Trade in Yours
For a £3.01 Gift Card
Trade in
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins [Paperback]

Emma Donoghue
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --  
Paperback --  
Paperback, April 1999 --  
Trade In this Item for up to £3.01
Trade in Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £3.01, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more

Book Description

April 1999
Thirteentales are unspun from the deeply familiar, and woven anew into a collection of fairy tales that wind back through time. Acclaimed Irish author Emma Donoghue reveals heroines young and old in unexpected alliances--sometimes treacherous, sometimes erotic, but always courageous. Told with luminous voices that shimmer with sensuality and truth, these age-old characters shed their antiquated cloaks to travel a seductive new landscape, radiantly transformed.Cinderella forsakes the handsome prince and runs off with the fairy godmother; Beauty discovers the Beast behind the mask is not so very different from the face she sees in the mirror; Snow White is awakened from slumber by the bittersweet fruit of an unnamed desire. Acclaimed writer Emma Donoghue spins new tales out of old in a magical web of thirteen interconnected stories about power and transformation and choosing one's own path in the world. In these fairy tales, women young and old tell their own stories of love and hate, honor and revenge, passion and deception. Using the intricate patterns and oral rhythms of traditional fairy tales, Emma Donoghue wraps age-old characters in a dazzling new skin.

2000 List of Popular Paperbacks for YA


Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Join Amazon Family and receive £10 off in our Baby Store, three months' FREE One-Day Delivery and £50 worth of exclusive offers every month.



Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Non Basic Stock Line; Reprint edition (April 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0064407721
  • ISBN-13: 978-0064407724
  • Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 11.9 x 1.5 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 156,655 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Review

"Stunning. "-- "The Boston Globe""Sophisticated, provocative, and bracing. "-- "The New York Times Book Review""A masterful, gorgeous, and wickedly well written book.-- Francesca Lia Block, author of "Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books""These tales are revolutionary."-- "The San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author


Emma Donoghue has made a name for herself overseas as the host of a literary talk show on Irish TV, and is an established playwright whose work has been performed in Dublin and Cambridge.She is the editor of Poems Between Women: Four Centuries of Love, Romantic Friendship and Desire, and the author of novels Hood and Stir-Fry.She currently lives in Cambridge, England.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
ILL she came it was all cold. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Celebration the Storytelling Tradition 29 April 2005
Format:Paperback
A book only deserves 5 starts if there is truly something special and unique about it. When the writer has dared to venture beyond the normality and boundaries of the expected structure, topics or style of present literature; and in doing so not only creates a gripping, expressive work, but also introduces a challenging new concept.
Emma Dounoghue's Kissing The Witch has succeeded. There is no other work like this, it's not a novel, and yet it is so more than just a collection of short stories.

To simply describe the book it is a re working of classic fairytales, retold from a distinctly feminine and at times feminist view point, each one intimately connected to the next. As one character ends her tale she asks the central character in her life, almost always a woman, sometimes a mother, a lover, a servant, or friend, to reveal her past. Each tale we hear sheds light on the motives and actions of the woman in the previous one, and through these revelations we begin to understand the impact one person can have not only on the lives of those they touch directly, but others who they will never meet.

The reader will find a comfort and security in the familiarity of the foundations of the fairytale each story weaves its self about. But never for a moment are we allowed to relax. Subtle variations plot twists, and new insights into the motives and feelings of the characters bring dazzling new life into dusty old tales. Donoghue brings back the spontaneous joy that these tales should and would have had when told on a cold winters night from the memories of countless generations, each adding their own subtle mark and character to the plot. In a modern age of correctness where everyone has access to a "standard" version of the tale we have forgotten the passion of the imagination, the true essence of storytelling. In this collection Donoghue has rekindled dying flames, the reader is immersed in her fairytale land built on the love, joy, power, sadness, and longing of women, it is an inspired version, and a tale she hands over to the reader on the final page to continue the tradition she has reawaken.

Truly and inspiring work, very easy to read, and thoroughly enjoyable, I would recommend this book as one of my all time favourites!

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars modern day classics 3 Oct 2007
By RD VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
An impressive book on the whole. It is comprised of several short stories but each one is linked so that one story leads to the next. It is made even more unique by the use of characters of classic childrens stories to give them a new meaning/view/ even ending. If you don't know the stories you'll probably miss the relation as it can be subtle at times but I think it's a brilliant touch.

Worth a read if you're just looking for something out of the box or short but interesting.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars simple, pick up any time, magical read. 21 Mar 2008
Format:Paperback
I read this book from cover to cover years ago and gave it away as a present and have regretted it ever since. There is just something about this book, must be the fairy in it, an essence of it never leaves you. I agree with all the other reviews, tecnically, metaphorically, etc. but there is just an extra something that sinks into your unconscious never to be forgotten, the voice or sound of our sisters in the past and future. A subtle simple evocative book that touches some chord within. Definitely one to possess and keep on the shelf. mmmmmm
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Kissing the Witch was worth it.
A very clever new 'take' on fairy tales, which I read in two and a half bedtimes! The stories, clearly recognisable in their new guise, are linked to one another in an ingenious... Read more
Published 21 months ago by L. Heffer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Celebration the Storytelling Tradition
A book only deserves 5 starts if there is truly something special and unique about it. When the writer has dared to venture beyond the normality and boundaries of the expected... Read more
Published on 29 April 2005 by Mew Blackburn
1.0 out of 5 stars Forgive me
Forgive me, but I truly do not understand all the excitement about this book. It was poorly and unimaginatively written, and Donoghue's takes on traditional fairy tales were... Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh approach to fairy tales
This book is so inspiring it makes you twitch! It weaves fairy tale narration with beautiful prose and sweet humour. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2000 by A. Steffe
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written escapism
Donoghue paints an ethereal, dreamlike fantasy which soothes the spirit through her gentle use of language and rhythm in this collection of fairy tales. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2000
4.0 out of 5 stars 13 beautifully told, warm stories linked by one word: LOVE
All emotions of life can be found in this book. Donoghue uses old fairy tales and makes them, in her own special way, ready for the 20th century. Read more
Published on 8 Aug 1999
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Any good books involving buttoned-up characters set in aristocratic homes? 14 2 hours ago
Wow! Author found guilty! 9 3 hours ago
Great Authors who are ignored probably because they haven't been on a reality show 91 4 hours ago
Book for a cool 13 year old boy that doesn't like spy, wizard or old fashioned books - Help 31 5 hours ago
Please keep self promo for the Meet Our Authors Forum! 450 6 hours ago
Self-published books: pain or gain? 6011 7 hours ago
What are you reading now? 8099 11 hours ago
I'm being annoyed by my inability to remember a book I read 25 years ago! 5 16 hours ago
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback