricatures). In the balance, I’ll stick it here.

Mask of Scarlet by Sarah Pennington: Set in a very unique and very complicated 1920s Chicago + Iceland world. Of the series, this was the book where I was best able to understand the worldbuilding, and I think the fairy tale was decently done, but even though I read it earlier this year, I remember almost nothing specific.

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George: This one’s hard to rank because I think it was decently written, but I remember so little about it. I’ll stick it here, for whatever that’s worth.

What Eyes Can See by Elisabeth Brown (from the Five Glass Slippers anthology): Sweet, magic-free Regency-ish retelling with a very shy Cinderella and a nice stepfamily. It’s a bit basic, but it’s grown on me over time.

The Moon-Master’s Ball by Clare Diane Thompson (from the Five Glass Slippers anthology): Very strong autumnal and slightly spooky atmosphere. I remember liking this one well enough, but can’t remember much else about it.

The Other Cinderella by Beka Gremikova: This treats Fairy Tales as an external worldbuilding thing (people are cast in fated roles, etc.), which I usually hate, but there’s a twist at the end that impressed me.

A Gown of Spider Silk by A.G. Marshall: Short story retelling with one twist that’s kind of fun, but not quite my thing.

Another Midnight by Amanda Marin: Short-story Cinderella involving a time-loop. I remember almost nothing about it, but I think it was decent enough.

Cinders and Blades by Amanda Kaye: Short story Russian-influenced retelling. I remember almost nothing except that it disappointed me.

Slipper in the Snow by Alice Ivinya: Another short story. I remember even less about this one.

Rook di Goo by Jenni Sauer: I was promised Cinderella meets Firefly. I got an ensemble cast I didn’t connect with, worldbuilding I didn’t understand (what do they even do with their spaceship?), and a fairy tale that felt shoehorned-in.

The Stepsister’s Tale by Tracy Barrett: I don’t remember much except that I found it disappointing.

Broken Glass by Emma Clifton (from the Five Glass Slippers anthology): Mildly steampunk retelling imagining that the slipper fits the wrong girl. The humor here just isn’t my cup of tea, and the ending doesn’t make sense.

The Coronation Ball by Melanie Cellier: Short, shmaltzy and basic. There’s nothing that terrible about it, but for some reason there’s a lingering distaste that makes me recoil from it.

Cinderella (As If You Didn’t Already Know the Story) by Barbara Ensor: Written for lower middle-grade. One of those fairy tale retellings that thinks making anachronistic references is clever. It’s not.

Happily by Chauncey Rogers: Ugh. There’s one really dumb twist to the fairy tale that’s so dumb that it makes me angry just thinking about it, regardless of what else may be in the story (I don’t remember much else).

Mechanica by Betsy Cornwall: Double ugh. It had such a promising premise, but I hated so many things about this worldview that it gets the bottom ranking forever.

[cats-doulikedem]

"Dulcie said there were no cats in the Bible, but Kit wasn't sure she believed that. Why would there be horses and cows and dogs, wild pigs and weasels, but no cats? Why, when everyone knew that a little cat would have to be God's favorite?"

[bettylouiseme]

#CAT CHASE THE MOON By Shirley  Rousseau Murphy

PEACE

I have read all the books in the Joe Grey series and the 21st book was a reunion with old friends and some new ones. If I have a problem with reading, a Joe Grey book helps me to start reading other books. The paranormal aspects don’t bother me. For a light, fun and reading book this great.

Joe and Dulcie’s family are growing and getting their own personalities. Buffin and Striker are…

[allantheauthor]

Book Review: “Cat Playing Cupid” from the Joe Grey Mystery Series… My Rating: 5 STARS This fourteenth outing for the Joe Grey Mystery Series was both fun and intriguing for me.

[aliteraryprincess]

Ash by Malinda Lo

Warning: Contains spoilers

Welcome back to Fairy Tale Friday!  It’s been a while!  My work schedule was really hectic all last month.  Things have slowed down now, which hopefully means I’ll get back to consistently posting these!  

Ash has been on my TBR for ages, and I’m so glad I got to pick it up.  A special thanks to @the-forest-library since I won this book in her giveaway!   As you can probably tell, this is another retelling of “Cinderella.”  You can read the first post I did on a “Cinderella” retelling here.  

As a Retelling:

When compared with Princess of Glass, Ash is in some ways more of a straight retelling.  Lo utilizes the traditional step-family setup we’re familiar with from the most prominent versions of the fairy tale.  However, like Jessica Day George’s Ellen, Ash does not end up with the prince at the end.  In fact, the prince isn’t even one of Ash’s love interests.  Instead, we have Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, and Sidhean, a mysterious fairy.

Lo draws on both the Grimm version of the story and the Perrault version.  The mother’s grave plays a major part in the book, just as it does in the German variant of the tale.  In that version, Cinderella spends a large amount of time crying at her mother’s grave and plants a hazel tree there.  A bird that perches there throws down the gowns and slippers she wears to the festivals.  In Ash, it is at her mother’s grave that Ash meets Sidhean.  The magic itself is not tied with the grave though.  For that, Lo uses the fairy helper from Perrault’s tale; it is Sidhean who helps her go to the royal hunt and the ball by providing her with clothes and ensuring she won’t be recognized.

Unlike the majority of “Cinderella” retellings, footwear does not play a role in this story.  This is probably Lo’s biggest deviation from the fairy tale; almost every variation of the tale involves some kind of beautiful shoes, whether it is Perrault’s glass slippers, the golden slippers that appear in several versions, or the multi-colored shoes in the Irish tale “Fair, Brown, and Trembling.”  As a replacement for the lost slipper, Ash has a silver cloak given to her by Sidhean.  Ash leaves it behind after taking it off to dance with Kaisa at the Yule ball.  However, there is no equivalent to the shoe fitting.  In fact, Kaisa does not seek Ash out after she leaves the ball; it is the other way around.  After going to see Sidhean one last time, Ash returns to the palace to find Kaisa, who has kept the cloak for her.

Kaisa is, of course, another of the larger deviations in this book.  She is essentially placed into the role the prince usually fills.  Though the prince does exist in this story, he is really a non-character.  Kaisa, unlike the usual love interest for Cinderella, is not royalty, though she is connected with royalty through her position as the King’s Huntress.  Her occupation provides a way for Lo to avoid insta-love by developing the relationship.  They meet in the forest and become friends first before starting to develop romantic feelings for each other.  Kaisa is actually the one to invite Ash to the royal hunt, which is this story’s equivalent to the first ball, and she is never in doubt of Ash’s identity through any of the events.

Though Lo does use the step-family setup found in many versions of the story, she fleshes out the characters and provides reasons for their ill treatment of Ash.  Not long after marrying Lady Isobel, Ash’s father becomes ill and dies, leaving nothing but a pile of debts.  Ash is forced to do the housework as a way to pay Lady Isobel back for the lost money, a situation very similar to that of Sara Crewe in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess, which follows the “Cinderella” structure.  Though many modern interpretations of the story kill off the father, he is alive in most older versions of the tale and simply allows his new wife to treat his daughter terribly.  Some variants say it is because he is entirely under his wife’s control, others don’t give any explanation.  It’s easy to see why modern audiences prefer for the father to die; the idea of a father refusing to protect his daughter like that is difficult to stomach.  

The two stepsisters, Ana and Clara, are given personalities and motivations.  Ana is desperate to get married since, it’s the best way for her to live a comfortable life due to their society and her circumstances.  She’s resentful of Ash, whose father made her life more difficult by putting the family in debt, and therefore usually cruel.  However, we do get one nice scene between the two that shows how desperate Ana is due to her circumstances and that she could be a nicer person if things were different.  Clara, on the other hand, is actually fairly pleasant and on good terms with Ash.  She doesn’t completely adhere to her sister’s mindset, but she doesn’t see any other options.  She and Ash have several conversations the the subject and we as readers are left with some hope that Clara might find her own way in the world.

My Thoughts:

I’m so glad I finally read this book.  Lo does such a wonderful job retelling the story and her writing is beautiful.  And, as I mentioned in my post on Girls Made of Snow and Glass, I am always here for LGBT+ fairy tale retellings!  Bisexual Cinderella?  Yes please!  I also loved the way Lo handles the love triangle, which is something I’m usually not fond of.  For a while I thought Sidhean was going to end up being the antagonist and would try to keep Ash and Kaisa apart.  I was so happy that’s not what happens!  Lo resolves it in a way that satisfied me and doesn’t downplay Ash’s feelings for either of her love interests.

I really appreciated how character driven this book is.  There aren’t a huge amount of exciting events; there are the hunt and the two balls, but other than that it is mostly quiet moments focused on Ash’s grief over the loss of her mother and her feelings for Kaisa and Sidhean.  As a result, I felt I really knew Ash and I cared a great deal about her by the end.  It’s a quieter kind of book, and I thought that worked really well for the story.

If I had to make one complaint, it would be that I wanted it to be longer!  The paperback copy I have is just over 250 pages.  I think it could have done with maybe 100 more pages.  I wanted more interactions between Ash and her stepsisters to further delve into their relationships.  And I especially think the resolution to Ash and Sidhean’s relationship could have been drawn out longer.  It’s wonderful the way it is, but I really just wanted to spend more time in this world and with these characters.

My rating: 4 stars     

Other Reading Recommendations:

The starred titles are ones I have read myself.  The others are ones I want to read and may end up being future Fairy Tale Friday books.  To keep the list from getting too long, I’m limiting it to four that I’ve read and four that I haven’t.  This is the only novel length fairy tale retelling by Lo, but she has several other books that sound great.

Other Retellings of “Cinderella”:

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine*

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire*

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George*

Cinder by Marissa Meyer*

Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge

Ashes of Roses by Christine Pope

Silver Woven in My Hair by Shirley Rousseau Murphy 

Ella by Jessilyn Stewart Peaslee

More Books by Malinda Lo:

Huntress

Adaptation

A Line in the Dark

About the Fairy Tale:

Cinderella: A Casebook by Alan Dundes

Cinderella Tales from Around the World by Heidi Ann Heiner

Have a recommendation for me to read or a suggestion to make Fairy Tale Friday better?  Feel free to send me an ask!  

[allcatsconstitutethesamefamily]

From Cat Striking Back by Shirley Rousseau Murphy, 2009.

They've had many lives and many ages: cats I've met in my time travels.

Wondering about this post?  Wait for the dissertation (TBA). For now:  Weblog ◆ Books ◆ Videos ◆ Music ◆ Etsy