Review: A tale of greed and hope
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 14, 2013
Greed wears more than one disguise in John Phython's intriguing short story, Sleeping Beauty--the greed of a father denying his daughter freedom to protect her honor, the greed of a mother molding a child in her image, greed of finance, greed of gossip, and more. But one sixteen-year-old gives his time honestly, sees the truth behind other people's lies, and stays true to his emotions. Perhaps he's Beth's only hope--certainly he's a rare hope for others being bullied at school. But do sixteen-year-olds even know their emotions, or are they just greedy for what they can get?The story's told convincingly from different points of view, with only the heroine's voice silent. By the end, I'm longing to hear her speak. I want her to remember, to know, perhaps even to save the one who saved her. Then I remember, we've seen who she is. Do we really need to be told?Well-timed, well-told, neither longer nor shorter than it need be, Sleeping Beauty is indeed a modern fairy-tale, with all the gruesome cruelties of the old set in the world of the new.Disclosure: I was lucky enough to buy this when it was free.