.the princess portal.

“And Eris threw in to their midst an apple, and upon it was inscribed “Kallisti”… for the Fairest” Sometimes I wonder if there is any link between the tale of Snow White and the Apple of Discord. It seems far to great a paralell to be coincidence only.

I have just finished reading a book from my wishlist, “Fairest” by Gail Carson Levine. She is well known for her princess tales including Ella Enchanted (which was a charming book made in to a dreadful and unrelated movie.) Fairest is a retelling of Snow White, and it strays as far from the story as one can whilst being recognizable. Set in the Kingdom of Aorthya, where singing is apart of everyday life and all things of beauty are appreciated, Aza is a girl born with one but not the other. She has the voice of a nightingale and the face of an troll. Ivi, on the other hand is just about to marry the king, she is enchantingly pretty but lacks singing talent at all. The tale is woven around these opposites, inner beauty, jealousy, and love that sees beyond appearances.

I found it quite touching and gentle, a cozy read for a winter’s day. I don’t think it is my favourite of her books, I liked Ella and the Two Princesses of Bamarre better, but it is definitely worth the read. Gail Carson Levine is not the most talented author in the literary sense, but her stories are charming and comforting in a way. They look at fairy tales through modern values, but do not strip them of their magic or insert ridiculous pop-culture parodies Alongside Mercedes Lackey’s 500 Kingdoms series they are some of the best of modern fairy tale interpretations.