Six-Gun Snow White
by Catherynne M. Valente
In the novella Six-Gun Snow White, Valente transports the title’s heroine to an Old West where Coyote is just as likely to be found as the seven dwarves. A plain-spoken narrator relates the history of her parents—a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to give up one of their daughters, Gun That Sings, in marriage to him. With her mother’s death in childbirth, so begins a heroine’s tale equal parts heartbreak and strength. This girl has been born into a world with no place for a half-native, half-white child. After being hidden for years, a very wicked stepmother finally gifts her with the name Snow White, referring to the pale skin she will never have. The story provides glimpses through the fabled looking glass and a close-up look at hard living in the gritty gun-slinging West.
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In the novella Six-Gun Snow White, Valente transports the title’s heroine to an Old West where Coyote is just as likely to be found as the seven dwarves. A plain-spoken narrator relates the history of her parents—a Nevada silver baron who forced the Crow people to give up one of their daughters, Gun That Sings, in marriage to him. With her mother’s death in childbirth, so begins a heroine’s tale equal parts heartbreak and strength. This girl has been born into a world with no place for a half-native, half-white child. After being hidden for years, a very wicked stepmother finally gifts her with the name Snow White, referring to the pale skin she will never have. The story provides glimpses through the fabled looking glass and a close-up look at hard living in the gritty gun-slinging West.