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Der Prinz In Meinem Märchen (2011)

by Lucy Dillon(Favorite Author)

3.93 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Goldmann Verlag

review 1: Another really great book by Lucy Dillon. It's such a joy to read her stories. She portrays her characters and their different relationships with incredible accuracy. I am a step-mother, and for several years I wanted and could not have a child of my own. The book describes with near perfection the feelings Anna has about how so much is expected of a step-mother, even as she remains the unwanted intruder in her own home. I also remember with great clarity the dashed hopes each month when my period came, and how hard it was to watch other women with their babies.I also totally "got" Michele. Unresolved sexual assault, especially at such a young age is so difficult to handle. Her defenses, although sometimes irritating, made sense. The character of Harvey was a very true dep... moreiction of the "closet" emotional abuser. Although I hated him, just like I was supposed to, I had to admire how skillfully the author created the all too prevalent "wolf in sheep's clothing" persona. I'm talking about the kind of guy that is so personable and kind in public that when anyone tries to complain about some emotional abuse that occurs in private, many people think that there is something wrong with you.Lucy Dillon "got it right" with five difficult interpersonal struggles: step-mothering, strong unmet motherhood needs, teen pregnancy, date rape, and emotional abusers.Unlike some readers, I also really enjoyed all the recollections of best-loved children's books.The only part I didn't like was the loose ends left at the end. I don't really like insinuations about the "happily ever after". I like it spelled out in a fact=filled epilogue. I also think Lucy needs to write faster. I have nothing left of hers to read.
review 2: I enjoyed this book. It was a nice, easy read and there wasn't anything really "wrong" about it. I wouldn't call it a favourite but it was a good one to spend a few days of Christmas break on. I liked that there was a bookstore, and at first I thought all the references to old childrens books were fun. I, too, loved such books when I was a kid, so I really enjoyed this at first! I haven't read all of the books mentioned, but most of them. I loved Little Women and books like that, and I can definitely relate to the nostalgia. The problem with all of this, though, is that it gets too much after a while. A bit unrealistic. Anna is a librarian and described as a book lover - I do find it strange that ALL she cares about are these really old books she read as a child, and that most women who comes to her store seem to be the same way. In a way, this is related to her longing for a child (somebody she could share all those old books with) but it's not just that. While I did re-read one of Edith Nesbit's books recently when I was at a library with nothing else to do (except studying...), I go back to those old books sometimes as little trip down memory lane, but only occasionally. I would probably be happy if my child (if I had one) liked those books as much as I did, but I would never expect it. Most kids just don't like that kind of books these days. When I re-read something like that (like the Anne of Green Gables series that I read parts of two years ago, for the first time as an adult) I react to some of the old-fashioned values and things I didn't really think of as a child; there are parts of old literature for children that are just out of date in today's world and that kids might not even understand, much less relate to. There are wonderful parts of those books as well, but I feel that Anna is just too uncritical. Especially when it comes to those school books. I haven't read the Malory Towers series but other similar books. I completely understand Anna's and the others' fascination, because I felt the same way as a child. But now, as an adult, I feel that Anna is very naive for being surprised when Michelle doesn't speak well of her school experience. The most modern titles mentioned are, I think, The Sweet Valley Twins series. (I read those too, but didn't enjoy them half as much as the older books.) I'm quite surprised that Chloe doesn't like Twilight (at least the movies) and that Anna doesn't have an opinion on it. And is there a reason why they're so into romance books (I don't know anything about Jilly Cooper but as far as I understand the novels were somewhat "daring" in young Michelle's eyes) but never talk about 50 Shades? Is it that Dillon just doesn't want to write about her present day fellow writers?Well, enough of the books. I did like the characters most of the time. I didn't always understand them; sometimes their reasoning didn't make sense to me... but on the other hand, people aren't always very rational. I didn't understand why Michelle wouldn't try to explain to her family about Harvey, but on the other hand... emotional scars run so deep sometimes and it can be hard to know just what to do. I've known a person sort of like Harvey and I know that it's not easy to handle emotional abuse - in Michelle's case it's very hard because her mother is extremely unhelpful. Most of the time I just wanted to tell her to shut up and stay out of her grown up child's love life... As for Anna, she's sweet and likeable, but with her, too, I was also a little bit annoyed for not speaking up for herself. But again, on second thought, I can understand it - it's hard to do for a person who'd rather be hurt than to risk hurting anybody else... It's hard to see just what made her like that, though. Her strong desire to have a baby is highly relatable, in my opinion. The supporting characters were sometimes a bit like caricatures, or just... not very well fleshed out? They felt like just the expected characters! I think Michelle's issues with her past and with her mother would have been more nuanced and more painful if the mother had been more like a normal person and not like someone you wanted to punch in the face. Evelyn was a bit too mean. Phil's girls were okay, I guess, but I was a bit puzzled by Becca. I thought she was like a combination of Jane and Lizzie Bennett, and I couldn't figure out if Dillon had made her like that on purpose or if it was just me...I found Anna's and Phil's life fairly interesting (I do think Phil was rather realistic, even though his reasoning made me sad), but the thing with Rory was just too predictable in my opinion. I think it would have been better if Michelle hadn't disliked him so much in the beginning. The irresponsible Owen who found the inspiration to change because of his true love for the good girl Becca... that, too, was very cliché. If only Owen had been more like a person and less like a "type", it would have worked.Now it sounds like I'm just complaining, but I do have high standards, and like I said in the beginning, I did find this an enjoyable read. less

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