Spindle's End

by Robin McKinley

The infant princess Briar Rose is cursed on her name day by Pernicia, an evil fairy, and then whisked away by a young fairy to be raised in a remote part of a magical country, unaware of her real identity and hidden from Pernicia's vengeful powers.

• ISBN10: 0399234667
• ISBN13: 9780399234668
• Publish Date: 22 May 2000
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 21 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Putnam Publishing Group
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 422
• Language: English

Reviews

[ladygrey]

Yes, this is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but just barely. [a:Robin McKinley|5339|Robin McKinley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1314406026p2/5339.jpg] has wonderfully defied all the rules she can, redefined the ones she can't, crafted lovable and surprising characters, given the narrative a great sense of depth and left enough vestiges of the original fairy tale for the story to feel delightfully familiar.

I love the sense of magic created in this world. It almost seems real, as if in describing this magic [a:Robin McKinley|5339|Robin McKinley|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1314406026p2/5339.jpg] is actually trying to describe the forces and energies she harnesses to write. The magic also matches how dense and complicated the narrative is (in language and concept, not in plot).

I actually like that it's complicated, and this is as complicated as I've ever seen her write. Some bits need to be read and then reread to make sense of (and extraordinarily long sentences don't help). But in being willing to be complicated, the story is allowed to explore tattered spells and princesses and insane, beautiful bindings and the fatigue wielding magic leaves. It's stronger and more interesting for being so insanely complicated.