★★★☆☆
(Fairy Tale) In this variation on the Beauty and the Beast story, a middle-aged tailor manages to free his daughter by offering himself as companion to the beast. (5,326 words; Time: 17m)
"The Tailor and the Beast," by Aysha U. Farah [bio] (edited by Katharine Duckett), appeared in Uncanny Magazine issue 30, published on September 3, 2019.
Mini-Review (click to view--possible spoilers)
Review: 2019.528 (A Word for Authors)
Pro: Arguably the old tailor makes a better companion to the Beast than a young girl, although the Beast isn’t in a hurry to take advantage of it. Andrea is depressed over the loss of his wife, and his depression has cost him everything, but the Beast is depressed too, and somehow that stirs Andrea to rise to the occasion, making a suit tailored to the Beast. This expression of kindness is the key that unlocks everything.
Con: The bit where Andrea falls in love with the Beast took me a bit by surprise. I was expecting brotherly love, not the romantic kind. More importantly, there was little up to that point to suggest much in the way of affection between them of any sort. Ultimately, I felt like the solution was too easy.
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Aysha U. Farah Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
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Pro: Arguably the old tailor makes a better companion to the Beast than a young girl, although the Beast isn’t in a hurry to take advantage of it. Andrea is depressed over the loss of his wife, and his depression has cost him everything, but the Beast is depressed too, and somehow that stirs Andrea to rise to the occasion, making a suit tailored to the Beast. This expression of kindness is the key that unlocks everything.
Con: The bit where Andrea falls in love with the Beast took me a bit by surprise. I was expecting brotherly love, not the romantic kind. More importantly, there was little up to that point to suggest much in the way of affection between them of any sort. Ultimately, I felt like the solution was too easy.
Other Reviews: Search Web
Aysha U. Farah Info: Interviews, Websites, ISFDB, FreeSFOnline
Follow RSR on Twitter, Facebook, RSS, or E-mail.
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