After the Forest: A Book Response

After the Forest by Kell Woods

After the Forest by Kell Woods showed up as a newly purchased item at my library, and after reading the summary, I downloaded it as an e-book on Libby. I love fairytale retellings, and this one about Hansel and Gretel (or Hans and Greta, as they're known in the book) looked promising.

This post will contain spoilers, so exit out if that sort of thing bothers you!

Overall, I really enjoyed it! I was hooked from the first page by the very close and cinematic first person perspective. All my senses were engaged, and I was intrigued that this story would be grappling with Greta and Hans' trauma from being abandoned and then getting kidnapped by a cannibalistic witch, as well as the reputation they earned with their escape-by-murder.

I was also delighted that this story wove in the tale of Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red, and Rumpelstiltskin! I even felt there were some sly references to Beauty and the Beast and Bluebeard! The magical realism of it all was wonderful too -- I do enjoy stories that feel like they could have happened, once upon a time and long ago. Speaking of magic, I was fascinated by the distinction between tattermagic and greenmagic, and the cost and effects of both.

The characters are all flawed -- Hans has a gambling addiction spurred/made worse by being trapped in the village he longs to get away from, Greta is spurned as a suspected witch who is deeply affected by her experience with the gingerbread witch and the loss of her parents, and frequently makes bad but understandable decisions. Supporting characters Christie and Rob have their own secrets and secret pasts that haunt them and, though well meaning, are often selfish and harsh with others. Even the antagonists are humanized, making complex villains of them all. I love that kind of character work.

As for the romance between Greta and Mathias; it was soft and sweet and so understandable. I especially loved Greta's constant refrain of 'Were they blue, or green, his eyes?'. Mathias was a lovely character, fully realized and wonderfully kind and sad and noble. One quote that made me catch my breath with the beautiful yearning romance of it all was: 

"I know you're angry [...] Even so I would follow you to the very edge of Hell had I the scent of honey on your skin to lead me."

Even out of context, it's such a sensual and longing bit of dialogue, but in context it's simply breathtaking.

Speaking of: the prose! Very lovely, very deft. Sometimes entrancing and sensory, always deft rather than flowery to the point of disorientation, and every character had a distinct voice. 

While I did feel like the middle of the book unfolded a bit too slowly, I think once I understood that this book was about Greta and other characters' internal development just as much as it was about the mysteries of the plot, I was able to settle into the unraveling of it all. The characters themselves aren't aware of the genre or story they're in, after all. I'd need another read to determine if my impression that they were sometimes a bit too obtuse or made decisions that were clearly bad ideas was just a result of my outside perspective and familiarity with the tropes. 

Still, this concluded in a very satisfactory -- or at least well-grounded -- and heart-wrenching manner for all involved! I recommend it to anyone who enjoys adult retellings and expansions of fairy tales, romantic tragedies with happy endings, complicated family dynamics, the effect of trauma and grief, and magical realism.

Content warnings for the novel (non-comprehensive): brief instances of sexual harassment, assault and rape (non-graphic), gore and murder, references to cannibalism, brief/implied but non-graphic sexual scenes, and mind-altering magic using blood.