The Witch Made Me Do It by Edward Ahern

I've enjoyed other short stories by Edward Ahern in various magazines, and so I was pleased to pick up his newly released book, The Witch Made Me Do It: Modern Fairy Tales.  The book is composed of fifteen stories previously published in a variety of magazines, gathered together for the first time in a collection.  These stories are in Mr. Ahern's usual very readable style, and I finished the book in about a day.

The retold fairy tales are taken from a variety of sources - some Russian, some European, some Native American.  Some are set in classical settings in the past, some are adapted for the modern day.  They highlight a number of traditional dichotomies, such as good versus evil, men versus women, hard work versus laziness, poor versus rich.

I'm a sucker for fairy tales, and I thought this was a very nicely composed collection.  I'm sure that my kids would enjoy them as much as I did, although some of the stories have more grown-up themes that might pass over their heads right now.  While the tone of the stories is generally straightforward, there are some instances of tongue-in-cheek humor that elevate them just a touch and gives them an added layer of meaning.  I enjoyed the collection as much as I've enjoyed Mr. Ahern's previous stories, and would definitely read more work by him.  For fans of fairy tale retellings, I think this is a great collection, and I'd recommend it.