"The Confessions Of Prince Charming"

READ IT HERE: "The Confessions Of Prince Charming"
BY: Kelly Barnhil
IN:Fantasy Magazine
Genre: Fantasy

Here is a bit of experimental writing that I really enjoyed. It's a bit difficult to pull an experiment off well because so often the story gets lost in the style. This happens a lot over at Cafe Irreal, although I did find "The Kn!ghts of Slipway 7"  there enjoyable.

In "The Confessions of Prince Charming", Barnhill uses a series of short mood pieces and free verse poems to tell the story of Prince Charming. Each of these pieces is beautifully written in itself, but the over all arc of the story is also sad and sweet. Prince Charming meets many princesses, despite the warnings his mother gave him - and I must confess here that for a while I thought the story might be treading ground already beautifully covered in Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods - but Barnhil's story does develop its own path. The Prince Charming in this story finds love all to often, but he can never keep it, and this seems to be as much his own fault as that of the princesses he falls for.

I've probably said too much already and I really don't like to give too much about a story away. This one, though, is a beautiful read with something to think about.


Cheers
Morva Shepley
http://morvahouse.blogspot.com