Angela Carter is somehow on another plane when it comes to storytelling. She weaves her words so elegantly, and yet there is some kind of beautiful danger to them. With all of her talks of wolves and beasts, her stories also have the edge of a predator to them, alluring and graceful, yet will also devour you whole if you're not too careful. This was my first time reading any of Carter's work, knowing that many of my favorite authors drew inspiration from her and, upon finishing the book, it's so clear how her influence survives in the horror written today. I know Neil Gaiman has listed her as one of his influences, which makes sense given the way both tend to incorporate some sort of vagueness into their works. 

This collection of stories has so much depth within it that you almost need to take notes to get the full experience. That's not a bad thing for me personally, as I'm one to dissect stories that interest me, and Carter makes her writing rich with allegories and symbolism hidden within retellings of fairy tales we all know so well. Even as I'm writing a review, I'm still trying to figure out what some of them mean. It's not a collection meant for a bit of light reading, as Carter goes to great lengths to rework the familiar into something disturbing, yet truthful. 

"The Snow Child" in particular was a short, yet provocative story, showing that Carter is more than willing to include a taboo or two to get a message across. Here, we see a rich man of status riding with his wife, wishing for a beautiful girl. This story, through its dreamlike atmosphere and imagery, deals with the discarding nature of the upper class, of how a man of rank can seek mistresses, young girls, when it pleases him, only to cast them aside when they have outlived their use and before they cast too much attention away from their wives. 

Several of Carter's stories take on a feminist slant, dealing with themes of agency, maturity, sexual exploration, and the damaging effect of the patriarchy. The latter is an interesting one, especially as it's framed in "The Erl-King." We see a woman fall in love with a man of the woods, only to feel herself ensnared and trapped by him. She feels excited yet also terrified by his presence, which can be both intimidating and sensual. He keeps a flock of birds in cages within his hut, and the woman fears that she will become much the same. Yet, though the man treats his birds well and cares for them, they are still trapped within gilded cages. The story deals mainly in gender roles, how both men and women suffer from the patriarchy and what is typically expected of each of them. 

I could go on and on about what each story means, how "The Courtship of Mr. Lyon" gives the Beauty of this Beauty and the Beast retelling a great deal of agency, predating the Disney version by a good decade, or how "Wolf-Alice" reflects the process of self-actualization and the effect of isolation in that process. I'm sure it's been the work of several dissertations in the past. But for now, I'm comfortable saying that if you're in the mood for something darker, a little more subversive, this is a collection you  don't want to miss.