I read this book "Politically Correct Bedtime Stories". One word describes it - utterly hilarious. That's two words but never mind. The author, James Garner, takes up the challenge of correcting our once-favourite fairy tales (tales that tend towards fantasies, if you please) to suit the modern speakscape of political propriety. I found it a very light-hearted book and a subtle commentary on modern ethos and values. People still swear, with worser words, yet there is this undercurrent of caution to avoid any form of bias especially when it comes to describing people that we consider to be less-endowed than ourselves. Garner captures this very well.
Garner has garnished the book with a host of phrases that you would find in modern parlance - vertically challenged, chronologically accomplished and odour-enhanced. What the author has rightly done is a conscious attempt to keep the words non-crowded and using variations of the words. This helps because the reader is not troubled by monotony.
Garner has garnished the book with a host of phrases that you would find in modern parlance - vertically challenged, chronologically accomplished and odour-enhanced. What the author has rightly done is a conscious attempt to keep the words non-crowded and using variations of the words. This helps because the reader is not troubled by monotony.
The tales are not exact replicas of the originals. Infact most of the tales have endings that are completely different in an effort to keep with the way things work now. Hence we have the wolf, the grandma and Red Riding Hood setting up an alternate household in the woods. Cinderalla and the other wommonfolk setup a designer label - CinderWear.The book can be finished in a single sitting or consumed as short eats. Garner has wisely restricted each of the story to a few pages. If Garner had instead decided to rewrite the stories in their completeness, the book would've lost its edge and become an utterly boring attempt at humour or a PJ in the local parlance. In its current form, the book is a source of good entertainment and not overtly cliched.
The book's short, simple and hilarious. Recommended, if you have want to relax and guffaw. Also a good read if you are looking to improve your political correctness. This is not to mean that I think that you need improvement nor to endorse the view that political correctness is a necessary trait.
Disclaimer: The opinions above are mine (by right and otherwise) and the intent is not to infringe on the rights of the others to their opinions. :D
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