Damsel is a gripping, dark fairy tale that will polarize readers

Elana K. Arnold’s Damsel is a dark, violent fairytale that certainly won’t be for everyone. But maybe that’s the point.

Traditional fairy tales or fairy-tale-adjacent stories tend to follow a certain kind of pattern. A beautiful princess – because she is always beautiful, naturally – is rescued from a dark tower/horrible monster/mean witch/whatever by a handsome prince. Said prince immediately marries her and makes her queen – or sometimes queen-in-waiting – of his realm, a job that rarely consists of anything other than being glorified arm candy on a good day. Yay, happily ever after? Well, if you’re tired of these tropes, Elana K. Arnold’s latest novel, simply titled Damsel, is the book for you. Because although its story sounds familiar, it’s almost certainly like nothing you’ve read lately.

The book’s premise, on its face, is pretty simple. The kingdom of Harding has a longstanding tradition — when each prince who would be king comes of age, he must fight a dragon and rescue a damsel to marry in order to officially claim his throne. This rite has gone on for as long as anyone can remember, and no one questions it. It is simply the way things are.

But when Ama wakes up in the arms of Prince Emory, she has no memory of her life before. She doesn’t remember who she was before she was a dragon’s prisoner, or how Emory helped her escape. All she knows is the duty before her: Marry this man, gain a life of riches and plenty, live happily ever after. That’s what fairy tales are, right?

Not exactly. Because as Ama learns more about Harding and struggles to remember who she was before she came there, she discovers that everything is not exactly what it seems. And there may be more to the legend of the dragon and the damsels than she was initially led to believe — or ever thought possible.

Damsel is a compelling, intense read that doesn’t let up from the first page to the last. Its story is, at its heart, a feminist one, in that it tells us the tale of a young woman struggling to reclaim herself from a world that seeks to define every aspect of her life. (Right down to her own name.) But it certainly doesn’t pull any punches in presenting the misogyny inherent in this kingdom specifically and in this type of story generally. In short: It’s the dark reflection of every princess gets her prince tale that’s come before it.

However, that fact is going to make Damsel a very difficult read for some. This book includes physical and sexual violence, frequent verbal degradation of women, and even animal mutilation. The relationship between Ama and Emory is often quite disturbing and overtly abusive in several places. He’s a straight up misogynist, who basically believes women exist to serve men. So, yeah. Their love is no happily ever after, that’s for sure. Furthermore, Ama’s quest to discover her past leads to frequent gaslighting or physical violence at the hands of others.

No kidding, this book is dark. Damsel is an ultimately very satisfying read, but the journey to get there can be a rather harrowing one.

Now, if that sounds like your kind of story, have at it. Arnold does a fantastic job of flipping existing sexist fantasy tropes around, and uses a stereotypical tale to remind us all that many seemingly romantic stories could just as easily be reinterpreted as cautionary tales about power and control. In many ways, this novel is much closer to the original Grimm’s stories – dark tales about the worst things humanity is capable of – than it is to their sparkly Disney retellings.

Remember how the Evil Stepsisters in Cinderella get their eyes plucked out by birds in the original story? Yeah, this book is like that.

But if 2018 is the year of female rage, then maybe Damsel is the fairy tale it needs.

Damsel goes on sale today, Oct. 2.