Items related to A Wild Swan: And Other Tales

A Wild Swan: And Other Tales - Hardcover

 
9780374290252: A Wild Swan: And Other Tales
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 

Fairy tales for our times from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hours

A poisoned apple and a monkey's paw with the power to change fate; a girl whose extraordinarily long hair causes catastrophe; a man with one human arm and one swan's wing; and a house deep in the forest, constructed of gumdrops and gingerbread, vanilla frosting and boiled sugar. In A Wild Swan and Other Tales, the people and the talismans of lands far, far away―the mythic figures of our childhoods and the source of so much of our wonder―are transformed by Michael Cunningham into stories of sublime revelation.
Here are the moments that our fairy tales forgot or deliberately concealed: the years after a spell is broken, the rapturous instant of a miracle unexpectedly realized, or the fate of a prince only half cured of a curse. The Beast stands ahead of you in line at the convenience store, buying smokes and a Slim Jim, his devouring smile aimed at the cashier. A malformed little man with a knack for minor acts of wizardry goes to disastrous lengths to procure a child. A loutish and lazy Jack prefers living in his mother's basement to getting a job, until the day he trades a cow for a handful of magic beans.
Reimagined by one of the most gifted storytellers of his generation, and exquisitely illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, rarely have our bedtime stories been this dark, this perverse, or this true.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Michael Cunningham is the author of seven novels, including A Home at the End of the World, Flesh and Blood, The Hours (winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Pulitzer Prize), Specimen Days, and By Nightfall, as well as Land's End: A Walk in Provincetown. He lives in New York.

Yuko Shimizu is a Japanese illustrator based in New York, whose work has been featured in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. Her first self-titled monograph was released from Gestalten in 2011; her first children's book illustrations appeared in Barbed Wire Baseball, written by Marissa Moss. Shimizu teaches illustration at the School of Visual Arts.

Review:

"Delicious, shivery, sophisticated fairy stories as spat from the pen of a Pulitzer Prize–winning author. 'Most of us are safe,' Cunningham writes in his astonishing preface. 'If you’re not a delirious dream the gods are having, if your beauty doesn’t trouble the constellations, nobody’s going to cast a spell on you.' But Cunningham will, and does. In a market oversaturated by reworked fairy tales, his are the best." ―Katy Waldman, Slate

"[A Wild Swan is] positively delectable. I had no idea Mr. Cunningham had it in him . . . He can't help but write movingly, even as he's setting fire to our most cherished childhood texts. The book is studded with unexpected moments of grace." ―Jennifer Senior, The New York Times

Five out of five stars. "While there was darkness in the original tales--blood, butchery and much else--Cunningham's collection brings emotional light and shade where there was none . . . The comedy in these stories works brilliantly, but it does not uncut the tragedy of its lonely and quietly tormented outsiders . . . These tales, short, contemporary, disturbing, and alluring, would make perfect vending-machine fodder: a transporting and enthralling read all the way home." ―Arifa Akbar, The Independent

"Michael Cunningham and Yuko Shimizu's A Wild Swan is an enchantment." ―Alissa Schappell, Vanity Fair

"[Cunningham] has reimagined, and wickedly modernized, a batch of fairy tales (Yuko Shimizu's illustrations resemble the work of Aubrey Beardsley.) . . . Readers will savor Cunningham's wise, generous musings about (superbly) recognizable types." ―Joan Frank, San Francisco Chronicle

"'I dig out beautiful caves behind my characters,'" [Virginia] Woolf wrote in the diary entry Cunningham used as an epigraph to The Hours: 'I think that's exactly what I want: humanity, humor, depth.' Cunningham has performed a similar operation on the 10 tales he has selected for transformation . . . For the stories in A Wild Swan, Cunningham has dug out caves of humanity, humor and depth behind some well-known characters." ―Christopher Benfey, The New York Times Book Review

"A rollicking and memorable tribute to stories we know.. . . [Cunningham’s] prose brings back much of the original swagger and sharpness. . . . [He] is extremely funny and psychologically observant. . . . Beautiful, imaginative illustrations by Yuko Shimizu, complement the stories, spurring the feeling that this is not just a book to read, but also a special object.” ―The Economist

“Remixing myths and fairy tales in this new collection - beautifully illustrated by Yuko Shimizu - Cunningham stands magic on its head. . . . Cunningham never condescends to his characters. Instead, he inhabits them.” ―Kit Reed, Miami Herald

"The original tales are timeless for good reasons, and by approaching them from a fresh and astute perspective with humor and compassion, Cunningham revitalizes their profound resonance. Imaginatively illustrated by Yuko Shimizu, this is a dazzling twenty-first-century fairy-tale collection of creative verve and keen enchantment. Cunningham’s high stature and the book’s irresistible premise will attract lively media attention and reader curiosity." ―Donna Seaman, Booklist

"The latest from Cunningham (The Snow Queen) offers elegant, sardonic retellings of 10 iconic fairy tales . . . Cunningham’s tales enlarge rather than reduce the haunting mystery of their originals. Striking black-and-white images from illustrator Shimizu add a fitting visual counterpoint to a collection at once dark and delightful." ―Publishers Weekly

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781250097309: Wild Swan

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9781250097309
Publisher: Picador, 2016
Softcover

  • 9780008140403: A Wild Swan

    Fourth..., 2016
    Softcover

  • 9780008140380: A Wild Swan: And Other Tales

    Farrar..., 2015
    Hardcover

  • 9781443444699: A Wild Swan: And Other Tales

    Harper..., 2015
    Hardcover

  • 9780008140397: A Wild Swan

    Fourth...
    Softcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2015)
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Books Unplugged
(Amherst, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Shimizu, Yuko (illustrator). Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0374290253xvz189zvxnew

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 18.51
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2015)
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Shimizu, Yuko (illustrator). New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0374290253-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 18.51
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael; Shimizu, Yuko [Illustrator]
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2015)
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Your Online Bookstore
(Houston, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description hardcover. Condition: New. Shimizu, Yuko (illustrator). Seller Inventory # 0374290253-11-29737252

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 18.52
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover First Edition Quantity: 1
Seller:
funyettabooks
(Bloomington, MN, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: New. Illustrations By Yuko Shimizu (illustrator). First Edition. New. The dust jacket is in new mylar. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Fairy Tales. Seller Inventory # 049464

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 15.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 5.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2015)
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Ebooksweb
(Bensalem, PA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Shimizu, Yuko (illustrator). . Seller Inventory # 52GZZZ00D3MB_ns

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 21.03
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2015)
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Shimizu, Yuko (illustrator). New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0374290253

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 23.92
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2015)
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Shimizu, Yuko (illustrator). New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0374290253

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.08
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2015)
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Shimizu, Yuko (illustrator). Seller Inventory # FrontCover0374290253

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 28.87
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2015)
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Shimizu, Yuko (illustrator). New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0374290253

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 51.78
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Cunningham, Michael
Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (2015)
ISBN 10: 0374290253 ISBN 13: 9780374290252
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
The Book Spot
(Sioux Falls, SD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Shimizu, Yuko (illustrator). Seller Inventory # Abebooks94339

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 59.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book