Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space

By Amanda Leduc

Book Overview

A CBC BOOKS BEST NONFICTION OF 2020
AN ENTROPY MAGAZINE BEST NONFICTION 2020/21
A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY BOOK OF THE DAY (07/23/2022)

Fairy tales shape how we see the world, so what happens when you identify more with the Beast than Beauty?

If every disabled character is mocked and mistreated, how does the Beast ever imagine a happily-ever-after? Amanda Leduc looks at fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm to Disney, showing us how they influence our expectations and behaviour and linking the quest for disability rights to new kinds of stories that celebrate difference.

"Historically we have associated the disabled body image and disabled life with an unhappy ending" - Sue Carter, Toronto Star

"Leduc persuasively illustrates the power of stories to affect reality in this painstakingly researched and provocative study that invites us to consider our favorite folktales from another angle." - Sara Shreve, Library Journal

"She [Leduc] argues that template is how society continues to treat the disabled: rather than making the world accessible for everyone, the disabled are often asked to adapt to inaccessible environments." - Ryan Porter, Quill & Quire

"Read this smart, tenacious book." - The Washington Post

"A brilliant young critic named Amanda Leduc explores this pernicious power of language in her new book, Disfigured ... Leduc follows the bread crumbs back into her original experience with fairy tales - and then explores their residual effects ... Read this smart, tenacious book." - The Washington Post

"Leduc investigates the intersection between disability and her beloved fairy tales, questioning the constructs of these stories and where her place is, as a disabled woman, among those narratives." - The Globe and Mail

"It gave me goosebumps as I read, to see so many of my unexpressed, half-formed thoughts in print. My highlighter got a good workout." - BookRiot

"Disfigured is not just an eye-opener when it comes to the Disney princess crew and the Marvel universe - this thin volume provides the tools to change how readers engage with other kinds of popular media, from horror films to fashion magazines to outdated sitcom jokes." - Quill & Quire

"It's an essential read for anyone who loves fairy tales." - Buzzfeed Books

"Leduc makes one thing clear and beautifully so - fairy tales are fundamentally fantastic, but that doesn't mean that they are beyond reproach in their depiction of real issues and identities." - Shrapnel Magazine

"As Leduc takes us through these fairy tales and the space they occupy in the narratives that we construct, she slowly unfolds a call-to-action: the claiming of space for disability in storytelling." - The Globe and Mail

"A provocative beginning to a thoughtful and wide-ranging book, one which explores some of the most primal stories readers have encountered and prompts them to ponder the subtext situated there all along." - LitHub

"a poignant and informative account of how the stories we tell shape our collective understanding of one another." - BookMarks

"What happens when we allow disabled writers to tell stories of disability within fairytales and in magical and supernatural settings? It is a reimagining of the fairytale canon we need. Leduc dares to dream of a world that most stories envision is unattainable." - Bitch Media

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1552453952
• ISBN13: 9781552453957
• Release Date: March 2020
• Publisher: Coach House Books
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.4" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Well Written and Told

It's a twofer! I also finished an adult book yesterday so here's what you get. Obviously the title is what peaked my interest. There's not many books on disability, though I do my best to find them all! I was surprised I hadn't heard of this book before, but after starting I lost that surprise. You must remember that my rating for books is actually quite steep. I know it may not seem it because most of the books I post, I recommend 10/10. But there has been more than one book recently that I got no more than one chapter into and returned it. I don't feel the need to post reviews on those. Life is too short to worry about the little things. What I particularly enjoyed and kept me attuned to this book was that it is from a hobbyist and layperson's view. The author is not a PhD (at least not at the time of writing this), and if she is a nationwide or international disability rights activists then she's one of us back benchers. She's in the trenches of disability with no "qualifications" other than her lived experience, what other disabled friends have told her, and what she has read. Yet she decided to write a book on a subject so vast and ancient that it back dates not just before books were invented but before writing was invented! The audacity! I. Love. It. She does an excellent job on educating herself and you on the points in the stories she refers to very well, even going so far as to study their origin words and what the other Greek or Latin meant (I LOVE a good linguistics gab!). Not only does she research thoroughly, she also has clearly educated herself on social issues because for a cishet white woman, she is very aware. I appreciate the aspect of humility but intrigue she brings out in the book. And each chapter wraps up very nicely, making it an easy read or listen for those on the go. Though at first I was disappointed at the lack of academia in the book, I must say she was well informed and thorough. She proved once again that you don't need letters after your name to have something worthwhile to say. I liked it, and it's going on my to-buy list for the physical copy. 8/10 recommend