Neil Gaiman The Sleeper And The Spindle

Two classic fairytales come together in this new illustrated book from coraline author neil gaiman.

Neil gaiman the sleeper and the spindle.

Everything they produce is wonderfully weird and a tad creepy and the sleeper and the spindle is no different. The sleeper and the spindle combines snow white and sleeping beauty in a way only neil gaiman can. The sleeper and the spindle a thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author neil gaiman and illustrator chris riddell weaving together a sort of snow white and an almost sleeping beauty with a thread of dark magic which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish. Both the hero and villain are women imbued with the power and agency to make their own decisions whether good or bad.

Neil gaiman and chris riddell are like the tim burton and johnny depp of the literary world. Originally published in a collection of short stories neil gaiman s novella the sleeper and the spindle was reissued as a separate book in 2015 this time with lushly intricate black and white illustrations by chris riddell. Neil gaiman has tackled the subject of sleeping and dreams before but what he hasn t done previously is concoct a. The sleeper the spindle is a richly illustrated modern fairy tale that blends the stories of sleeping beauty and snow white into an almost unrecognizable retelling.

The story intended for a middle grade audience is a mashup of the classic fairy tales sleeping beauty and snow white doing its best to overturn some of the tropes associated with these folk tales particularly around the lack of agency for their. A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author neil gaiman and illustrator chris riddell weaving together a sort of snow white and an almost sleeping beauty with a thread of dark magic which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish. The book is a beautiful work of art. Neil gaiman s story carries an overt feminist message subverting traditional fairy tales.

Reviewed in the united kingdom on october 16 2015. In this captivating and darkly funny tale neil gaiman and chris riddell have twisted together the familiar and the new as well as the beautiful and the wicked to tell a brilliant version of snow white s sort of and sleeping beauty s almost stories.