Opinião / Review - "The Reflections of Queen Snow White", David Meredith

Sinopse/ Synopsis

"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."

Opinião/Review

Este livro foi-me oferecido pelo autor ao qual agradeço desde já pela oportunidade de o ler.

A sinopse deste livro deixou-me intrigada. Por um lado, porque cresci a ver os filmes da Disney com os seus belos contos de fadas e personagens adoráveis e, por outro, pelo risco que o autor estava a correr, ao pegar numa personagem já conhecida e adorada e desenhar uma nova história, uma nova interpretação para ela.

Tenho de admitir que, por vezes, era-me difícil distanciar-me da Branca de Neve com a qual cresci da Branca de Neve do autor. Contudo, quando o consegui finalmente fazer, a beleza do livro tornou-se mais fácil de ver.

As descrições são extremamente bem realizadas, capturam a beleza, tristeza, alegria do momento ou lugar na perfeição. Além disso, o mundo em que decorre a acção é muito bem desenhado, os diálogos adequados à época assim como as acções das personagens.

Porém, como o próprio título sugere, a história baseia-se principalmente na Branca da Neve. O que a levou até aquele ponto? Foi verdadeiramente Feliz Para Sempre como dizem as histórias? Quais os seus defeitos? A felicidade foi de graça? Foi ininterrupta?

Estas perguntas, que nunca nos ocorrem quando somos crianças, surgem com o aumentar da idade, e o autor explora alguma delas com esta narrativa. No entanto, ao longo da leitura, dei por mim a não compreender a atitude da personagem, só me apetecia dizer-lhe “Va lá, reage, faz alguma coisa”.

Todavia, com o desenvolver dos capítulos, outra mensagem transpareceu. Que todos têm direito a momentos de fraqueza, em que apetece desistir. Porém, o que distingue os fortes dos fracos, as pessoas normais das heroínas, é a sua capacidade de reconhecê-los e ultrapassa-los.

Sendo assim, não posso deixar de recomendar este livro, que de uma forma tão bela e simples demonstra a força que uma pessoa é capaz de revelar.

This book was given to me by the author, to whom I thank in advance for the opportunity to read it.

The synopsis left me intrigued mainly for two reasons. Firstly, because I grew up watching Disney movies, with their ​​beautiful fairy tales and lovable characters. Secondly, due to the risk that the author was taking, picking a character already known and adored, and draw a new story, a new interpretation for it.

I have to admit that sometimes it was difficult for me to distance myself from the Snow White that I grew up with, from the one the author described. However, when I finally did, the beauty of the book became easier to see.

The descriptions are extremely well done, capturing the beauty, sadness, joy of the moment or place perfectly. Moreover, the world in which the action takes place is very well designed, dialogues appropriate to the time as well as the actions of the characters.

Nevertheless, as the title suggests, the story is mainly based on Snow White. What led her to that point? The Happily Ever After was truly like the stories say? What are its shortcomings? Happiness was free? Was uninterrupted?

These questions never occur to us when we are children, usually they come when our age increases, and the author explores some of them with this narrative. Still, throughout the reading, I found myself not understanding the attitude of the character, and wanting to scream "Come on, react, do something".

However, with the development of chapters, another message transpired. That everyone is entitled to moments of weakness, moments when we fell like giving up. But what distinguishes the strong from the weak, the heroines from ordinary people is their ability to recognize and overcome them.

Therefore, I recommend this book that in such a beautiful and simple way demonstrates the strength that a person is able to exhibit.