A Web of Stories

The spider, whose capacity for arousing both awe and dread makes it an appropriate familiar for human story weavers, is celebrated in a series of tales that range from the light-hearted to the lurid. The transformations of Ananse and Arachne, one comical, one tragic and disturbing, frame lesser known tales from Aztec, African, Christian and Australian Aborigine traditions. The tales are as intriguingly woven, and as distinctive, as the web designs which inspired them. Grace Hallworth vividly expresses a wide range of moods, making this a very versatile book for reading aloud.