Subscribe
The basic story in the Grimm’s Fairy Tale starts with a Fisherman, who catches a fish. It’s a special fish, that talks, and begs the fisherman to let him go. The fish promises to grant wishes to the fisherman in return. So, the fisherman lets the fish go, and makes a small wish. The wish is granted…. and life seems pretty good for the fisherman, despite not having anything to bring home for dinner that night. Eventually, the fisherman’s wife finds out about this little deal, and has a few wishes of her own she’d like granted. Things get out of hand, and these wishes, and their consequences, do nothing more than make the fisherman’s life absolutely miserable.
Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it!
May starts with this fairy tale, and updates it for modern readers. Her main character, Woody, is a typical guy. He’s twenty-something, and working a little job at a yacht club. His dream is to one day finish working on his boat, so he can sail it around the world. Until then, he’s happy to work at his job, and live with his aunt, (who raised him).
Then, one day, Woody, meets a girl, of course. Madalina is a stunningly beautiful waitress at the same yacht club, a recent immigrant from Romania, and way out of Woody’s league. He is instantly smitten, but believes he stands no chance with her, especially when one of the spoiled rich guys also takes an interest in Madalina.
On a fateful day, Woody’s life changes. He starts out helping out a new club member with a boat the guy has no idea how to operate. The guy doesn’t want his girlfriend to know how inept he is, so he tells her that he and Woody are going on a “fishing trip”, and sends her off to go shopping. The guy instantly gets seasick, takes too many drugs to counter it, and falls asleep, leaving Woody essentially alone to go fishing. Woody catches a great big fish, that talks to him, begs for his freedom, and offers to grant wishes to Woody if he lets him go. The fish says his name is Prince, and he used to own a car dealership before he was turned into a fish.
The story is completely unbelievable, but does have a nice “fairy tale” feel to it. It’s predictable, and funny, and a nice easy read. As you can likely guess, the fish “helps” Woody get together with Madalina, and Woody is a happy guy. But then, Madalina finds out about this great deal, and has a few wishes of her own she demands to have granted. Each wish is bigger than the last one, until, eventually, it’s all too much for poor Woody, who just wants his old life back.
There are lots of books out there that retell fairy tales. I find them interesting. You get the old, familiar story, with a modern twist, and a little piece of wisdom that still holds true today. Comforting, familiar, and at the same time, new and exciting.
This book isn’t something I normally would have selected to read, but I enjoyed it anyway, despite the constant reference to the hardness contained in various character’s pants (which is mentioned all too frequently). It’s not exactly what I would think of as a “romance” book, but does contain a love story. Most of the characters are developed just enough to be walking stereotypes, which is exactly what I would expect to find in every “fairy tale”. If you are looking for something deep, or dark, or incredibly detailed, this is not the book for you. However, if you just want to read something that is fun and easy, with a sense of humor and a familiar story line, or if you happen to be a fan of “fairy tales”, then you will really enjoy this book.
Leave a comment
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>