I loved this novel of short stories! It was great to read some of the classic Grimm stories updated and crime riddled. For me, I think the most interesting stories were the ones based on Hansel and Gretel. I mean, who can't resist a tale of two small children, cannibalism and one nasty wicked witch? "Joseph and Jasmine" was brilliant. A druggie mom who loses custody of her children and the steps she takes to get them back falls short of kidnapping, but barely. Okay, not quite, but I'm sure if given the chance and a drug-free brain, that would have been her next step. The part that Monopoly money plays in this story is pure genius! And sounds very much like something only a small child would contrive. Jasmine obviously didn't get her brains from her mom.
Most of the authors that starred in this novel were new to me. I think it's the first time I've read a compilation where I was unfamiliar with everyone and still highly entertained by 95% of the stories. In a compilation, I tend to find myself skipping more than one story. In Grimm Tales I only skipped through one. "You Dirty Rats" was very noir, and seemed like the least likely story to be in this book. I realize it had all the characteristics it was supposed to (based on a Grimm tale, criminal aspect and updated timeline) but unfortunately it did nothing for me except irritate me with its speech patterns. I found it very difficult to follow and ended up skipping pages about halfway through.
I'll be looking for more stories by these authors. I would have loved to have written reviews on all the stories in here, however, I'm thinking I need to leave something to the reader's imagination. It wouldn't have been difficult to find excellent raves for these stories. Grimm Tales were always a favorite growing up, but something tells me I was treated to the cleaner versions. Someday, should I have children and they start to grow up. I may just read them a few of the tales in this particular book myself.
