The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter: a review

While I knew this was set around Christmas (or at least a large part of it is), I was under no illusions that this would be a heart-warming holiday tale. I’ve read enough from this author to know better. It’s still seasonally appropriate though… kind of.

            The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter follows fifteen-year-old Melanie and her two younger siblings in the wake of the death of their parents. They’re sent to live with their maternal uncle, his mute wife, and the aunt’s two younger brother. While the thought of living in a toyshop may sound like a childhood dream, nothing seems to go in the favour of these young children.

            It’s not that I wasn’t expecting a dark tale, but I would say it’s around the final third that it went from “hmm… this is a bit rough” to “what the actual fuck!?”. Now look, I try not to use too much bad language in my reviews. I try to keep it professional. However, sometimes a little bit of cursing is exactly what one needs to get the right point across. I’m not spoiling anything here; experience the madness for yourself.

            That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy this book. It’s a phenomenal showing of Carter’s fairy tale like storytelling, even when she isn’t writing (or re-writing) the classic fairy tales we know and love. There are both subtle and not so subtle references to known tales throughout (Bluebeard being the most overt) and she uses them wonderfully. At times there’s this real but not quite quality to it which is enchanting in the most haunting way possible.

            I do think I’ll come back to this in the future, but it’s hardly one I’ll come back to when seeking something familiar and comforting. If you know of Carter’s work and want to read more, then this is certainly the book for you (though as an introduction, I recommend The Bloody Chamber). I found this at Burnley Library, as you might expect (though next year expect to see that a whole lot less as a new project is coming).