Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King’s Huntress, her heart begins to change. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In the wake of her father’s death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. This was kind of a mess.įirst sentence: Aisling’s mother died at midsummer. There is very little Cinderella about it and the elements that were wedged in felt forced and unnecessary.
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I highly recommend Ash for those in desire of a non-cliché love story.Sold as a Cinderella retelling with a lesbian twist, Malinda Lo’s Ash didn’t really deliver what it promised. It left me with a sense of gratification and the typical warm fuzzies people experience after finishing a good book, amplified with the audacious dream of our own happily-ever-after. It provides Asian Lesbians a fairy tale they can get lost in, pushing boundaries. Awesome!Īsh simultaneously serves its purpose of providing a good read, while at the same time making a bold political statement in its story telling.
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Other interesting themes include an allusion to traditional Asian medicine such as the use of herbs and the harnessing of qi, as well as the concept of a shared energy from lineage and previous lifetimes. Lo was able to integrate all of these themes and more, without taking away the romantic and magical allure of a romantic fairy tale. Lo seamlessly incorporates some critical themes that many Asian Lesbians experience such as familial obligation, finding the path to one’s life purpose, resistance of compulsory heterosexuality, a natural but initially inexplicable attraction to women, all the way to the feeling of liberation and wholeness when the main character accepts herself. Feminist characters include an out lesbian huntress charged with leading a royal court tradition, and a head-strong and questioning young woman who rejects the traditional mores that are embedded in her household. Lo’s story boldly offers two lesbian perspectives weaved into a single love story.
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In Ash, the prince becomes an inconsequential back character, only relevant to solidify the main character’s lesbian coming out process. Those factors are the furthest extent to which Lo parallels her story to the classic. Ash is a creative adaptation of the Cinderella love story, featuring iconic elements such as the evil step-mother and step-sisters, and of course a magical but fleeting evening tryst. This is why Malinda Lo’s novel, Ash, can be defined as extraordinary. I am sure this was one of many contributing factors that stunted the process of growing into my Asian Lesbian identity. The institutional standard of a happily-ever-after story. Many fiction novels continue to be dispositioned to the white and patriarchal mainstream, with heroines akin to pining away for a male savior. Sadly, while it did not take much for me to become engrossed in a story, I also struggled to find relatable and likeable characters.
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Indeed, my skill in “speaking English so well for being Asian” originates in reading as a means of escape from both mundane and harsh realities. As I a refugee child, reading was integral to my learning and has strongly shaped my understanding and articulation of the English language. I love reading, and the fiction novel is my favorite book genre.