From Mallory Ortberg comes a collection of darkly mischievous stories based on classic fairy tales. Adapted from her beloved “Children’s Stories Made Horrific” series, “The Merry Spinster” takes up the trademark wit that endeared Ortberg to readers of both The Toast and her best-selling debut Texts From Jane Eyre. The feature become among the most popular on the site, with each entry bringing in tens of thousands of views, as the stories proved a perfect vehicle for Ortberg’s eye for deconstruction and destabilization. Sinister and inviting, familiar and alien all at the same time, The Merry Spinster updates traditional children’s stories and fairy tales with elements of psychological horror, emotional clarity, and a keen sense of feminist mischief.

Readers of The Toast will instantly recognize Ortberg’s boisterous good humor and uber-nerd swagger: those new to Ortberg’s oeuvre will delight in her unique spin on fiction, where something a bit mischievous and unsettling is always at work just beneath the surface.

Unfalteringly faithful to its beloved source material, The Merry Spinster also illuminates the unsuspected, and frequently, alarming emotional complexities at play in the stories we tell ourselves, and each other, as we tuck ourselves in for the night.

Bed time will never be the same.

Mallory brings us a collection of short tales based on fairy tales, with a twist!

I really enjoy her writing style. It’s almost as if she is having so much fun writing that her joy spills all over the page!

If you are expecting some lovely version of your favorite fairy tale, that would be a mistake. There is nothing pretty and Disney about her version. It’s horror, pure and simple.

The innocent Velveteen Rabbit? Never again will I look at that book the same! Mallory puts her unique spin on her versions, both feminist and queer (her words). And as horrified as I was starting with The Little Mermaid, I still laughed until I cried and enjoyed every moment.

Check out her writing and see if you get hooked!

Well Done!    Netgalley/Holt Paperbacks   March 13, 2018