Red as Blood by Tanith Lee

 “The dawn is coming, that must be the unforgivable glare that blazes along the hem of the earth, its rays smoking through her, pink as pearl, cruel as knives.”

— Tanith Lee, “The Waters of Sorrow”

Red as Blood or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer is a collection of dark fantasy retellings of fairy tales with a feminist focus. There are also stories based on ballets that were inspired by folk tales and one science fiction retelling. This is a strong collection. Although I enjoyed some stories more than others, I thought every story was quite creative. 

I love the writing style. I’m usually leery of writing that is prose heavy and has limited dialogue, but it wasn't a problem here. Paragraphs flow with poetic prose and lush imagery. The stories moved along well and the endings often surprised me. 

One of the criticisms I’ve seen a few times is that the stories feel a little repetitive since most of them are dark and often include evil characters. I feel that they all fit the theme of dark retellings of fairy and folk tales so this was not a problem for me.

The Kindle version includes an extra story at the end bringing the collection up to ten stories. It also has silly cover art which has nothing to do with any of the stories. I prefer the paperback cover art by Michael Whelan (pictured above) which actually matches the contents. 

For most of the stories I read the original folk tales first. Comparing the original stories to Tanith Lee’s stories really added to my enjoyment of them. For the folk tales I read from my copy of The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm translated and edited by Jack Zipes. This book includes the earliest versions of the stories before they were revised numerous times. 

For the two stories based on ballets I read summaries on the internet. I was especially impressed with how Tanith Lee adapted the tragic ballet Giselle into her story "The Waters of Sorrow."

Stories:

"Paid Piper" (based on "The Pied Piper of Hamelin") (4/5)

A mysterious musician with a flute visits a village in which everyone appears overly concerned with work and money. He offers them another way, but they reject him. I have mixed feelings about this one. I like the revelations and how the story ends but the musician never explains how his way would work. 

"Red as Blood" (based on "Snow White") (5/5)

A version of Snow White in which the good characters are bad, and the bad characters are good. Very well done. 

"Thorns" (based on "Sleeping Beauty") (4/5)

A prince encounters a castle surrounded by thorns and attempts to rescue the sleeping princess within. 

"When the Clock Strikes" (based on "Cinderella") (3/5)

A version of Cinderella in which she is out for revenge. 

"The Golden Rope" (based on "Rapunzel") (3/5)

An old woman raises a child in a tower in an attempt to gain power from the devil. 

"The Princess and Her Future" (based on "The Frog Prince") (4/5)

After receiving a golden glass ball, a princess discovers the secret of a well in a hidden garden. Short and sweet with a strong ending.

"Wolfland" (based on "Little Red Riding Hood") (5/5)

A young woman who is set to inherit the family fortune is sent a red cloak and is summoned by her mysterious grandmother. The trip by sleigh through the winter forest, the characters she meets, and the things she learns all make for an outstanding and creative retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood." One of my favorite stories in this collection. 

"Black as Ink" (inspired by the folk tales that Swan Lake is based on) (3/5)

A young man becomes infatuated with a mysterious young woman who he sees swimming in a lake. He is threatened by her angry uncle and things don’t work out. He encounters her again years later. A strange and tragic story. 

"Beauty" (a science fiction version of "Beauty and the Beast") (2.5/5)

Aliens have come to Earth and settled in various locations. They provide gifts for mankind, but they also require families to send one of their children to them periodically. A merchant's daughter, who is not sure about her place in the world, gets sent to one of the aliens. I guessed at one of the revelations at the end but not the other. While it was well done, I thought the story went on too long.

"The Waters of Sorrow" (based on the ballet Giselle) (5/5)

A young village girl watches a play on a riverboat named the Vilya, named after all the girls who die of broken hearts when their lovers betray or abandon them. While watching the play she falls in love with the lead actor. After the play she winds up meeting him. 

I really like the way Tanith Lee adapts the Giselle ballet into this story. Romance, innocence, suspicion, love, tragedy, and vengeful ghosts with a twist. This story has it all. The crown jewel of the collection. Every word. 

As Tanith Lee seems to have been inspired by the stories of Angela Carter, I’ll be reading her collection The Bloody Chamber soon.