Sheri Tepper was born in Colorado. She worked for many years for non-profit-making organizations and was a writer of children’s fiction. She sold her first adult novel in 1982 and has written many highly acclaimed science fiction and fantasy novels since then. She has also written crime and horror. She now lives in New Mexico.
Born in the 14th century to a woman of faerie blood, Beauty is raised by a negligent father and several doting aunts until her 16th birthday, when she narrowly escapes the curse set upon her at her christening. While her household falls into an enchanted sleep, she undertakes a journey across the leagues of time to the modern world and beyond, into an imaginary universe, in search of her destiny. Identifying the familiar fairy tales cleverly retold in this graceful novel only scratches the surface of the story behind the stories. Tepper ( Grass , LJ 9/15/89; The Gate to Women's Country , Doubleday, 1988) writes from the heart, using the stuff of childhood fables to tell a cautionary yet hopeful tale. Most libraries will want this.
The latest from the talented Tepper ( The Gate to Women's Country ) is many things: a fantasy of manners, a dystopian science fiction tale, a time-travel story and an eco-morality play. Still more impressive is the evolution of the narrator and title character, whom we follow for a century of life (ages 16 to 116) as she matures gradually and subtly from a pouty, slightly spoiled daughter of a duke to a wise old woman. Retelling various fairy tales, Tepper strips away each story's gloss. Sleeping Beauty's sleep continues endlessly, prince notwithstanding; Cinderella is as heartless and nasty to her ugly stepsisters as they are to her; and Snow White is a blond bimbo, while the dwarfs are a querulous collection of Basque brothers. Tepper manages to maintain interest, style and theme throughout these disparate elements, and she consistently sniffs out the ugly (e.g., the storybook land of Chinanga, which has all the facets of a fairyland but is an extremely boring place to live). Despite an often depressing worldview, this is a beautiful book from one of the genre's best writers. (Aug.)
YA-- Many a reader has had the sometimes sobering, sometimes epiphanic experience of rereading a favorite from her youth only to discover that its remembered charms only scratched the surface of its treasures. Beauty is such a book. It takes the form of a diary, written by a 15-year-old girl of noble birth, begun in 1347 as the unsuspecting heroine is about to embark upon a harrowing journey through time and space. It is not long before readers recognize the writer as a familiar character, ``Sleeping Beauty.'' Tepper's triumph in this novel is in turning Beauty simultaneously into a distinctive human character and a glowing symbol of humanity's hope. Her victory over the fantastic circumstances of her life (and do not make the mistake of assuming that familiarity with the fairy tale is familiarity with the plot) will be shared by readers. Language, story, and setting combine to enliven the character and amplify the theme. The fairy-tale allusions might provide an excellent English-class exercise, while the ethical systems presented should make for lively debate. And when today's young readers return to Beauty at age 40, they won't be disappointed. --Cathy Chauvette, Fairfax County Pub . Lib . , VA
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
