A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz Series: A Tale Dark & Grimm #1
Also by this author:
Published by Penguin on October 28th 2010
Genres: Young Adult, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Adaptations, Humorous Stories, Action & Adventure, General, Fiction
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
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In this mischievous and utterly original debut, Hansel and Gretel walk out of their own story and into eight other classic Grimm-inspired tales. As readers follow the siblings through a forest brimming with menacing foes, they learn the true story behind (and beyond) the bread crumbs, edible houses, and outwitted witches.
Fairy tales have never been more irreverent or subversive as Hansel and Gretel learn to take charge of their destinies and become the clever architects of their own happily ever after.
When a book based on a Grimm fairy tale has an eye catching cover, that is typically a good sign. For A Tale Dark And Grimm by Adam Gidwitz, the cover is only part of a wicked awesome parcel, full of cool things like decapitation, blood and guts.
Forget everything you know about Hansel and Gretel. What you were told was the lite version, where all the interesting violent bits got cut out, or so the omniscient narrator of A Tale Dark And Grimm would have us believe. AND YOU GUYS, A Tale Dark And Grimm is WAY more kick ass, than the Hansel and Gretel I remember.
Hansel and Gretel are twins born to the king and queen. Hansel and Gretel believe their parents are HORRIBLE parents after they decapitate the twins in order to resuscitate some old guy. So, they run away in search of better parents. They totally meet a child-eating old lady, murderers, a talking tree, dragons, the devil, and all assortment of fine upstanding citizens along the way. BTW, the moon is a total creeper.
Adam Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark And Grimm is definitely grim and violent. It is the perfect book to hand to a boy. But also girls. There is much, MUCH blood. But there are plenty of warnings given for squeamish people by the narrator.
A Tale Dark And Grimm doesn’t take itself too seriously and results in being a super fun novel to pass the afternoon away with. I loved the narration technique, where the narrator is totally talking to the reader. More of that please. Although rumor has it that this narrator is similar to the Series of Unfortunate Events, which I have not read but now desperately want to read, because A Tale Dark And Grimm rocked my socks.
Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my local library.
This is a CYBILS book.
Other Reviews of A Tale Dark And Grimm by Adam Gidwitz:
The Allure Of Books
Becky’s Book Reviews
Stuff As Dreams Are Made On
Waking Brain Cells
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I never really liked the story of Hansel and Gretel (I think because it didn’t have a princess) but this take sounds really interesting. I love getting to know the “real” story behind a fairy tale.
This was a great book! I really enjoyed it and look forward to whatever Adam Gidwitz puts out next. Glad you liked it! 🙂
I like that your definition of cool things includes decapitation, blood, and guts. Oh and get yourself to Lemony Snickett ASAP! Very cute, fun, quick reads (if you listen to them on audio, the ones read by Tim Curry are the best – I listened to one read by the author and I found the sound mix aggravating).
I definitely want to read this one,being a huge lover of fairy tales and all, but I don’t like the narration in ASoUE, so I’m hoping this doesn’t feel like this books… ;P
Glad you liked it!
Im reading this book and i love it i had never read this kind of books i want to read more books like these your so creative Adam Gidwitz