In Praise of Fairy Tales [Happily Ever After]

From My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me:

...The National Book Foundation, which administers the National Book Awards, states that "retellings of folk-tales, myths, and fairy-tales are not eligible" for their awards. Imagine guidelines that state, "Retellings of slavery, incest, and genocide are not eligible." Fairy tales contain all of those themes, and yet the implication is that something about fairy tales is simply...not literary. Perhaps snobbery has something to do with their association with children and women.

I love retellings of fairy tales. One of my favorite books from my "young adult" days was Ella Enchanted. I've probably read it fifty times since the time I was twelve (thirteen years ago).  The entire book feels perfectly crafted, each sentence and word fitting in perfectly with the flow of the story. In high school, I reread Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West at least twenty times. And Gregory Maguire's other book, Confessions of An Ugly Stepsister.

I love all of it. And it should be recognized as awesome. I reread Ella Enchanted again and its still perfect. I picked up My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me yesterday from the library, and I'm looking forward to it.