What a delight to have another novella from Elna Holst. You may remember the review I put out two years ago covering In the Palm—a story of a shipwrecked woman with no memory—and one of my favorite things I’ve read in the lesbian fiction genre. Holst has excelled in longer works such as Lucas and Pyotra and the Wolf and I’ve enjoyed many of her short stories such as those in the Tinsel and Spruce Needles Series, but Holst really knows how to work a novella. She’s also been breathing some life into the revivals.
Gretel on Her Own is a retelling of the fairytale Hansel and Gretel that offers its own twist. Holst continues the story twenty years later after Gretel and her brother Hansel were found in the woods as children, and gives her own explanation. Gretel works long hours supporting her mother and brother who are long-term residents of a mental health facility, and she avoids the confectioner’s at all costs. That becomes harder to do after running into and falling for the confectioner’s niece, Dorothea. The two women become close fast, so fast Gretel wonders if Hansel and their mother aren’t as crazy as they seem…
I strongly recommend taking the ten minutes needed to read the original Hansel and Gretel story for a quick refresher, and to fully appreciate what Holst has done with the language here. There are so many clever nods and attributes to the original text, while making the story something altogether new. It was actually quite thrilling, a level of suspense heightened with each chapter as the reader waits, eagerly, to see what is real and what is just crafty wordsmithing.
The atmosphere Holst gives through her writing also feels like that of a fairytale setting. Even in a more modern world, where Gretel can drive and talk on the phone, the reader hasn’t entirely ruled out the possibility of witchcraft or magic. All the characters, even those briefly seen in text, were rich in detail. I could smell the cigarette smoke that lingered on Gretel’s mother, which contrasted nicely with the sugary smell of the confectioner. The descriptions linked to sweets for Dorothea were brilliant and well-fitting. Also, I love it when there’s a focus on food/edible items in a story. Evoking that sense of taste is not as commonly done as the other senses and I applaud it, especially here.
If you’re looking for a playfully well-crafted, sapphic retelling then Gretel on Her Own is perfect for you!