Review
The Girl With No Hands contains sixteen stories by Angela Slatter and a foreword, Caressing with Razors, authored by Jack Dann. The excellent cover art is by Lisa Hannett rounding out a superb offering from Ticonderoga Publications. The collection represents the state of the art of the modern faery tale aimed at adult readers. Don't be confused here, this book is not aimed at the young reader but rather contains some deliciously gruesome ideas. Angela Slatter writes in a lyrical almost poetic style that captures the essence of the ideas contained in each story. The reader is taken on a fog shrouded journey through various backwoods paths with the surreal rather than the normal being the order of the day in each of the deceptively simple morality fables being presented. In Ms Slatter's hands prose is used to highlight you reap what you sow, even the most mundane person is accountable and can rise above their expected station. If there is one common theme between the stories it would be not to accept what life throws at you without breaking the boundaries of what is expected. The heavy influence of traditional fairy tale techniques is pretty obvious with Angela Slatter being unapologetic about the use of the style to tell a tale with more happening than is obvious at first glance. The Girl With No Hands, our titular story, for example is a direct reference to the Brothers Grimm encapsulation of a traditional oral tale. Within the pages of the collection you will meet familiar fare such as Rumpelstiltzkin in the story Light As Mist, Heavy As Hope, though the familiar is given a more modernist post feminist twist just to keep things interesting. Considering Faery tales have always had a message to convey it's a pretty solid approach. Of particular interest to the modern reader is Ms Slatter's establishment of original and unique new tales that may not quite be nursery fare. Dark genre fans after more traditional things that go bump in the night need not fear, fear might come for you when you turn the lights out after reading, as Ms Slatter has gone out of her way to include some traditional horror decorations. We get witches, werewolves, vamps, the whole nine yards of traditional dark characters to keep us amused. Actually considering the normal subject matter of typical faery tales it makes for a good combination to include the approach within the borders of mainstream horror. Angela Slatter re-invents the faery tale for a modern audience after dark thrills. While gorehounds are apt to be disappointed, do they read anyway? - most dark genre fans are going to dig into the collection with relish. The stories contained in the collection are not traditional horror outings, no haunted houses on mist shrouded Moors to explore, there's a dark and brooding nature to the collection normally reserved for the Gothic end of town. Don't expect the normal structure of a horror story, there's no unexplained happenings gradually escalating to a twisted ending. Angela Slatter writes more from a single idea approach that determines the structure of the story. Jaded horror readers might just find a new lease on reading life with The Girl With No Hands. Perhaps the most recognisable story in the collection is The Jacaranda Wife, a whimsical tale that first appeared in the Dreaming Again collection. For Angela Slatter fans, and I assume there must be a few out there given the high esteem the Author is held in, there are no fewer than three new stories published for the first time. So there's your price of admission right there. For those new to Angela Slatter, The Girl With No Hands offers an excellent introduction, the Author writes in an easy to read lyrical style that has the prose flowing off the page in well rendered waves of delight. You will find yourself gliding through each tale as Ms Slatter weaves her magic with the only downside being the lack of another collection by the Author to pick up next. Actually there is another collection due in 2010, Sourdough & Other Stories (Tartarus Press), so add that one to your shopping list along with The Girl With No Hands. I had an absolutely marvellous time with The Girl With No Hands and enjoyed each of the sixteen stories the collection contained. While I've mentioned the similarities between Ms Slatter's stories and the traditional faery tale this should in no way imply that the Author is writing children's fiction, each of the stories is an absorbing yarn that talks in an adult voice. Angela Slatter presents a series of remarkably good female role models for teens that should have parents of those teens rushing their local bookshops to get a copy of the collection in preference to glittering vampires and the big V on her forehead Bella. Okay full recommendation, I've got nothing else to say, go buy the book. The Girl With No Hands can be picked up from Ticonderoga Publications' website right here. Angela Slatter regularly updates her website click through.
ScaryMinds Rates this read as ... An outstanding collection that wringes every ounce out of the modern fable.
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Disclaimer: Please note this review reflects the opinion of the team at ScaryMinds and should in no way be construed as
representing the views of the AHWA Shadows Award Judges. This review is for the edification of ScaryMinds readers and does not constitute a
“literary criticism” or any other criteria the Shadows Judging panel may take this year.