The Bloody Chamber

[Brother]

I've read this anthology a few times, but it's one that's easy to dip in and out of. The short stories were all written by Angela Carter and a couple of them have actually been made into a movie, The Company of Wolves.

What I like about them is that they present fairytales that we all know and love, but in a more grown-up and mature manner. In fact one of the key themes that runs throughout them is empowerment of women and sexuality. It challenges the stereotypical conventions of fairytales, especially women's roles and retells classic stories in a new way.

I don't have favourites but here's a list of the stories included:

The Bloody Chamber (Bluebeard)
The Courtship of Mr Lyon (Beauty and the Beast)
The Tiger's Bride
Puss-in-Boots
The Erl-King
The Snow Child
The Lady of the House of Love (About Vampires)
The Werewolf
The Company of Wolves (Little Red Riding Hood)
Wolf-Alice

The stories are all set in more modern settings, although it's still ambiguous what time it actually is for most of them; early to mid 1900s I think. It's one of my favourite books so I'd recommend it.

I was just wondering if anybody else had read it.