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olivvehh's review against another edition
4.0
Ganhei esse livro em um dos sorteios do Skoob e a minha leitura foi lenta e ainda está incompleta já que preciso finalizar alguns contos, mas acho que já posso marcá-lo como lido. Sinto que não é necessária a leitura completa de alguns livros de contos para compreender, isso porque as histórias não possuem ligação alguma apenas breves referências, esse é um, e gostei muito de algumas histórias como: "A pardaleja de língua cortada", "A história do homem que não queria morrer" e "A história de Urashima Taro, o jovem pescador", etc.
É um livro de contos que recomendo para quem tem curiosidade com a cultura japonesa e suas histórias, que assim como a chinesa, são fascinantes, culturalmente e historicamente.
É um livro de contos que recomendo para quem tem curiosidade com a cultura japonesa e suas histórias, que assim como a chinesa, são fascinantes, culturalmente e historicamente.
jozi_girl's review against another edition
2.0
In comparison to the Grimm Fairytales these stories almost seem to have no point or proper ending to them, with some just ending abruptly.
Whether this is is a case of the essence being lost in translation I cannot say for sure but I found this collection of short stories not nearly as charming as I hoped they would be.
My overall rating and enjoyment was also influenced by the fact that 1) I tend to be overly critical of audio-books (much more so than when I do the reading myself, 2) I have been listening to these stories on and off for over a year now and 3) I am not overly fond of short stories as it doesn’t give me enough time to get fully invested in the characters.
One thing that does seem to be universal though…. stepmothers are always evil, revenge is dished out with violent and unforgiving measures and villains & heroes are clearly stereotypical and predictable. But then again we all know that fairy tales are everything but fair….
Whether this is is a case of the essence being lost in translation I cannot say for sure but I found this collection of short stories not nearly as charming as I hoped they would be.
My overall rating and enjoyment was also influenced by the fact that 1) I tend to be overly critical of audio-books (much more so than when I do the reading myself, 2) I have been listening to these stories on and off for over a year now and 3) I am not overly fond of short stories as it doesn’t give me enough time to get fully invested in the characters.
One thing that does seem to be universal though…. stepmothers are always evil, revenge is dished out with violent and unforgiving measures and villains & heroes are clearly stereotypical and predictable. But then again we all know that fairy tales are everything but fair….
marasaory's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed it. The stories had enough Japanese elements to introduce the reader to some of the culture, without being overwhelming.
lezreadalot's review against another edition
3.0
This was good! I got exactly what I expected out of it, or maybe a little less. I picked it up because I wanted to read a bit more about the folklore of other countries, and Japanese mythology isn't something I know a lot about. All of the stories were interesting in their own way, but the method in which they were told... eh. In the forward, the author freely admits that she translated and adapted these tales specifically with an eye towards making them more digestible for a young, western audience, and you can tell. They all feel little bit watered down, and there are several words and phrases used that feel like they were picked out of any typical European fairytale. The author/translator also says that she changed and added things as she saw fit, which makes me really curious about what these stories are like in their original form. These just felt a little stiff, a little dry.
Still, I'm glad I read it. A few of them left an impact: The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab, The Ogre of Rashomom, The Farmer and the Badger, and The Shinansha. A lot of stories seemed to centre around old couples that wanted a baby, or suddenly found a baby, which is never my favourite theme, but ah well. Listened to the audiobook as read by Leslie Bellair, and it was fine. This was one of those books that I didn't take especial pleasure in, but I'm glad I read it for the experience and knowledge.
Still, I'm glad I read it. A few of them left an impact: The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab, The Ogre of Rashomom, The Farmer and the Badger, and The Shinansha. A lot of stories seemed to centre around old couples that wanted a baby, or suddenly found a baby, which is never my favourite theme, but ah well. Listened to the audiobook as read by Leslie Bellair, and it was fine. This was one of those books that I didn't take especial pleasure in, but I'm glad I read it for the experience and knowledge.
pazuzuhsp's review against another edition
4.0
at some point I should start comparing impressions. unsurprisingly, fairy tales are deeply different from one culture to another
joeytitmouse's review against another edition
4.0
Things I learnt from Japanese Fairy Tales
-Never trust a monkey.
-Never trust a stepmother.
-Never trust a stepmother with your monkey.
-Almost every boy in Japan is named Taro, or a variant of that name: Kintaro, Urashima Taro, Momotaro...
-If an old man wants to wrestle your teenage son in the woods (because the old man was watching the boy earlier and saw that he was big and strong), it's perfectly fine to send your son to the capital alone with the old man.
-Take care of your elders.
-Something somewhat absent from Western Fairy Tales (unless I'm mistaken), but evil people can change their ways and become good, through character building. Really the dichotomy of good and evil isn't as black and white.
-The Dragon King of the Sea lives beyond the sea in a beautiful underwater palace that somehow has air and fish attendants and no monkeys.
-When someone with magical powers tells you not to open a box, for the love of Buddha don't open it!
-Anything can walk and talk. Even a mortar.
-The jellyfish lost his spine because he trusted a monkey.
The translation is interesting. It is clearly written for an early 20th century western audience, who would be only vaguely familiar with Japanese customs. The author's history is an interesting note, she's pretty much precisely half-English half-Japanese, in both genetics and upbringing. She was born to an English mother and Japanese father, who separated soon after birth, so she spent her formative years in England, her teenage years in Japan, and the rest of her life in all place in between. Her marriage story is interesting : She kept on getting some other guy's mail in Japan who had the same last name as her, they eventually met and married. Cute.
I'm not a fan of the bracket translations of common Japanese words, not only are they unhelpful (maybe to a 21st century adult reader though), I mean, Samurai? But they are also strangely inconsistent. In "The Happy Hunter and the Skillful Fisher" we have "Mikoto" translated as "Augustness" (yea, a kid would totally that) almost every time. So the first few times she writes the term she then translates it in brackets, then a few times alone, then goes back to translation. I think we got it the first time!
But all in all, entertaining. It's neat to see folk stories from the other side of the world, and see how different yet how similar they all are. Definitely getting dated, but aren't all fairy tales supposed to be dated?
-Never trust a monkey.
-Never trust a stepmother.
-Never trust a stepmother with your monkey.
-Almost every boy in Japan is named Taro, or a variant of that name: Kintaro, Urashima Taro, Momotaro...
-If an old man wants to wrestle your teenage son in the woods (because the old man was watching the boy earlier and saw that he was big and strong), it's perfectly fine to send your son to the capital alone with the old man.
-Take care of your elders.
-Something somewhat absent from Western Fairy Tales (unless I'm mistaken), but evil people can change their ways and become good, through character building. Really the dichotomy of good and evil isn't as black and white.
-The Dragon King of the Sea lives beyond the sea in a beautiful underwater palace that somehow has air and fish attendants and no monkeys.
-When someone with magical powers tells you not to open a box, for the love of Buddha don't open it!
-Anything can walk and talk. Even a mortar.
-The jellyfish lost his spine because he trusted a monkey.
The translation is interesting. It is clearly written for an early 20th century western audience, who would be only vaguely familiar with Japanese customs. The author's history is an interesting note, she's pretty much precisely half-English half-Japanese, in both genetics and upbringing. She was born to an English mother and Japanese father, who separated soon after birth, so she spent her formative years in England, her teenage years in Japan, and the rest of her life in all place in between. Her marriage story is interesting : She kept on getting some other guy's mail in Japan who had the same last name as her, they eventually met and married. Cute.
I'm not a fan of the bracket translations of common Japanese words, not only are they unhelpful (maybe to a 21st century adult reader though), I mean, Samurai? But they are also strangely inconsistent. In "The Happy Hunter and the Skillful Fisher" we have "Mikoto" translated as "Augustness" (yea, a kid would totally that) almost every time. So the first few times she writes the term she then translates it in brackets, then a few times alone, then goes back to translation. I think we got it the first time!
But all in all, entertaining. It's neat to see folk stories from the other side of the world, and see how different yet how similar they all are. Definitely getting dated, but aren't all fairy tales supposed to be dated?