By: Elizabeth C. Bunce Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Arthur A. Levine Books Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 400 Publication Date: March 01, 2008 Reading Level: Young Adult
Product Description: "If you'll allow me to demonstrate, I do think I could be of some help to you here."
I smiled tightly. "You'd have to be able to make gold appear from thin air to be much help to us now, I'm afraid."
"Gold, you say?" he said quietly. "Well, not out of the air, maybe, but--" He reached toward Rosie and drew a length of straw free from her hat. From out of a pocket in his jacket appeared an old-fashioned handheld drop spindle, the kind no one uses anymore, and he sent it spinning with a turn of his hand. Slowly, as we watched, he drew out the straw and spun it--spun it! (CONT.)
As if it were a roving of wool! Rosie and I stood there and watched him, moment by moment, as the spindle bobbed and twirled. Something pulled out from the brown straw and through his knobby fingers, and where it should have gone onto the spindle, the finest strands of gleaming gold threads appeared. Round and round the spindle went, and the gleaming of gold turned with it. I don't know how long we watched it, turning and turning, flashing gold with every revolution. I could not take my eyes away.
Fleshing Out the Rumplestilkskin story I have read many a fairy tale retelling in my day. This Rumpelstiltskin story ranks in my top three.
Charlotte Miller is the "Miller's Daughter" - a young woman whose family's woolen mill falls into her hands when her father passes away. Her steadfast love for the mill and those who work there is constantly put to the test as misfortune after misfortune seems to happen at the mill. Charlotte's disbelief in the superstitions of her fellow mill workers begins to fade as that crazy little man comes to her rescue in unique and believable ways.
There are so many things about this story to love. Bunce turns the tale into a make-believe historical fiction, if that's even possible. While magic is absolutely apparent in this story - it's also as though we are living and breathing in a circa 1700s water-wheel-powered woolen mill. We ache with Charlotte as she learns the business and struggles in a male dominated market. We fall in love along with her and sorrow as the secrets she carries begin to fill her heart.
I have actually always hated the classic Rumpelstiltskin story. Every time I read it to my children I think "WHY would she want to marry that man who wants to kill her??" "WHAT would possess a mother to give up her first born child for ANYTHING?" And this story completely convinced me. I was with Bunce for every word and loved every minute of it.
Wants to be more ... and almost is. In many ways, this book had "above average" within its grasp. Its concepts are ambitious, and Rumpelstiltskin is an intriguing, original choice for a fairy tale retelling (there are certainly plenty of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella).
In some ways, the plot elements here hardly resemble the Grimms' version. We do have a straw-to-gold-spinning entity who aspires to take the protagonist's infant son. However, Charlotte Miller does not marry a king, and freeing herself of Mr. Spinner's curse is more involved than guessing his name, as is the history of the curse itself. The plot and backstory stand as two strong pillars for this book's foundation. Unfortunately, its main floor is a little shaky.
The characters use mostly archaic vocabulary (some modern phrases sneak in, and most of the syntax is modern, as well), but their attitudes don't reflect the era of their speech. In 18th-century England or America, Charlotte's actions would receive far more censure than is depicted here. Of course, I prefer a strong heroine to a fainting one, but without better explanation, Charlotte Miller throws off convention just too drastically. Insisting to run a business alone is one thing, but she also refuses to allow her husband to pay the mortgage because it's "her" debt, once jokingly calls her new husband "Mr. Miller" when he calls her "Mrs. Woodstone," etc.
As noted by other reviewers, the protagonist did not garner my sympathies. Perhaps she would have, if I'd understood her motivations better. Yes, she fears the curse, and this fear drives her to shut out everyone around her so as not to endanger them, but that fear alone simply didn't satisfy me as sufficient motivation for some of her actions. I did like Rosie and Harte, and even Randall, who does the best he can under the circumstances. The most sympathetic moment in the book (for me) was for Randall when Charlotte "pawns" the watch. Overall, the book left me wishing for more character complexity.
The greatest flaw, though, lies with the setting. The mill is described with appropriate detail, but the village around it seems little more than a vacuum. Does this story take place in England? America? Much of the dialogue could even be Irish. I realize that fairy tales take place "in a faraway land," but this one is unique because it *doesn't*. The author's note at the end confirms that she researched the mill industry of the 1700's. With these details woven so deeply into the story, readers are compelled to picture a society, a time (more specific than a century) and a place; but in this book, we can't. We have no hint of the period's politics, of real-life contemporaries of the characters. The religion (corn dollies, magic herbs, various charms and spells) feels more medieval than Puritan, despite the mention of a hanging for witchcraft.
It seems that Ms. Bunce wished to create a "historical fairy tale." While the idea is fresh and intriguing, the execution doesn't quite work. That said, her writing style is not unpleasing, and the originality of this tale gives reason to read her next one.
A New Author to Watch Charlotte Miller inherits the family mill after the death of her father. Rumors of a curse have long plagued the mill, and Charlotte begins to believe there may be some truth to the rumors after misfortunes begin to befall the mill at a terrifying rate. The truth behind the curse goes back centuries and involves Charlotte's very own family. It will take all her wits to free her beloved mill from its terrible fate.
I loved this book! It was wholly original. The setting (England at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution) was unique and gave the book a great, eerie atmosphere. The characters were well-drawn and the plot kept me guessing until the conclusion. I will certainly be looking forward to future books by this promising new author.
Disappointing. The premise of this book sounded very promising and I was really hoping it would be good, but I'm afraid it didn't meet my expectations. There are some very intriguing aspects of the story, and if it had been told in a different way I think it might have been a very exciting book. But the main character is so unsympathetic, though what happens should be interesting, you just don't care. A lot of her choices and actions don't make any sense. It's hard to relate to a character who's so illogical. Also, the romance in the story comes out of no where so it isn't very believable at all. And it's difficult to get a clear idea of when and where the story is supposed to be taking place. The way the people in the story live seems to suggest the mid-19th century, but the sensibilities, behaviors and opinions of the characters come from a much more modern era. I found the disparity to be unrealistic and distracting. As for where it all happens, it could be somewhere in North America or Europe, but you're never given enough clues to really be able to figure it out. The ending is sufficiently dramatic with lots of shocking reveals but you're left wondering where it all came from. Because the story development up to that point is just so incongruent. I agree with the person who said the story might have been better if told from the point of view of the younger sister. She at least seemed to possess a certain spirit and passion that the main character lacks. At any rate, it's not a book I can recommend.
The Compulsive Reader's Reviews When her father dies, Charlotte Miller is determined to keep the Stillwaters Mill in her family. She, along with her younger sister Rosie, work from sun-up to sun-down to keep the mill in operation, despite the many opposing forces that would have them fail. But then a young banker approaches Charlotte with devastating news--a mortgage has been taken out on the mill by her late father, and unless they can pay the impossible sum, the bank will be forced to foreclose.
And so when Jack Spinner shows up, offering Charlotte a way out of debt, it is with trepidation that she accepts, knowing that it is her only choice. At first the price is small. But as times grow harder, and the supposed curse of Stillwaters closes in around her, Charlotte is forced to rely on Jack Spinner more and more. And the price of his help grows steeper, until one desperate day, Charlotte finds herself inadvertently promising Spinner more than she is willing to give.
A Curse Dark as Gold is a hauntingly beautiful tale. The story reads more like a historical fiction steeped in superstition than a fantasy, but is nevertheless spellbinding, magical and absorbing. Though it is a retelling of the fairy tale Rumpelstilstskin, this version has been tweaked to give it its own unique and inimitable flair that will keep readers intrigued, while at the same time staying true to its roots. Charlotte is the ideal narrator--determined, human, and amusing, and the cast of wonderful and diverse characters that surround her all work together to create a highly convincing picture of village life. Bunce shows real and promising talent as she weaves seamlessly a story that is just the right mixture of suspense, magic, romance, and charm, making her an author to keep your eye on.
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