I do love fairytale re-tellings, and after reading Black Thorn, White Rose (as well as Black Swan, White Raven and The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest), I decided to read another collection by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling: Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears.
Like many anthologies, this one has many stories that I loved, a couple that were good, and a few that didn’t work for me for various reasons. I loved Tanith Lee’s The Beast, which was a haunting, disturbing story about the selfish cruelty a beautiful face can sometimes hide. I think this story had even more power because it felt as though it somehow surfaced subtle elements of classicism and perhaps racism that can underlie some types of stories. Likewise, Masterpiece by Garry Kilworth established an eerie, disturbing, twist on Rumpelstiltskin, one that examines how much we understand and except the bargains we make, and what we’re willing to sacrifice for the things that we want.
Another story I loved was Ellen Steiber’s The Fox Wife, a Japanese-inspired tale that contrasts the confining, controlling horrors of domestic violence with the freedom and wildness of foxes. It’s setting is beautiful and opulent as well as dangerous. Jane Yollen’s The Traveler and the Tale is another great story, one that examines the importance of stories and tales in a culture. I loved the references to the strange, dark fairytales that don’t get retold as often as the happy stories, but somehow stick in your memory so vividly.
Cover of Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears
Several of the stories in Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears are powerful, but also very disturbing and hard to recommend unless you have a strong stomach and are not easily triggered. In particular, Anne Bishop’s Match Girl is extremely hard to read, with some very intense depictions of violence against women and rape. I won’t deny it’s a powerful story, but it’s so grim and cruel, it’s not necessarily a story I’d want to read again. Likewise, The Real Princess by Susan Palwick is a very disturbing, extremely violent story. with a weirdly unsatisfying ending (though I think it was supposed to be a happy one, it certainly didn’t feel that way).
Most of the other stories in the book are interesting, but didn’t quite capture me in the way that some of the others did. They’re good entertainment, but didn’t particularly speak to me on a deeper level. I will say that the book didn’t have any stories I disliked or thought were badly told.
Overall, I’d recommend Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears to anyone who enjoys fairy tales and fantasy stories, with the caveat that a couple of the stories might be too violent for some readers.