FROM THE PUBLISHER Once upon a time, in the olden days, heavy-set middle-aged men would congregate in their elitist clubs, sit in over-stuffed leather chairs, smoke air-choking cigars, and pitch story ideas and plots to each other. Problem was, these stories, many of which found their way into the general social consciousness, reflected the way in which these men lived and saw their world: that is, the stories were sexist, discriminatory, unfair, culturally biased, and in general, demeaning to witches, animals, goblins, and fairies everywhere. Finally, after centuries of these abusive tales, which have been handed down - unknowingly - from one male-biased generation to the next, James Finn Garner has taken it upon himself (that's right, yet another man) to enlighten and liberate these classic bedtime stories and retell them in a way that is much more in keeping with the society in which we live today. Politically Correct Bedtime Stores, then is the fruit of Garner's labors. We'd like to think that future generations of fairy-tale fans will see this as a worthy attempt to develop meaningful literature that is totally free from bias and purged from the influences of a flawed cultural past.

FROM THE CRITICS Publishers Weekly: In this thin book Garner proposes to create ``meaningful literature that is totally free from bias and purged from the influence of its flawed cultural past." The results are extremely funny.

Updated to account for modern political sensibilities, these revisionist folktales reflect wit and an engaging knack for irony. In ``Little Red Riding Hood," Grandma exacts her feminist revenge on the woodchopper, who ``assumes that womyn and wolves can't solve their own problems without a man's help." In ``The Frog Prince," the princess, now an ``eco-feminist warrior," discovers that her dream frog is not a prince, but a real-estate developer. In other tales, Rapunzel becomes a self-reliant coffee-house singer and the Three Little Pigs armed guerrillas, while cultural imperialists such as The Big Bad Wolf and Goldilocks get what has been coming to them for centuries. The author strikes just the right tone here: clever, with more than a touch of self-awareness. And while each of these tales is short and easily digestible, in this case quickly read does not equal quickly forgotten. After one finishes this collection, ``happily ever after" will never seem quite the same.  Macmillan Publishing Company, Incorporated 0-02-542730-X / 9780025427303
Hardcover New  New book Jacket New York 

Price: 15.75 USD