Article contributed by Yakira Goldsberry
Reading this book, I felt almost that Tales from the Hinterland by Melissa Albert was a collection of Grimm’s fairytales and not collection of unique stories written and compiled by the author herself as it was that good. Albert’s prose throughout the entire book was breathtaking. She put words together in a way that I could taste and feel. It seems as if I were inside the story, holding hands with each girl as she navigated her dangerous world of foolish hopes and dreams, or wicked toymakers and sorcerers and well-meaning lovers.
Cracking open the pages, there are many different tales to explore. A story of a girl who wants everything. A story of a mother who steals children to fill the empty place in her arms. A girl who became like Death. Each tale moves with a slow, careful plot that twists and turns with sinister precision. With many of the tales, it was hard to tell if one could call the ending happy or not. They had more of a cautionary ending for the children of Hinterland, much like Grimm’s original fairytales.
While reading each tale, there were certain threads that seemed to almost connect them to other fairytales, such as the Twelve Dancing Princesses and Snow White. However, these similarities are just that—similarities. I wouldn’t be able to call any of the stories retellings, as they conclude in surprising and most times gruesome ways. The tales are each stained with blood and magic, as well as clever girls who fight to break their way out of curses, traps, and unloving families.
It was somewhat surprising that none of the tales featured boys as the protagonist. I can’t say hero or heroine, as some of the characters do questionable things. Each tale featured a girl as the main character. While this doesn’t matter too terribly much to me, I just thought it would be interesting to see a how a male character would navigate this world from the perspective of a main character. Still, almost all fairytales have a female lead, so it makes sense that Albert went with this angle.
One thing I did appreciate was that not all the tales were a romance. I wouldn’t call them romances myself, but the stories weren’t focused so much on love and marriage as most fairytales are, which I appreciated. Instead, the stories focus more on the consequences of actions and the power that a single person can have over the events of time.
Of them all, I’d have to say that Twice-Killed Katherine and Death and the Woodwife were my favourites. Both stories could have been expanded and written as full-length novels, had Albert chosen to do so. Instead, Twice-Killed Katherine ends on a sad note, while Death and the Woodwife ends on a bit of a cliffhanger that had me wanting more. But even though I loved those two the best, I loved almost all of the stories and the surprising way they ended. There were a couple that I was less keen to read, because they almost bordered on horror, a genre I don’t read, but Albert’s writing and obvious expertise held me captive with each page.
Tales from the Hinterland is amazing and interesting and beautiful and sinister at the same time! This book is surely a masterpiece. I haven’t read any of Melissa Albert’s other words but reading Tales from the Hinterland makes me want to read everything she’s ever written. This is an amazing book full of beautiful and brutal tales perfect for fairytale lovers and fans of Albert’s The Hazel Wood series.
Tales From The Hinterland is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A gorgeously illustrated collection of twelve fairy tales by the author of The Hazel Wood and The Night Country!
Journey into the Hinterland, a brutal and beautiful world where a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice―and still lives.
