‘Take a wicked queen,
a handsome prince, a beautiful princess and a poisoned apple…
and now read the true
story of Snow White, told the way it always should have been…’
These days I’m a little loathe to pick up books promising to
re-tell older tales, simply because I can never get away from the fact that I’ve
already read it somewhere else. If I really want to re-read a book then I’ll go
back to the original instead of reading a copy, a slight variation on the same
theme. If it’s Sarah Pinborough telling the tale though, that’s a different
matter entirely. I’ve read a few of Pinborough’s books now and have enjoyed the
lot (just feel a bit sad that will be no more giant spider books…) so it was
pretty much a foregone conclusion that I’d read ‘Poison’. Now I want the next
two books to hurry up and get themselves re-issued; partly because I want to
find out what happened to the mouse and see whether Aladdin makes another
appearance but mostly because Pinborough tells an enthralling tale and I want
more of that. Right now, I’m really hard pressed to remember a time when I tore
through two hundred pages of book so quickly.
Pinborough takes the original tale of Snow White and, well…
doesn’t actually make any changes to the main plot for the most part. The game
changer comes right at the end (and completely blew me away) but the rest of
the plot is as you would expect to find it. Where Pinborough really shines
though is in her treatment of the source material. ‘Poison’ isn’t so much a
re-telling of ‘Snow White’ as it is a piece with a lot more depth and feeling
than the original tale ever had. And a lot more darkness too; Pinborough
clearly knows that there is a strong edge of darkness to the classic fairy
tales and uses that here to good effect. I know I keep going on about Aladdin
but he is a seriously scary and messed up little boy who I would hate to come
across and that is what partly what ‘Poison’ is all about, that darkness in our
lives which can lead us down some very strange paths.
‘Poison’ isn’t just about that though, it’s about why the Snow White tale happened the way
that it did and Pinborough adds real emotion and depth to the relationship
between Lilith and Snow White; a relationship based on misunderstandings and jealousy
from both parties as well as Lilith trying to make herself feel secure as Queen
by imposing order on Snow White. You can’t help but feel sorry for both women,
both of whom have their faults but are stopped from making it work by being
totally incompatible. The way it all plays out makes for a compelling yet
bittersweet read.
Oh yes and there’s a lot of sex, emphasising the raw
humanity of our characters (it’s the only way that they can connect with each
other) whilst ensuring that I will never again be able to watch the final scenes
of the Disney ‘Snow White’ without keeping a straight face. And that damn Prince, I really hope he gets
his in a book to come…
‘Poison’ has been on the shelves for a little while now and
I suspect I must be one of the last people to read it. If you haven’t read it
yet, don’t wait as long as I did. Read ‘Poison’ now and find out what ‘Snow
White’ was really all about.
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