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Review: The Painted Fairytale (a Fairy Tale)

ByHannah Abrahamson

The title of this review is a small jab at myself. It took me until the end of The Painted Fairytale, a beautiful new book by Lara d’Entremont, to realize that the book was just that, a fairy tale. This realization prompted me to think more about fairy tales and how to define them. And although this book review is about The Painted Fairytale, I’m going to write about a series of books I read recently for the first time that I also consider to be fairy tales. Don’t worry; I promise that all of this writing will circle back to Lara d’Entremont’s fantastic story.

This new-to-me book series is Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain. My husband is in the process of reading them for the first time, too, and we had some lively debates about whether or not Taran and Eilonwy, the two main characters, end up marrying each other. One of us made the argument that they don’t, because that’s too obvious; the other one of us made the argument that they do, because the books are fairy tales, and in fairy tales, the ‘prince’ and the ‘princess’ end up together, a happy ending. The Chronicles of Prydain contain other fairytale elements as well: adventure, clear villains (and clear heroes), noble deeds, and enchantment, in the broadest sense of the word. When read as a fairy tale, the Prydain chronicles change from a  mere fantasy story into a meaningful tale of joy and self-discovery. The same is true for The Painted Fairytale.

The main character in the story is Wren, a timid young woman who believes she’ll never measure up to her older sister. I appreciate that d’Entremont chose the name ‘Wren’ for the story’s heroine. A wren is a small bird that inhabits the underbrush of forests and fields. They may be little, but they sing loudly – and constantly! Their song sounds like a jumble of sweet notes all trilled together, tripping over each other, like water flowing over rocks. We hear them all summer in the Midwest, hidden away in houses of sticks, but making their presence known. Wren is similar to a real-life wren. She’s small built, hiding her gifts from the world, but learns that she is more than her fears. By the end of the story, she’s belting the music that has been inside her all along.

Wren has a unique gift. Besides being a talented painter, her pictures open up portals to another world. She meets Professor Hayes, who brings this gift to her attention and then teaches her how to wield it. He has a rescue mission for Wren: one of his former students, Stefan, is trapped aboard a pirate ship in this parallel world. Professor Hayes uses Wren’s kindness to convince her to accept this mission. He reassures her that the mission will be simple and easy; of course, it isn’t. As Wren does what Professor Hayes requests, we learn that not everybody is who they appear to be.

The story has a happy ending, as every good fairy tale does. What I hoped would happen, did happen, and I loved it. Through the closing events of the story, d’Entremont expresses well one of her main themes: we always have hope, and hope always wins.

As far as the other elements of a fairy tale, The Painted Fairytale includes them all. Much of the story takes place on the high seas, where the main characters fight for victory against waves, pirate, and dragon. Although d’Entremont doesn’t make the villains clear right away, her revelation is not a modern one, in which we think the villains are good people and then we’re suddenly plunged into the true darkness of their hearts. Rather, she reveals each character’s intentions little by little. The story is full of enchantment, both of the magical sort (portals to other worlds) and the everyday sort (how artistic work forms us and changes us).

The Painted Fairytale will mean the most to other young women who, like Wren, struggle to find confidence in themselves. We might turn up our noses at the saying that ‘everybody is special,’ but it’s true. Although we’re all created in God’s image, he has specific plans for each of our lives. We can trust that our lives are unfolding according to God’s good designs for us, and that the decisions we make, through prayer and sought-out wisdom, are the decisions God intended for us to make. We have the personalities God gave us, which of course doesn’t mean we can do whatever we like, but rather means that we can each contribute something to the world that nobody else can. The same is true for our gifts. The world needs all of us, working together for God’s glory.

In the end, Wren’s personality shines, and she turns out to be exactly who the world needs at a very crucial moment in time. She shows courage and compassion and lets her emotions guide her in the best way possible. She uses her artistic skills to save the people she loves. So, sing out, dear reader, because just like Wren, God gave you the voice he wants you to have. And pick up a copy of The Painted Fairytale. You’ll be glad you did.

Available at Calla Press.

Hannah Abrahamson
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