Bluebeard – Charles Perrault

Rating: 4/5

Lost References:

Sawyer refers to Tom as Bluebeard.

Thoughts:

I like how fairy tales used to be grim (pun intended). The imagery is darkly beautiful and the message poignant. One of the messages anyway. At the end of the story, Bluebeard’s terrorized (eighth) wife manages to find real love and forget her pain. However, I disagree with the other moral, the one more explicitly stated at the end, that the woman’s near-death experience was her own fault. Yes, she broke a promise out of curiosity, and that’s a breach of trust. But it’s not worthy of death (or any other physical harm). Besides, her snooping turned out to be justified. Shout-out to all the ladies: if your husband other has a roomful of corpses (especially if they’re former wives), get out of there and get some answers.

The Adventures of Pinocchio – Carlo Collodi

Rating: 2/5

Lost References:

Sawyer calls Charlie “Jiminy Cricket.”

Thoughts:

First of all, though this book is on my list and others, I don’t technically count it. The talking cricket is never given a name in the book – that was a Disney invention. I’m just including it for thoroughness.

I did not enjoy this book in the slightest. It had an unlikeable protagonist repeatedly getting himself in difficulties of his own making. He theoretically feels bad in the end, but he feels bad at other times in the story, and that doesn’t change anything he does. I remain unimpressed.