Tim Manley

The intermingled vignettes format of this book probably works better than a collection of start-to-finish stories, as it makes the book easier to peruse and to be left on a coffee table, in a bathroom, or in another common area. Unfortunately, though, I think my expectations for "fairy tales for a new generation" were a bit too high, as I found the book not quite as humorous as I wanted or expected it to be.

While I did enjoy reading the book well enough, I liked the illustrations more than I liked the text itself, and I don't think this is a book that I'll ever read again. I only wish it had lived up to my high expectations for it!

Note: I received my copy through the Goodreads First Reads program.… (meer)

Tim Manley’s Alice in Tumblr-land: And Other Fairy Tales for a New Generation tells the stories of fairy tale princesses and heroes, as twenty-somethings navigating relationships, friends, sex, careers and social media.

The Tortoise and the Hare Facebook-stalk each other down opposite career paths. Robin Hood worries if his killer social media campaign is fighting hunger or just slacktivism. Beauty’s new boyfriend plays videogames in his underpants. Ariel just doesn’t get pop culture, besides the episode of Hoarders with all the forks. Rapunzel posts a selfie with her short new do, and wonders, did everyone hate my old look without telling me? Ping’s father still calls him “Mulan” sometimes, but he calls the internet “AOL”, so Ping tries not to hold it against him.

Each story is told in a short blurb -- a bit longer that a tweet, shorter than my blog posts -- and then on to the next story, with the major narratives picked up again. The result is a magical Tumblr feed of fairy-tale characters living out their twenty-something adventures.

Read the rest (mild spoilers, I guess?)… (meer)