When You Crave Some Comforting Strangeness
Kelly Link masterfully twists familiar source material into unexpected, new shapes.
More than ever before, humans seem to be inundated with stories. They pour out of our screens and social-media feeds, our books, and, of course, ourselves. The urge to create narratives in order to make sense of reality is matched only by the need to escape reality by the same means.
Amid this abundance, fairy tales have found renewed popularity in recent years. Best-selling authors such as Marissa Meyer cleverly recycle the likes of Cinderella and Snow White by hurling them into a science-fictional future. The hit 2010s television show remixed just about every fairy-tale character and trope. But what the best updated fairy tales have in common is the way they strike a careful balance between revisionist novelty and faithful takes
