The Apple: New Crimson Petal Stories by Michel Faber

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Title: The Apple: New Crimson Petal Stories

Author: Michel Faber

Genre: Historical Fiction (British)

Length: 199 pages

Published: 2006 

Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) "New Crimson Petal Stories". In this collection, Michael Faber revisits the world of his bestselling novel, "The Crimson Petal & White", briefly opening doors onto the lives of its characters to give us tantalizing glimpses of where they sprang from and what happened to them

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

This is NOT a sequel to The Crimson Petal and the White, nor does it answer the question of what happened to Sugar - at least not completely. This is a light-hearted series of short stories which follow some of the characters of The Crimson Petal and the White from either their youth or much later in life. It didn't take me long to read these (in fact, less than a day!) and I loved every single one of them.

In the foreword, the author gives his reasons why there was no closure on what happened to Sugar and Sophie. The most realistic way to end The Crimson Petal and the White was to merely hint at the future. I have to give him a lot of credit for not writing the sequel his fans were clamoring for. 

These stories included two which followed Sugar from her youth, before she met William Rackham; one which followed William Rackham many years after Sophie and Sugar disappeared; and another which showed how far Clara had fallen from her days as Agnes' maid. Dr. Curlew and Emmeline Curlew (later Mrs. Fox) are also followed, as well as an amusing tale with Bodley. 

The final story is from the 1990s. It is told by Sophie's son, Henry. He tells about his mother, his Aunt Primrose, and his father. Miss Sugar is also mentioned at one point as having left his mother an inheritance, but it is unknown what has happened to her. The final story gave the closure that The Crimson Petal and the White did not.

All in all, I enjoyed every story in this collection, and definitely recommend picking it up. Especially if you've read and enjoyed The Crimson Petal and the White. You can read my review of The Crimson Petal and the White here.

You can purchase The Apple: New Crimson Petal Stories through Amazon in hard copy format. 

Have you read The Apple: New Crimson Petal Stories? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.