Review: Off to grandmother's house
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 4, 2011
This short starts off with some nice atmosphere. An old woman is sneaking out of the house early one morning. Her daughter has hired Gertrude to look after the old woman, and Gertrude seems as much a warden as a caretaker. We never learn our main character's name; she is simply 'old woman,' as she is often told that she is now too old to do this or that. But today, the old woman is going to disobey the rules by sneaking out to take a walk in the woods.I felt a connection to this woman, as we crept quietly out of the house together, walking in the still woods, with the warm sun and fresh air. The author set that mood up very nicely, from the oppressive, confining safety of home to the soothing solitude of the forest. I was waiting for the peaceful quiet of this walk to be shattered, waiting to see what lesson the old woman and the reader were going to learn at the end of this story.The author gives the reader a smart double-twisted ending, and for me, it was some dark humor, earning an appreciative chuckle. I guess it's best to let the fairytale teach the lesson.