The Bloody Chamber and Other adult Tales

In Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, the author re-creates the fairy tales of old, melding them into feminist tales of love, loss, lust, and sexuality. While her stories find their genesis in the childlike versions of Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, and others, Ms. Carter transforms these fantastical stories into adult renditions where vampires prey on virgins, where children lie down with wolves, and a Count "thrust his virile member into the dead girl". In each of these stories, Ms. Carter creates an unexpected, erotic feel which is intertwined with mystery and an adult edginess that goes far beyond the original versions of these fairy tales. She also is very adept at giving the reader just the right amount of clues, never being too obvious, and respecting her reader's intelligence in unraveling the webs she weaves with these stories. Ms. Carter additionally has an ability to take what could be mundane aspects of her stories and infuse them with richness which keeps the reader involved in the story, compelling them to read on. Finally, Angela Carter is a master of symbolism: the young officer in The Lady of the House of Love as the true measure of life and freedom, the kiss in The Company of Wolves as the conquest of men, the clothing in The Snow Child as a representation of power. In every story within the pages of The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories Angela Carter's brilliance come through, and her readers are rewarded with lush, rich, compelling, adult stories of adventures born from our childhood fairy tales.

This is an absolutely enchanting revision of the traditional "Bluebeard" folktale. The story is dark and its characters are engaging.Although it follows the original story somewhat it has its own unique ending that makes this a great novella all on its own. I highly recommend this story for anyone interested in modern fairy/folktale revisions.

Carter's collection sheds a feminist retelling of many famous fairy tales. I especially liked what she did with Blackbeard and the Puss in Boots.

Included in this collection is the story behind the film, "In the Company of the Wolves."

Don't come to this collection expecting Grimm's. Come to it expecting great storytelling and interesting perspectives on the tales we thought we knew so well.

Carter's collection of reworked faerie and folk tales is quite amazing. She succintly carves out the heart of the story and places it in a new form. And her use of potent sensuality (like in the wonderful "Puss in Boots") is marvelous. I wanted to like the book more, but all the stories aren't as captivating, so. The book is remarkable for its intelligence and sparkling originality.

Angela Carter wields a deliciously decadent pen once again in The Bloody Chamber. This slim volume is packed with familiar tales retold with a dark gothic twist, each tempered with a saucy wit and the ability to impart new meaning onto old standards. Heroines are erotic, independant and canny, and their victories contain a bite, an edge that places these tales outside the traditional happy ending. Stories are beautifully overblown and hyperreal. The Bloody Chamber is stunning in its delicacy and sly, subtle humour that tempers even the darkest tale. This world is very female , where the instigators of action and solvers of perilous events are mothers, daughters, wives and wild girls. Carter's work is too beautiful to describe - she needs to be read again and again, and each time, a new shade can be seen to her impressive legacy. She is an addictive read.

These aren't fairy tales "retold" nor "updated," they are fairy tales REVISITED to untangle dark and sexual themes present in purist originals. Interesting to see such things unearthed in seemingly silly or harmless tales. I used her work as inspiration for my stories of Rapunzel and Baba Yaga (who is a Wicked Witch character) in my book PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES. My favorite line is from a fearless Red Ridding Hood: "She knew she was nobody's meat." Striking.

Carter manages to rewrite some well known fairy tales out of an emancipatory point ot view: not only men but also women should be allowed to enjoy a good sexlife. She undermines not only the patriarchal society but also several conventionally accepted binary opposites as human- animal, fact-fiction,... Her stories explore the marginal, the twilight.

A very good collection of short stories.
We had to read this for our English Literature course and I'm very glad I did. Carter is a very talented writer and this book deserves the recognition and awards it got.
The best stories to watch out for are;

The Bloody Chamber,
The Tiger's Bride
The Snow Child
The Werewolf

Carter's language is very elaborate, so if you're going to read it, do as my English tutor said; "Read actively. Have a pen in your hand and a dictionary next to you". Trust me, she was right.
A very good read if you can understand what is going on. All the stories are based on old fairytales (i.e. The Tiger's Bride is based on Beauty and The Beast) so if you can work out how the story is similar and find links you should be able to appreciate the stories.

Angela Carters book the Bloody Chamber can only be described as sparkling genious. Carter writes with the combination of the classic fairy tale, and magical realism, incorperating elements of gothic horror,and subversive sexuality. She weaves tales of sinister locations, fearsome monsters,and powerful heroes to leave the reader with a slanted version of an old moral. Her interpretations are brought to life by her powerful descriptions and modern settings. Her stories are proof that this genre can still terrify off screen. The Bloody Chamber is truely one of the finest pieces of gothic liteature of the century.

Although I have read only the first story, the bloody chamber, I have to say it is a fantastic read with lots of suspense and heart-pounding horror. The story is well-written and builds to an exciting climax. The Bloody Chamber is a prime example of how a short story ought to be written.

The tyranny of the modernists machine is highlighted by a plethora of monumental confusions, which are uniquely conveyed in the abiguety of the post-modernistic novel. It is fair to say that the constant and somewhat relentless reference to 'bloody chamber' is symbolic of Marco LeCoosh's new cookery book: "How To Cook Strawberry Sauce in A Chamber Pot". Yet to soley conform to this new-age obsession with cookery programs would mean readers resembling 'lambs to the slaughter'. The most important character of the novel, Chammy The Chamber Master, is portrayed as a patriarchal lover of fish and tatre sauce. This can be said to be his downfall in a vegan society.

Angela Carter is a superb author with a vivid and utterly compelling style. Her short stories are graphic, sexy, and page-turning. She doesn't disappoint! If you loved fairytales as a child but need that little something extra now that your older and wiser then you simply must read this book!

I think the stories are great, and much better than the movie adaptation, for sure. Still, there's something about the style that does not make me feel like I'm reading a fairy tale. Isn't that what it is? Check out [...] It's a book called Love is Irregular: Fairy Tales without the Moral Fiber.