READING GROUP

THE SLEEPER AND

THE SPINDLE

June spells midsummer magic, and what better to read than fairy tales? Proper grown-up ones.

Neil Gaiman’s The Sleeper and the Spindle is a graphic novel with illustrations by Chris Riddell. It’s a femalecentred mash-up of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and a few other fairytales you might remember, with a lot of dark humour thrown in.

Questions to ponder

What does

Gaiman have to say about women’s role in fairy tales? How did you enjoy the way the pictures worked with the text or did you find it distracting?

Further reading

Gaiman has written a wealth of fairytale stuff, but Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber is also a must for grown-up fairytale fans.