Snow White and Rose Red

I love to read fairy tale re-writes, and I love Patricia C. Wrede’s writing, so when I found a copy of Snow White and Rose Red by Wrede at a Goodwill, I was elated. I had mixed feelings when I started to read, however. I know and love Patricia C. Wrede from her Enchanted Forset Chronicles, which are written to be humorous (and for me, they definitely are) and from her book of short stories, The Book of Enchantments, in which the stories run the gamut from humorous to somber.

Snow White and Rose Red wasn’t humorous, nor was it supposed to be, but because I’ve read the Book of Enchantment, I know she can write serious fiction and do it well. I was surprised when I started reading that Wrede had decided to make the characters speak in Elizabethan English. All the ‘thees,’ ‘thous,’ and ‘dosts’ were a little distracting, though I would be curious to hear her reasoning for choosing that technique. Unfortunately, the narrative of the story is in modern English, and the clash of Elizabethan and modern didn’t appeal to me.

The storyline jumped around a lot between Snow White and Rose Red, the prince of Faerie, and two sets of antagonists. That’s a lot of jumping! I found all of the different viewpoints a little bit confusing, especially at the beginning, before I had a good idea of who everyone was. All of the jumping between characters also made it hard to get to know the main characters really well. Although Snow White and Rose Red were the protagonists, I didn’t feel like I knew much about them, even by the end of the story; they were hard to sympathize with, which for me is the kiss of death for a story.

Each chapter of Snow White and Rose Red begins with an excerpt from the original fairy tale. (If you’re interested, you can read through the original here.) I hadn’t read this story since childhood, and I was reminded just how choppy and confusing the original fairy tale is. So many questions unanswered, so many random characters and plot elements. I decided that it’s no wonder Wrede had a hard time retelling the story! In comparison to the original, Wrede made the story fit together and flow well.

I did find Wrede’s depiction of the world of Faerie intriguing, and despite my misgivings, the book did hold my attention to the end. But only just. If you are looking to discover why Wrede is such a well-loved author, check out her Enchanted Forest Chronicles, The Book of Enchantment, or Sorcery and Cecilia instead.

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