The Reflections of Queen Snow White
by David Meredith
Summary from Goodreads:
What happens when “happily ever after” has come and gone?
On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven’s wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven’s fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White’s own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing:
The king is dead.
The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old.
It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what “happily ever after” really means?
Only time will tell as she wrestles with her past and is forced to confront The Reflections of Queen Snow White.
Since I am a big fan of poetry, the first thing that caught my attention about this book was the writing. The author’s use of words is impeccable and I could read the book over and over again just for the lush descriptions and his use of the language.
We all know the story of Snow White, but I must say that the book didn’t feel like the re-telling of a fairy tale, even though the facts matched. It was so down-to-earth with a touch of magical realism, that at times I actually forgot all about the original story. Snow White could be any woman going through depression and trying to pull herself together for the sake of her daughter.
Moreover, the book explores dark themes such as grief, abuse and suicide -all of which Snow White had to endure at different times in her life. As the reader it was so easy to identify with her that I felt her pain as my own.
As the mirror shows her the flashbacks of her life, I felt like each one was its own little story with a specific purpose and with its own life lesson. This book could be interpreted in so many ways that I bet if I were to re-read it, I would keep finding new hidden meanings.
I would definitely recommend this book to any adults looking for a deep exploration of human emotions in an ingenious and beautifully written story.
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
4 out of 5 stars
THE SPELLBOUND READER 