Zel by Donna Jo Napoli

I just recently joined a book club and our first pick was Donna Jo Napoli’s Zel.  This also happens to be one of my picks for Stainless Steel Dropping’s Once Upon a Time challenge.

Based on the fairy tale Rapunzel, the story is told in alternating chapters from the point of view of Zel, her mother, and the nobleman who pursues her, and delves into the psychological motivations of each of the characters.

I love reading fairy tales.  They were the first romance novel, if you truly think about it and, I have to say, I love it when authors put their own spin on the various stories.  Donna Jo Napoli definitely took the story of Rapunzel and added her own insights to it, which resulted in the fascinating story of Zel.  We’re not given the story from an omnipresent point of view, but we’re given a view from the characters involved.

While I can’t remember the last time I read Rapunzel, I do remember the tower, the witch and the handsome man who rescues her; but I can’t recall the reasoning behind Zel’s imprisonment or why the witch felt the need to lock her away.   With Napoli’s storytelling, we get to see all sides of the story.  Why did Mother feel the need to lock her child away? What was Zel going through during her isolation?  Why did we automatically assume the prince had first met Zel at the tower?  There is definitely more to the story of Rapunzel and Napoli fleshes it out in the most simplest of ways – by telling us the story from the view points of all parties.  We’re able to see the thoughts buzzing in Zel’s, Konrad’s and her mother’s head.  We get to see the clearly obsessed reasoning that Mother uses to keep Zel away from everyone.  We see Konrad’s mindless pursuit of Zel.  And ultimately, we get to see how all of the small events impact each character in the biggest way.  Who knew that a chance meeting during market day could result in 5 years of torment?

While the storytelling was great, I do have to admit to a few…annoyances.  I would really have liked to see what happened to Mother at the end.  All we get from her after Zel disappears from the tower are one sentence lines; we’re never given a chance to see how she adapted or if she even regrets her actions.  The whole scene where Zel is taken from the tower leaves a lot of questions in my head.  I’m not going to go into it too much, so I don’t give anything away, but I would have liked a little more explanation or at least clarification on the tower events that took place near the end.

Overall, I liked the twist on the Rapunzel fairy tale that Napoli did.  Not only are the psychological elements of Zel intriguing to see rationalized out, but the story was told well through the three viewpoints.  I’m normally not a fan of the jumping around of POVs, but each character’s voices flowed seamlessly between each other and we’re given perspectives not in the original Grimms tale.  The fact that we were given the viewpoints of all the parties involved – the girl, the witch and the boy – added a whole new dimension to the story that made it amazing to read.  Zel is definitely a good read for anyone looking for a new take on an old favorite.

Also reviewed by:
Things Mean Alot