Pleasures of Metamorphosis: Japanese and English Fairy Tale Transformations of -The Little Mermaid-

Description: Analysis of the mermaid in Japanese and English fairy tales through the framework of pleasure.

Brief description: Lucy Fraser is a lecturer in Japanese at the University of Queensland, Australia. Her research on Japanese and English retellings of fairy tales in literature and popular culture has appeared in Marvels and Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies, Japan Forum, and Global Manga Studies. She has also published translations of literature by leading writers such as Kawakami Hiromi and Hoshino Tomoyuki and of literary criticism by academics such as Honda Masuko and Kan Satoko.

Review Quotes:

Fraser's cross-cultural examination of many of the textual transformations of Andersen's "The Little Mermaid," her theoretical focus on pleasure as applied to fairy tale texts, her expansive arguments on the influence of tales upon girls, and her application of shojo studies to close readings of fairy tale texts, all combine to make The Pleasures of Metamorphosis a highly worthwhile addition to several ongoing conversations in fairy tale and cultural studies.