The Merry Spinster

Book 6 of my 2019 Reading Challenge

read from January 11 - 14

The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror

by Mallory Ortberg

Summary (excerpted from the book jacket)
published 2018

Adapted from the beloved "Children's Stories Made Horrific" series, The Merry Spinster takes up the trademark wit that endeared Mallory Ortberg to readers of both The Toast and the bestselling debut Texts from Jane Eyre. Sinister and inviting, familiar and alien all at the same time, The Merry Spinster updates traditional children's stories and fairy tales with elements of psychological horror, emotional clarity, and a keen sense of feminist mischief. Readers of The Toast will instantly recognize Ortberg's boisterous good humor and Uber-nerd swagger; this collection's unique spin on fiction, where something a bit unsettling is always at work just beneath the surface.

My Opinion

2 stars

The pages passed very quickly even though I didn't really like or understand what was going on.  There were lots of words for not a lot of story and times when it felt like the author was trying too hard to be smart and clever.  Overall, I just didn't find this to be as creepy as I expected it to be. 

It was nice to have the list of "sources and influences" in the back because I recognized some but not all of them.  I don't think that impacted how I feel about the book because there wasn't much of a difference in how I felt about the stories I recognized material from versus ones I didn't.  

My favorite story was "The Rabbit".