Gretel’s Dark Review

    Gretel and the Dark is an interesting book, which left my mind curious about how Eliza Granville could write and switch off between two girls and their disturbed crazy lives. As one thing happens, the next paragraph will change the situation, leaving a suspense when the story switches off in the next chapter. It is confusing at times, trying to understand when and where exactly they are. You really need to pay attention to what is happening, because in both of the stories, but it all makes sense in the end.

    Krysta, who is a stubborn child, seemed to have a hard time moving with her father for a job. They live in Germany where the Nazis are in control in a big house with “fine new furniture and no dark corners to hide in…” as Krysta says. Her father, who is widowed, moved to work at an infirmary. Krysta doesn’t have anyone to play with, so she immerses herself in fairy tales and stories she remembers and creates. As she loses herself in the stories, she finds herself to be in a difficult situation.
    Josef Breuer, a psychoanalyst encounters a beautiful woman who seems to have amnesia, she doesn’t know her name or anything about herself. Yet she claims to have no feelings, doesn’t eat or drink, and is a machine. Once getting her to talk, she tells about defeating a monster or beast before things turn to the worst. Josef Breuer becomes interested and tries to discover her background and what had happened to her. He seems to become a little too interested, trying to help her find what she’s looking for.
    Imagination is a part of childhood but, “Perhaps this is what happens when you invent stories inside stories that are themselves inside a fairy tale: they become horribly real”.  As Gretel and the Dark tells about history, mysteries, and fairy tales it draws the reader in. Fairy tales are well known, but this book tells a little more than happy endings. Readers interested in plot twists, Grimm’s fairy tales, and mysteries should include this on their book list. It is worth the read.