Christen E

Garden Dress Christen E

Modern fairytales, like traditional fairytales, have magic, romance, heroes and heroines, villains, and significant morals or lessons in life. But they are set in today's world and adopt current ideas and values. These stories loosely follow this distinction but occasionally venture beyond. Many of them are set in modern Japan, where I lived for 3 years. The Garden Dress, the longest story in this book, is a modern fairytale reminding us about the priceless value of the arts in civilizing society. It is a magical tale, set in a Japanese city, and features a beautiful kimono that may unfold into a marvelous private garden. The key character is a mysterious lady of high culture, and also the proprietor of a unique antique shop housing artistic treasures of long departed master artists. She teaches Ai, a gifted young girl, the secrets of art and nature. In The Story that Rebelled, the characters of an on-going story begin to disagree with the writer and a kind of crazy struggle ensues. In another story, a broken- hearted man stumbles upon a mysterious shop where the shopkeeper somehow knows exactly what he needs. In The Beautiful One, a Japanese country girl slowly discovers the difference between outer and inner beauty. The Love Train, in which a dreamer wakes up in an alternative and surreal London Underground, may well be the most bizarre and romantic fairytale ever told. The Three Brothers is a wild parody of a Grimm's fairytale. Some of these stories are deadly serious, and some will bring tears, whereas others explore the fabulous realms 'outside the box'. In these stories, magic, aliens, romance and the ridiculous all weave together in unexpected tales - imparting a poignant message that is entertaining, touching and stimulating to readers of all ages.