I consider myself a pretty serious Robin McKinley fan. The Blue Sword is one of my all-time favorite favorite FAVORITE books ever. Desert island reading, even.
So it's really embarrassing for me to admit that there are a good number of McKinley books that I haven't actually read, The Door in the Hedge being one of them. (Deerskin is another, but that's because I'm scared of it. From what I've heard, my fears are justified. I noticed, also, that in the 'Books by Robin McKinley' list at the beginning of this edition of DitH, Deerskin is listed as a book 'For Adults'. I figured I should mention it -- there are people out there who might be relieved.)
So... back to Door in the Hedge. Four fairy tales, two re-imagined and two original. (Unless The Golden Hind is an old story. The only Golden Hind I know of is Drake's ship, but please correct me if I'm wrong.)
Oddly enough, my favorite of the four was the retelling of 'The Frog Prince'. I've never really liked the story. I never thought about why -- it just wasn't one of my favorites.
Robin McKinley's version, 'The Princess and the Frog', made me realize that I'd never liked the Grimm version because the princess was such a BEASTLY LITTLE SNOT. Also, I thought that the introduction of the frog -- his fetching of the lost golden ball -- was lame. And I thought it was dumb that the princess didn't realize that he was under a spell -- I mean, come on. DUH.
In this version, the princess isn't awful at all -- she's pretty cool. Rather than being a story about being rewarded for keeping your promises (something that you should do anyway without expecting to be rewarded, HELLO), it's a story about good vs. evil, using your brain, and family.
Robin McKinley being Robin McKinley, she takes a (Sorry again to the fans of the Grimm version!) pretty crappy original, and gives it humor and depth:
"You cannot be a frog," she said stupidly. "You must be--under a spell." And she found she could spare a little pity from her own family's plight to give to this spell-bound creature who spoke like a human being.
"Of course," snapped the frog. "Frogs don't talk."
She was silent, sorry that her own pain had made her thoughtless, made her wound another's feelings.
"I'm sorry," said the frog for the second time, and in the same gentle tone. "You see, one never quite grows accustomed."
She answered after a moment: "Yes. I think I do understand, a little."
"Thank you," said the frog.
"Yes," she said again. "Good night."
"Good night."
DEERSKIN is amazing; it's pretty rough in terms of the content, but it's really as rich as SPINDLE'S END or SUNSHINE (I love the Damar novels, but they're definitely simpler/more young-adult in their construction). You must read it, especially if you are fond of animals; the way McKinley writes about dogs in that book is absolutely heartbreaking.
I can't believe that shirt Anne Rice is wearing! Good call! (though my suspicion is that it's made out of that sort-of-shiny-polyester-y material that people had festive red-and-green holiday clothes of in the 70s.)
Posted by: Jenny D | 04 January 2006 at 03:40 PM
Re Deerskin:
If you're okay with such an idea, you might think of skipping parts of the beginning. I'd literally thrown the book down in disgust after reading a particularly bloody scene, but on a friend's encouragement, agreed to pick it up again, to find that the rest of the book wasn't like that at all - it was about finding your destiny and (re)claiming who you are, and other such things.
Posted by: Jill | 05 January 2006 at 01:55 AM
I hated Deerskin when I read it, which was in high school. I haven't read The Door in the Hedge in ages but remember it fondly. I was a huge McKinley fan for years, but I've since downgraded to just a fan.
Posted by: jess | 06 January 2006 at 09:44 PM
Not to toot my own horn, or anything, but may i recommend my own review of Deerskin, at http://electronictiger.com/reviews/deerskin.htm ?
Personally, there are moments in Sunshine that i found as creepy as (or creepier than) anything in Deerskin.
The main thing about Deerskin is that it does feature an incestuous rape, written in a way that is horrific without being overly graphic (in my opinion).
Give it a try! The worst that will happen is (A) you will put it down and (B) you will never trust one of my reviews again.
*snif* that's okay, though...*snvl*
Posted by: mike weber | 22 March 2007 at 12:45 AM