2023 EDIT: Don't like this anymore, I'm sorry to say. The case is similar with a lot of Neil Gaiman's works, and I have read FAR better and truly progressive and fleshed out LGBTQ fairy tales and fairy tale retellings since 2014 (the LGBTQ content here feels very gimmicky and queer-baity now, sadly). I need better, more fleshed out, more interesting and dimensional characters than this.
Final Score: 3/4
Original Review:
WANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANTWANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The nonsense above is telling of what went through my mind when I first heard about this book; that it might feature LBGT content, and two of the most popular princesses in fairy tales locked in a kiss. It is being sold to a slightly younger audience than expected, which is a bigger plus.
In the last couple of years, modern fairy tale retellings are at last seeing a real change concerning traditional plots and character roles - such as Disney's 'Frozen', and 'Maleficent' (which I still found to be poorly-written and mediocre, though at least it's more entertaining than Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Oz the Great and Powerful'). So I had a lot of faith in Neil Gaiman adding his own take on the princess tales we all grew up with.
Imagine my excitement when I saw 'The Sleeper and the Spindle' in all its hardbacked glory in my local bookstore; arriving much sooner than I'd anticipated. £9.99 - well worth it.
Neil Gaiman teams up with illustrator Chris Riddell once more for a unique take on 'Sleeping Beauty' - in that Snow White, as queen, is the one who comes to the princess's rescue, not a prince. There is also more to this tale than pub rumours and typical appearances suggest.
A sleeping "plague" is what sets the plot in motion, so the time to revive Sleeping Beauty and brave the deadly thorns growing outside her castle has never been more urgent. Snow White is a bored young queen on the eve of her wedding day. For justice and the good of her people (and for an adventure in which she is not a damsel in distress), she journeys underground, under mountainsides and through haunted villages and forests to wake up Sleeping Beauty. Her comrades are her friends, the three (not seven) dwarves.
'The Sleeper and the Spindle' contains ominous imagery of roses, spiders, cobwebs, and wolves: and weaving it all together, blood and thread. All of this fits impeccably well with the story and artwork, which is as creepy and macabre as one might expect from Gaiman and Riddell. The spiders in this story are the only creatures - aside from the queen and the dwarves - that are unaffected by the evil witch's sleeping curse, and so the arachnids are left to spend decades weaving silky cobwebs everywhere - from houses to comatose innocents. Some of the people even sleepwalk like zombies and experience Sleeping Beauty's dreams and memories - now THAT is putting the grim in Brothers Grimm.
Snow White, the dwarves, the sleeping princess and the witch are not named in this book; the heroine is only referred to as "the queen", and it is only implied that she is Snow White. I like this because it adds a timeless, surreal fairy tale-like quality to this unsettling little story.
And even though the news that 'The Sleeper and the Spindle' is LBGT-positive is somewhat misleading - once the queen reaches the sleeping princess there is only the beautifully-drawn kiss and that's that, nothing comes of it - I feel I can forgive this. Since it leads to a wonderfully subversive and cleverly-crafted twist ending. Consider me star struck!
But of course a twist ending is not all 'The Sleeper and the Spindle' has to offer, as indeed no story should rely its merit on a twist ending alone. The artwork, with its black and white and grey and gold colouring, is eerie and reminiscent of the old Grimm fairy tales. That it has Snow White be a queen and not a princess - a queen who still gets out there to become a sword-wielding and wise hero - a female hero who actually does stuff to further the plot - is in of itself worthy of praise. For it shows a high level of self-awareness when subverting conventional fairy tale tropes.
The queen - aloof, brave yet a touch insecure - ends up making her own choices and deciding her own destiny. She learns from her past mistakes and demands respect; for she is a queen, and also an intelligent, resourceful woman. Expansion on character traits looks to be on the snowy, mountainside horizon as well. You never know, this Snow White could end up exploring more regarding her sexual orientation, and she may well open up and discover wider preferences in later adventures...
Yes, 'The Sleeper and the Spindle' is slightly underdeveloped even for a story of 68 pages, and the ending is abrupt. However, the overall idea and structure of it is expertly crafted. Similar to Neil Gaiman's previous works; love it or not, it will not leave your mind once you have finished it.
A spectacular and exceptional fairy tale twist/crossover. A grand feat, and one to remember.
Final Score: 4/5
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