This collection of stories is based on classic fairy tales, written so that they have a dark (and often darkly funny) tone to them. Adapted from Ortberg's "Children's Stories Made Horrific" series of essays, these stories show how deft Ortberg is at deconstructing stories and remaking them into something that is at once very familiar, but disturbing in a completely new way. I found many of the stories unsettling, even as I enjoyed them. What I like is that by taking apart the classic tales and examining them and then using those elements to create a new story, Ortberg shows how dark, or odd, or even subversive the original stories are.
Admittedly, it sometimes took me a few pages into the story to recognize the original fairy tale (and I don't think I was quite familiar with all of them). The most disturbing story for me was the one based on The Velveteen Rabbit, although it was at once disturbing and completely a compelling read.
I agree with this reader's take in her Goodreads review: "These stories are weird and queer and horrifying and are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but if you like Mallory’s writing especially her “children’s stories made horrifying” you won’t be disappointed. Also The Rabbit is going to haunt me forever." I'm not sure if I could put it any better.
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