Disfigured

Starred review from January 1, 2020

Leduc (The Miracles of Ordinary Men), a Canadian writer with cerebral palsy, has penned a remarkable exploration into the ways disability has been portrayed in fairy tales and, consequently, how those portrayals have shaped society's treatment of the disabled. Referencing her own experiences, as well as those of other disabled writers and activists, Leduc shows how disabled children search for positive representation in fairy tales and other media, only to encounter depictions of disability as something to be pitied, feared, or corrected. In popular tales such as "Beauty and the Beast," "The Little Mermaid," and "Snow White," disability is either removed by magic or remains as a punishment for the wicked. Such themes, Leduc argues, have encouraged society to view able-bodiedness as the only acceptable state and conditioned disabled children to view themselves as an aberrant "other." But Leduc further points to the reciprocal nature of the relationship between fairy tales and society: as the tales have influenced society, so, too, can society change the tales to depict better paradigms and, in turn, make for a more accepting world. VERDICT 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, Newton, KS

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2020
Leduc grew up lost in stories. She read every Laura Ingalls Wilder tome before her fifth birthday. She loved fairy tales, and like so many children, was deeply steeped in the films and cultural phenomenon of Walt Disney. Leduc also grew up with cerebral palsy, and an accompanying limp, a clearly visible disability. The stories she consumed rarely reflected her experiences. Still haunted by this lack of accurate representation in her adulthood, Leduc came up with the idea for this book. Leduc examines fairy tales, from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen to Disney and Marvel, for their portrayal or rejection of life in a divergent body. She dives deep into how popular stories define cultural norms, blending cultural analysis with her own personal narratives from a life spent trying to make sense of how the world perceives her. Leduc is thoughtful and her research is vast. She has woven together a poignant and informative account of how the stories we tell shape our collective understanding of one another.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)