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78 reviews for:
The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales
Franz Xaver von Schönwerth
3.54 AVERAGE
78 reviews for:
The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales
Franz Xaver von Schönwerth
3.54 AVERAGE
This book is interesting, if a bit academic. For the uninitiated, it is a collection of recently re-discovered fairy tales that were documented by Franz Xaver Von Schonwerth in the Bavaria region of modern day Germany. Von Schonwerth was a contemporary of the Grimm brothers, however his pursuit was toward preserving the oral tradition of fairy stories rather than producing something for mass consumption. The resulting tales are slightly more brutal and blunt with less regard for internal consistency when a point needs to be made. Each tale is short, but well translated and while there are certainly some familiar themes there are also a number of stories that I'd never encountered before. Definitely worth reading if you appreciate the myths, legends, and fairy stories of historical Europe.
While the tales themselvs are not always so dissimilar or meaningful, they are enjoyable and the commentary in the back is invaluable.
I've long grown tired of modern pop culture's view of the fairy tale. A syrupy shallow thing predominately the domain of Girls, princesses, and the Walt Disney Company.
So when I saw that penguin classics was offering newly discovered fairy tales, I was quite excited. Schonwerth , unlike his contemporaries (The Brothers Grimm) didnt feel the need to smooth out the rough edges or the more boorish, sexual, or blasphemous of the over 500 tales he collected in Eastern Bavaria. Interestingly this seemed to be a possible factor to his work being lost, until it was discovered in a town archive in 2009.
The tales are pretty good for the most part, they mostly lack the flow and polish of Grimm's , but feel more like a primary source. The later half is better than the first half, since they don't share as many similarities with other well known fairy tales. Also, finally, someone points out that guys have been given the shift as fairy tale protagonists for the last century. As much as I like princesses, I'm so very weary of their overtaking of everything.
Favorite tale:
Anna Mayalla (really well written)
So when I saw that penguin classics was offering newly discovered fairy tales, I was quite excited. Schonwerth , unlike his contemporaries (The Brothers Grimm) didnt feel the need to smooth out the rough edges or the more boorish, sexual, or blasphemous of the over 500 tales he collected in Eastern Bavaria. Interestingly this seemed to be a possible factor to his work being lost, until it was discovered in a town archive in 2009.
The tales are pretty good for the most part, they mostly lack the flow and polish of Grimm's , but feel more like a primary source. The later half is better than the first half, since they don't share as many similarities with other well known fairy tales. Also, finally, someone points out that guys have been given the shift as fairy tale protagonists for the last century. As much as I like princesses, I'm so very weary of their overtaking of everything.
Favorite tale:
Anna Mayalla (really well written)
I particularly liked The Beautiful Slave Girl, The Portrait, and Learning How To Steal. Seven with One Blow, The Scorned Princess, Woodpecker, The Red Silk Ribbon, and "Don't Get Mad!" were pretty good too. Anna Manalapan and The Clever Tailor were horrifying. Tricking the Witch and Oferla were also pretty messed up, but in an awesome way. Pearl Tears, Flour for Snow, Hoydel, and The Talker were also interesting. What The Moon Tried To Wear was just charming.
Rating: 7/10
This was fine. As with so many collections of fairy tales, it was quite repetitive, with the same story repeated in slightly different iterations throughout the collection.
I thought there was an interesting representation of men in roles that other fairy tale collectors had women in. For instance, here, von Schönwerth had a female frog princess and a male prince, and there were lots of other stories where women helped hapless men in their journeys. I think this collection evens the representation somewhat. Still, it's not a collection I would revisit.
This was fine. As with so many collections of fairy tales, it was quite repetitive, with the same story repeated in slightly different iterations throughout the collection.
I thought there was an interesting representation of men in roles that other fairy tale collectors had women in. For instance, here, von Schönwerth had a female frog princess and a male prince, and there were lots of other stories where women helped hapless men in their journeys. I think this collection evens the representation somewhat. Still, it's not a collection I would revisit.
These recently discovered fairy tales are by turns amusing, strange, and bewildering. Compared to the more familiar stories handed down to us by the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, these are rough, raw works. There are some very different stories here, ones which feel quite unfamiliar, and that is very intriguing. There are also common themes that will feel quite familiar to anyone who has read the Grimm stories or the compilations by Andrew Lang. These are tales that have not been revised and polished, so much of their charm comes from the sense that they are straight from the mouth of the peasant, the farmer, the woodcutter, the housewife. If you are interested in folklore, these are a wonderful addition to the standard works you probably already own.
adventurous
informative
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Very fun read, but the commentary is very inconsistent
A fascinating view of oral fairy-tales that haven't been chopped and screwed by the Brother's Grimm, this book offers such interesting insights into the main themes and (sometimes rambling) structures of these stories.