It is once again Wednesday! I may have to increase the frequency with which I post reviews just to get caught up on my backlog… and keep it current with books I’m finishing in the ‘now.’ Like this one!
I became a huge Angela Carter fan after reading The Bloody Chamber and other short stories for a British Female Literature course in college. We read Jeanette Winterson, Virginia Woolf, and Jean Rhys. It was one of the next-to, next-to-last term for college, and by far, one of the most interesting courses I had taken in 4 years.
I found this book at a Half-Price Books here in Houston, just hanging out in the fiction section, not many other Carter books around it. I decided to try some of Carter’s other works, since I had fallen in love with her language and her storytelling nearly 6 years ago. I loved her work so much that I had asked for a repurchase of her Bloody Chamber & Other Stories collection for my birthday, or Christmas present from my best friend a few years back.
Anyways… picking up The Magic Toyshop was intriguing. Trying to discern from the synopsis on the back cover what it was actually about from the reality of the book took a moment of adjustment. I had a difficult time diving into the story, purely because I had my idea of where it would go, and that it did not follow my idea… imagine that. Once I separated myself from my preconceived notion, I saw this book for what it was… A brilliant feminist treatise on becoming a woman and self-discovery. There could be a seminar dedicated to unwinding all of Carter’s allusions, language, and plot. I’d sign up for it in a heartbeat.
Once I focused on the story, and stopped thinking it would go a certain way, I read it in a single night. I stayed up until 1am and read and read and read. I needed to find out what happened to our young Melanie, what could happen in this magic toyshop, and ultimately what it all meant. I got all of my answers… Although I will be honest – the ending was a bit of a letdown for me. After all of the building and the anticipation, I expected a bigger, more final, ending for our heroine.
I still don’t quite understand Carter’s choice in ending the novel the way she did, and unless I do my research, or call to Carter from beyond the grave, I probably won’t know why. But beyond knowing why the book felt cut-short, I loved it truly. So, please excuse me while I go dig into research on this novel – for it has stayed with me, and has kept me thinking even though I have finished it about 2 weeks ago…
If you have not read any Angela Carter, please go pick up The Bloody Chamber at least – it is a glorious retelling of the fairy tale “Bluebeard.”
Soft Bound Skeletons 