Briar Rose by Jane Yolen · 15 June 2007
Once Upon a Time…
It’s how all the old stories begin. When I picked up Briar Rose by Jane Yolen, I felt like I’d immediately returned to childhood, to the format of the classic fairytale bedtime story.
“Once upon a time,” Gemma began, the older two girls whispering the opening with her, “which is all times and no times, but not the very best of times, there was a castle. And in it lived a king and a queen who wanted nothing more in the world than a child.”
How appropriate that I should end the Once Upon a Time challenge with this book and it’s lovely lyrical tone. I had an unexpected few free moments last Thursday evening, having finished up my gardening and writing rather earlier than I planned. It was too early to go to sleep, but too late to start a new project. I hadn’t yet written my review of Anansi Boys, but I decided to start Briar Rose instead.
“Now one day, finally and at last and about time, the queen went to bed and gave birth to a baby girl with a crown of red hair.” Gemma touched her own hair in which strands of white curled around the red like barbed wire. “The child’s face was as beautiful as a wildflower and so the king named her . . .”
“Briar Rose,” Sylvia and Shana breathed.
The book is captivating. Despite the fact that you know it’s over 200 pages long, it’s told in a style that makes you feel the end is always just around the corner. Perhaps it’s because we already know how the story ends (happily ever after of course) the reader is drawn toward the inevitable conclusion.
“When you are seventeen,” Gemma said the wicked fairy said, “my curse will come true. You will lie down and a great mist will cover the castle and everyone will die. You, too, princess.” And then Gemma gave a witch’s laugh, high and horrible.
At the beginning of the book, Becca sits in vigil with her dying Jewish grandmother, Gemma. They have shared a lifetime of the story of Briar Rose, and as Becca consoles Gemma in her last days, Gemma reveals to Becca that she is the princess in the story, and that the castle is Becca’s legacy. Her dying wish is that Becca find the castle and the spell maker, a request that Becca finds cryptic, but promises to fulfill anyway.
”All around the castle,” Gemma said, making tucking-in motions though they were all in sleeping bags in the big tent, “a briar hedge begins to grow, with thorns as sharp as barbs.”
“What’s barbs, Gemma?” Syl asked. “You never tell us what barbs are.”
“Better you shuon’t know.”
“But we want to know, Gemma,” Shana said. “We want to know it all.”
Two stories are told simultaneously. After Gemma passes away, her family discovers a box of keepsakes that no one in the family has seen before. As they pore through it, they realize that Gemma’s early life, the years she spent in Europe before escaping the war, is a mystery to them all.
As the traditional fairytale unfolds, clues about Gemma’s own life are revealed. Yolen imparts hints to the reader through Becca’s reminescece of Gemma’s endless telling of the story of Briar Rose. By slightly modifying the wording of the fairytale, choosing terms that have similar, but dual meanings, a picture of Gemma’s life gradually emerges.
Interspersed with Becca’s memories is the narrative of her present day search for the facts behind the few clues that Gemma left behind. This device of switching between the memory of the fairytale and the mystery of the present was my favorite part of the book. Yolen provides enough detail that the general direction of Gemma’s life is fairly evident before Becca confirms the facts, but she doesn’t browbeat you with the foreshadowing.
Instead, Yolen outlines the emotions that Gemma has projected onto her own life story. Yolen prepares the reader’s way by introducing them to the mood before she introduces the facts in the best fairytale tradition, luring the readers into the mind frame, ensuring they’re too mesmerized to leave once the action ensues. After all, who would dare to depart the enchanted forest once you’ve been sheltered by the fairies, or abandon the misty castle once the queen and king have snared your heart?
Despite the excellent setup, I felt the end of the book was a bit heavy handed. Unlike the almost magical feel that entranced me at the beginning of the book, it seemed like Yolen was on a mission to “get the story out” during the last chapters. She abandoned the back and forth conversation between present day Becca and the fairytale of Becca’s memories in order to reveal the end of Becca’s quest.
Nonetheless, it is a beautiful story, and a quick read. Yolen combines a powerful history narrative with the reminder that stories have the power to help us cope with the harsh reality of human cruelty. Gemma’s loving instruction of her granddaughters through fairytale illustrates and underscores Yolen’s point that we should not defang our stories for our children simply because we find life’s truths a hard burden to bear.
The current generation of youngsters will have neither parents nor grandparents that lived through the recent horrors of our history. Briar Rose is a book that can serve as a voice to carry our stories to future generations in a way that is evocative, memorable, and, despite its metaphorical roots, real.
This book was reviewed for the 2007 Once Upon a Time Challenge.
Other reviews of this book:
- Reader
- Rambles (with spoilers)
- The Purple Crayon (author interview)
This review, and the review of Anasi Boys that I’ve posted in the Reviews section, complete my reading list for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. Unfortunately, Unburnable did not arrive in the mail in time for me to read and review it prior to the challenge's end, but, as you can read in my review, Anasi Boys was a more than adequate substitution for the folklore category.
The Once Upon a Time Challenge was the first reading challenge I’ve participated in, and I found it a very rewarding experience. It has introduced me to a lot of new books, and new blogs, that I wouldn’t have otherwise found.
Although I’ve thanked Carl effusively on his own site, I’d like to post my sincere thanks here for hosting and inspiring such a great challenge.
Briar Rose,
Fairytale,
Fantasy,
Historical Fiction,
Holocaust,
Jane Yolen,
Mystery,
Poland,
Reading Challenge,
Sleeping Beauty,
Terri Windling Introduction,
World War II
June Site News and Updates The Best Laid Polish Food Turns to Indian
Add and View Comments
Nymeth · 16 June 2007, 01:22
“Gemma’s loving instruction of her granddaughters through fairytale illustrates and underscores Yolen’s point that we should not defang our stories for our children simply because we find life’s truths a hard burden to bear.”
Yes, exactly.
Great review, Kim. You pointed out all the things I found remarkable about the book, and you did so eloquently and beautifully.
Have you read “Everything is Illuminated” by Jonathan Safran Foer? I kept being reminded of it when reading “Briar Rose”. They’re very different, and yet.. similar in some ways. Where “Briar Rose” uses fairy tale, “Everything..” uses magic realism to illustrate some of the same things.
Kim · 16 June 2007, 10:01
I haven’t read that, but I checked out the Amazon blurbs on it, and the two books do sound similar, at least in intent.
Perhaps a good book for someone who’s put off by a “fairytale” and wants a bit grittier fictional treatment of the subject.
I’ve already got my next few month’s reading tied up, but that’s one that I’m putting on the “eventually” list.
Carl V. · 24 June 2007, 14:01
Great review, this is one that I put on my list because of this challenge.
I am honored that your first reading challenge was this one, thank you. I hope you join us in September for the R.I.P. Challenge, it will be great fun!
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