The Bloody Chamber

If you've ever paid real attention to fairy tales, you'll have noticed that they're not at all friendly. It's kind of like what happens when you watch roadrunner cartoons and realize that it's a story about two characters that hate each other so much that they try to kill each other. Gruesomely. (Or did you think that being crushed by an anvil would be a peaceful way to die?) Fairy tales are full of latent adult themes and The Bloody Chamber makes them overt. Why it made the list College courses are structured around this book because, even 30+ years later, it's equal parts shocking and fascinating. Carter has a vivid imagination and has the writing skill to communicate it to readers. To be clear, these are tales of sex and violence. There's a dark sensuality in every story. If you're a) offended by graphic scenes or b) not ready to ruin your favorite childhood fairy tale, this is not the book for you. If you enjoy multi-layered stories, exploring symbolism or broadening how you (and society) define gender and sexuality, then you'll love The Bloody Chamber. For short story lovers, you'll find that Carter is a master of this format – always in control, always well paced and always enthralling. There are many opportunities for intellectual discussion and disagreement in these stories, especially when it comes to gender and sexuality, and they're a good reason why you should read it, but there's a much simpler reason why you should: Because there's nothing else like it.