Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Favorite Fairy Tale, December 17, 2008
It is hard for me not to enjoy this book simply because this is one of my favorite fairy tales. On top of that, Cameron Dokey is the best out of all the authors writing for the Once Upon a Time series. Although Belle may have similarities to McKinley's book, it should not be dismissed. While McKinley is a master when it comes to re-telling Beauty and the Beast, Dokey adds her own elements to the story. While the author does not fully describe certain aspects of the original fairy tale, such as the magical element, I do feel she has added her own twist upon the tale in the form of the heartwood tree. There is just something that rings true about wanting to see your true love's face. The book deals with the idea of true beauty in a unique way. By not being able to see what the heartwood branch holds, Belle starts to question herself and the world around her. She learns that she has to have patience and see the people around her in a different light than she is used to. Of course, this transformation does not start when she joins the Beast in his castle. All the members in her family (except perhaps her father) start to change as soon as they move into the country. Still, the symbolism found throughout the castle serve to further her realization. I suppose what I like best about this book is how deftly the author has interwoven the theme of true beauty. She doesn't waste any words, she doesn't have any unnecessary side plots. And it's a tale that needs to be heard. After all, don't we all need to learn how to see true beauty in both ourselves and others?
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
"The Petals Always Remained True and Never Faded...", March 3, 2009
The "Once Upon a Time" books are a series of relatively slim volumes that retell traditional fairytales, usually in an updated setting (Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince" (Once Upon a Time) for example is set during WWII), and with the magical elements removed. "Belle" is an exception to this rule, as it is set in your typical 19th century time-period and with plenty of emphasis on enchantment and mystery in its second half.
Glancing at some of the other reviews, one can see that many have compared "Belle" with Robin McKinley's Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast. This is inevitable really since her version is probably the most famous rendition of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale (save for the Disney movie, of course). It is a *little* unfair though to compare the two considering both authors have based their stories on the French fairytale "Le Belle et le Bette" by Charles Perrault, and any similarities are the result of their fidelity to this source material, and not an attempt at plagiarism (and Dokey manages to get in a few of her own original ideas).
However, as fate would have it, I recently read and reviewed McKinley's version, and so inevitably comparisons *do* arise when reading the two of them back-to-back. And yet for various reasons "Beauty" did not rank very highly with me (often it felt a bit padded in all the wrong places), and so I was interested to see what a new author could do with the same story with a lower page-count.
Like McKinley's "Beauty," the title character is not as beautiful as her name would suggest, and she's constantly compared to her stunning elder sisters who (unlike their counterparts in Perrault's tale) are not spoilt and selfish at all, but loving and affectionate toward Belle. However, whereas McKinley's Hope and Grace were virtually indistinguishable, Dokey's Celeste and April both have distinct personalities and relationships with their sister. In fact, Dokey puts a huge amount of emphasis on Belle's family; including her mother (possibly the first version in which she's still alive), her father, and her foster grandfather "Grand-Pere LeGrand."
Belle is constantly overshadowed by her sisters, but finds solace in her wood-working skills. Since she was a child, Belle has been able to "feel" what a piece of wood desires to be carved into, and whittles away at it accordingly. But when her father's merchant ships are lost and her sister's love goes missing at sea (the only echo of "Beauty" that feels uncomfortable, as I'm fairly certain that this lost-at-sea fiancée plot was McKinley's original invention) the family must relocate to a country house near a mysterious woods. When her father returns home after a business trip, he takes a detour in the woods and finds a castle...and yet foolishly takes something from its garden that does not belong to him, resulting in his youngest daughter being the price for his freedom.
This "something" is not the traditional red-rose, but the bough of a vaguely-magical tree called the Heartwood Tree, which has its own sad history concerning a pair of lovers who were separated by death. Another interesting variation is that the Beast does not propose to Belle every night, but rather challenges her to look into his eyes for five seconds, for "that is how quickly a life may change, for better or for ill. The time it takes to make up, or change your mind."
There are also some lovely images here, such as the Heartwood Tree that blooms red and white flowers, which mingle into a pink tapestry of petals on the ground, or the various gates and doorways of the castle that are decorated with the images of a man and a woman: when they are closed, their outstretched hands are joined; when they are opened, they are parted.
However, there are just as many concepts that feel messy or convoluted. Apparently Belle is so eclipsed by her sisters' extraordinary beauty that no one can see her when she stands between them. That's...a bit weird. Furthermore, the heart of any "Beauty and the Beast" retelling should always be the relationship between the two title characters (I mean, duh, right?) Unfortunately, we are well over halfway through the book (chapter eighteen out of twenty-three) before we finally get to meet the Beast, and the impending romance feels rushed as a result. There is some rather shaky commentary on concepts like "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and "the face of true love", but these are ideas that are *mentioned* rather than explored, resulting in messages like this: "to find true love, you must look with love's eyes." Er...thanks book. That's real helpful.
If you're going to retell a fairytale, there should be something new to say, something that makes you look at the story in a different way. I'm just not sure that's achieved here, though naturally that will differ for different readers. These books have never pretended to be anything but quick and breezy reads. Two stars may seem like a low grade, but in my book it ranks as "fair." While it lasted, I enjoyed "Belle", though it's certainly not the best Dokey retelling in the "Once Upon a Time" collection.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Compulsive Reader's Reviews, November 29, 2008
Belle lives a comfortable life with her merchant father, loving mother, and two elder, beautiful sisters. Since she was very young, she has always felt invisible in the shadow cast by her sisters who are much more beautiful and elegant than she. Because of this, she chooses to pour all of her energy into her woodcarving while her sisters attend parties and balls and make a place for themselves in Society.
Then all of their lives are shattered when Belle's father's ships are lost at sea, and with them all of their wealth. Belle and her family are forced to sell everything and retreat through the mysterious woods into the country to a much simpler life. But one stormy night drives Belle's father to a mysterious manor in the heart of the woods, home to a magnificent beast and Heartwood tree, which, if carved, will show the heart's desire. Now Belle must journey to the Heartwood, to face the beast, her insecurities, and her destiny.
Once again Cameron Dokey dazzles readers into the realm of magic with her ability to fashion more descriptive and palpable tales out of beloved fairy tale classics. Belle's lyrical and starkly honest voice is mesmerizing, especially as she divulges all of her insecurities and describes her sisters without loathing or outright jealousy, but depicts them as they truly are. Though Dokey takes her time setting the scene of the story, her vivid characters and imagery make the wait worthwhile until Belle faces the Beast. The romance is quick and sweet in classic fairy tale fashion, and the conclusion is wonderfully light and romantic. Belle is more than a romance and tale of first impressions inner beauty, but one about finding self confidence in who you are, making it another wonderful addition to the Once Upon a Time... series.
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