CARTHICK'S UNFAIRY TALES
by
T.F. Carthick
My Review
Blurb
I have read the author’s work in another anthology
called Sirens Spell Danger along with two other authors. I must say
that Carthik is a fascinating storyteller with strange twists to his tales,
which is exactly the theme of his latest work, Carthik’s Unfairy Tales. This is a collection of seven fairy tales,
retold in the author’s unique style.
Of Mice and Horses:
This is the story of Cinderella, told from the
viewpoint of the mouse who had been transformed into a glorious steed by the
fairy godmother on the night of the grand ball at the palace. Alas, the horse turns
back into a mouse at midnight. While Cinderella gets her prince, the mouse
continues to live his life in a hole. A poignant tale indeed.
The Frog who would be
King:
The story of the frog prince narrated from the point
of view of the princess. She’s a feminist through and through and it’s a fun
read how she outwits the prince. A modern twist to the old tale.
No Country for Wild
Beasts:
Goldilocks and the three bears. The original story is
told from a little girl’s perspective. Carthik has written his story from the
baby bear’s perspective. It shows how mean human beings can be, even if it’s supposedly
a cute little girl. Good one!
The Beans of
Avarice:
What if villains turn heroes? Or if stories were told
from the villain’s perspective? That’s what the author has done in this one. A
magician hands over the magic bean seeds to a young man so that he can use the
youth to get his work done. But what happens when the young man turns the
tables on the magician?
A Tale of One City:
The Pied Piper of Hamelin retold Carthik style, from
the town’s point of view. The tale is not very different from the original, except
for a villain called Johann, who’s bad through and through. Well written.
What the Hobgoblin
did:
Rumpelstiltskin’s story told from his viewpoint. The
author has given layers to the poor girl, Sally, turned queen and to the
hobgoblin. An interesting take and my favourite tale in this collection.
The Hunger Diaries:
The story of Hansel and Gretel told from the view
point of hunger. I must agree that it’s a different perspective but I also felt
this story was told in a rather dull fashion.
I must say that the author has a way with words and
his language is really good. I also like his unique take on the fairy tales
that have been told and retold over generations.
That said, I would like to mention that the prolonged
introduction for every story kind of takes away from the story itself. These
are works of fiction and I would rather jump into the story than read long
explanations as to why the story has been written the way it has.
VERDICT: This is a fun read and you should go for it
if you are a fan of fairy tales.
A damsel in distress. An evil dragon. A concerned father seeking a savior to rescue his daughter. A hero galloping off to the rescue – a knight in shining armor. Now THAT is stuff of fairy tales.
But what if the father’s real concern is for the dragon’s hoard; What if the damsel’s reason of distress is the marriage proposal by her pompous and vicious savior; and what if the story is told by the horse who bears not only the overweight knight but also his heavy, shining armor all the way to the dragon’s lair and back, facing certain death in the process?
What if there was more – much more – to all your favourite fairy tales than met the eye?
This book chronicles not one but seven such unfairy tales – tales told by undead horsemen and living cities. Tales of mistreated hobgoblins and misunderstood magicians. Tales of disagreeable frogs and distressed rats and bears baring their souls. Once you read these stories, you will never be able to look at a fairy tale the same way ever again.
Read an excerpt
Grab your copy @
Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk |
Paperback
About the author
He is an Engineer and MBA from India’s premier institutes IIT, Madras and IIM, Ahmedabad and currently works as an Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Consultant at one of the world’s leading Consulting Firms.
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This was wrong at many levels. The mayor’s despair and eagerness to solve the problem was understandable. But from what I have seen, no human problems come with quick fixes. Haste seldom helps. One requires patience to get to the depth of a problem and attack it at its root. A holistic solution does take a lot of time and effort but the benefits are long-lasting. Quick fixes, on the other hand, end up aggravating the situation. Take this situation of the rats itself, for instance. While the mayor may not have realized it, the fact was that the people of the town had brought this upon themselves. A few years earlier, people had complained of snakes. There were just a few of these reptiles, but still the people had complained incessantly. So, snake-catchers had been summoned to exterminate the snakes. Then, a few months’ later, stray dogs had become the object of the people’s ire.
“They keep barking all night. They just don’t let us sleep,” they had complained.
And they began to make a big fuss of how dogs were a public menace and exaggerated stories of dogs attacking humans started spreading, till finally the town council had to yield. Dog-catchers were commissioned and the dogs were done away with. With the elimination of their natural predators, wasn’t it natural that rats should multiply? But people just don’t realize these kinds of things. That is how people have been all the time. They wanted quick-fix solutions to all their problems then, and they want quick-fix solutions to all their problems now. They never learn.
Also, I suppose the mayor probably thought he would never be called upon to follow through upon his promise. So, he promised a grand reward just to appear to be doing something. That is another folly of humans, especially the leaders. They care more about perception than actually getting things done. And often initiatives undertaken to manage perceptions end up doing more harm than good.
“They keep barking all night. They just don’t let us sleep,” they had complained.
And they began to make a big fuss of how dogs were a public menace and exaggerated stories of dogs attacking humans started spreading, till finally the town council had to yield. Dog-catchers were commissioned and the dogs were done away with. With the elimination of their natural predators, wasn’t it natural that rats should multiply? But people just don’t realize these kinds of things. That is how people have been all the time. They wanted quick-fix solutions to all their problems then, and they want quick-fix solutions to all their problems now. They never learn.
Also, I suppose the mayor probably thought he would never be called upon to follow through upon his promise. So, he promised a grand reward just to appear to be doing something. That is another folly of humans, especially the leaders. They care more about perception than actually getting things done. And often initiatives undertaken to manage perceptions end up doing more harm than good.
Grab your copy @
Amazon.in | Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk |
Paperback
About the author
T F Carthick is a Bangalore-based writer and blogger who has been blogging since 2008. He is an avid reader of Children’s Fiction, Science-fiction and Fantasy. Enid Blyton, J K Rowling, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Neil Gaiman and Douglas Adams are some of his favorite authors. His paranormal thriller ‘Bellary’ was one of the three stories in the book Sirens Spell Danger, published in 2013. Six of his stories have featured in multi-author anthologies and literary magazines. He has written over 50 short stories, many of which can be read for free on www.karthikl.com.
He is an Engineer and MBA from India’s premier institutes IIT, Madras and IIM, Ahmedabad and currently works as an Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Consultant at one of the world’s leading Consulting Firms.
You can stalk him @
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