The Prince and the Troll

Faraway collection

By: Rainbow Rowell

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

Length: 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

A charming everyman and a mysterious something-under-the-bridge cross paths in a short fairy tale by the number one New York Times bestselling author of Eleanor & Park and the Simon Snow series.

It’s fate when a man accidentally drops his phone off the bridge. It’s fortune when it’s retrieved by a friendly shape sloshing in the muck underneath. From that day forward, as they share a coffee every morning, an unlikely friendship blooms. Considering the reality for the man above, where life seems perfect, and that of the sharp-witted creature below, how forever after can a happy ending be?

The Prince and the Troll is part of Faraway, a collection of retold fairy tales that take the happily-ever-after in daring new directions. Whether read or listened to in one sitting, prepare to be charmed, moved, enlightened, and frightened all over again.

©2020 Rainbow Rowell (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved

Not quite a prince, a troll, and a tragedy

A charming and attractive young man, whose name we eventually learn in Adam, is walking to work when he accidentally drops his phone off the bridge. It's retrieved for him by a friendly troll--a friendly female troll. From that point on, they meet every day for coffee, which he picks up at the nearest Starbucks.

Over the course of their conversations, we learn, gradually, that the river is drying up, that there is no rain, and that somehow the Road, the magnificent Road, may be responsible for this. And Adam, it seems, works on the Road. He's one of the people responsible for keeping it safe, and smooth, with good signage.

The river dying up is obviously not good for the troll, or other trolls, or the plants that grow along it.

The Road, it seems, is not good for any living things.

As I was listening to this, the story didn't quite work for me. Yet now, as I'm writing about it, the complexities of the story, which I did notice as I listened, are seeming more compelling. What that means exactly, I have no idea.

Overall, though, an interesting story, even if not perfect.

I bought this audiobook.

A caffeine charged fairytale

Quite an interesting short story. I loved the connection that the prince and the troll forged over daily coffees. But, the story was so darn sad!!!!! I was fully prepared for a little HEA and didn’t get it! 😭

What was this? Moral story, not Christmas

This was NOT a Christmas story, nor a romance. Why was this recommended as a nice holiday selection?

If I’d wanted a lecture on being green, I would have looked for one.

Geez this was sad.

Performance was good.

Eh

3.5 stars
Was this a Starbucks ad cleverly disguised as a book? That’s how it felt honestly.

Stupid and Pointless

This was disappointing. Stupid and pointless. I was expecting something interesting. This definitely was not. Narration on the audio book was okay. Don't waste your time on this one.

Metaphors and Macchiatos

I’m not entirely certain what it was I just read. It was either a metaphor for homelessness, or global warming, or something else In not smart enough to understand.

Regardless, I didn’t have to understand it to enjoy it. The only real thing there is to hold onto in this story is the sweet unfolding of the relationship between Adam and “You”. It was understated and melancholy, and I’m surprised to say it gave me a sniffle at the end.

Not bad for a story that’s essentially nonsense!

Such a weird story

This is just an odd story with no point. I almost stopped in the middle when “woke” messages started to come out but kept with it hoping it would get better. Nope, just pointless in my opinion.

Opposites attract?

For a short, twisted fairytale story about a man who drops his phone accidentally over a bridge and a troll woman who lives under it, this was a very empty story. A pair of clumsy hands leads to a few days of stilted talk between the two, uncomfortable exchanges of Starbucks, and witless banter. More he-said, she-said dialogue and then it ends (very sadly, I might add) in twenty minutes. No filler or hidden moral: it's just a short story that exists. I at least would've appreciated if he had tried to find out more about her (i.e. why is she living under a bridge?!) or even helping her (besides the stilted talk and the flavorless Vanilla coffee from Starbucks). Best part though is at least it's short.

Great adaptation

This story was great. I thought the modern references were funny. The new story was pretty complete from start to finish.

Very Strange

This short little book was very strange. It wasn’t good but it wasn’t bad either. The performance was excellent, which is probably the only reason that I kept listening. The writing is also very good, but the subject matter was just odd. It was also very melancholy and probably not what people expect when they think of a fairy tale.

What is that?

First, I was under the impression that I am downloading a kids' story. No.
Second, I just found the story really confusing.. it felt like the author was engaged at the beginning but at the end just really wanted to wrap up the whole story as soon as possible.
Weird. The type that I don't want to think about because it will give me nightmares 😅

A Fairy Story for Adults

Loved this story..... it had me hooked until the end. The narration was absolutely perfect, I can't wait to listen to the other stories in this series. Highly recommend!

What is this story?

I read the review of this story after I had finished this and I couldn’t agree with it more. I rarely give poor reviews but I got it this prime reading and I love fairy tales so I though it would be fun and I was more confused than anything. Though the narration is good I think Starbucks may have sponsored this book because of the amount menu Items that are mentioned. I kept thinking the story was going somewhere but it really didn’t. I honestly have have no idea what the moral of the story or if that was the point? Was it about big brother?, climate change? Using up resources? A road? If you like abstract stories you may enjoy this, but just a warning if you have read the menu at Starbucks that’s literally a third the story there.

Narrator is fine but the plot goes nowhere

Got this book for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Every time I thought it was going somewhere it didn’t. There are a lot of mentions of Starbucks, I feel like I know a quarter of the American menu. I genuinely do not know if this was even about a troll, but it wasn’t about a prince. If a story of loose ends is what you’re looking for, and no point this is it.

I don’t understand so much of what I read, so many questions, so few answers. I guess some of it was about climate change but who knows really? There are also new iPhones, “the road”, a dark wizard and crows mentioned nearly as much as any other point...

I hate giving 1 star reviews but even as a short story this was more like a fever dream than an actual published piece of penmanship.

The narration was fine but I felt that the story itself really made it difficult to get invested into the content.

Makes you think

Easy on the ear. Makes you think about the hidden message. Enjoyed a lot.