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maninee's review against another edition
4.0
14 year old me was a git and I cannot believe I was smug enough to add "unlike my peers" in a review. I'm surprised no one punched me in the face.
*Review of 30 Sep, 2011*
I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology and, unlike many of my peers, have been reading about it long before I even heard of the Percy Jackson series. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales was one of the first books that I had ever read on Greek mythology and nurtured my love for it. So when I saw the book on my school library shelf, I couldn't help picking it up.
This book was good read, though I must confess, I've read about most of the stories before from Roger Lancelyn Green's Tales of the Greek Heroes . But Hawthorne's way of storytelling is different from Lancelyn's and it was nice to read his version of the tales.
There were six stories in this book: The Pegasus, the magic pitcher, Pandora, the three golden apples, Medusa and Midas. All of them are famous Greek legends.
The writing dragged a bit most of the times but the descriptions were nice and Hawthorne's way of describing the gods is better than that of Lancelyn's(I especially liked his description of Mercury/Hermes as Quicksilver). The stories are written as though they are narrated by a character named Eustace. It's a good read but I think I like the Tanglewood Tales better 'cause it has a better collection.
*Review of 30 Sep, 2011*
I have always been fascinated by Greek mythology and, unlike many of my peers, have been reading about it long before I even heard of the Percy Jackson series. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Tanglewood Tales was one of the first books that I had ever read on Greek mythology and nurtured my love for it. So when I saw the book on my school library shelf, I couldn't help picking it up.
This book was good read, though I must confess, I've read about most of the stories before from Roger Lancelyn Green's Tales of the Greek Heroes . But Hawthorne's way of storytelling is different from Lancelyn's and it was nice to read his version of the tales.
There were six stories in this book: The Pegasus, the magic pitcher, Pandora, the three golden apples, Medusa and Midas. All of them are famous Greek legends.
The writing dragged a bit most of the times but the descriptions were nice and Hawthorne's way of describing the gods is better than that of Lancelyn's(I especially liked his description of Mercury/Hermes as Quicksilver). The stories are written as though they are narrated by a character named Eustace. It's a good read but I think I like the Tanglewood Tales better 'cause it has a better collection.
meaghanelizabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
3.0
summermsmith's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
5.0
The boys loved the read-aloud. It was adventurous, fun and a great primer for the Greek myths with an American telling his version of the tales. I enjoyed it as well!
reebsforspace's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
3.5
I liked Hawthorne’s set up with having Eustace relate stories to the children, it definitely added to the atmosphere. Some renditions I thought were better than the traditional version while others not, bits were a bit of a snore, but overall a fun time.
aabha's review against another edition
3.0
I must admit I bought this book for its looks. How shallow . What can I say, the silver edged paper, leather binding and Medusa with holographic details, the satin ribbon, beautiful pictures too. The myths themselves have been told better in other places but this book is such a beautiful object. It’s written for kids so I guess it’s a “clean” version of all the myths. Now what’s the fun in that right? I will find a better written book soon because the myths really are fascinating. Any recommendations are welcome.
veenasoujanya's review against another edition
5.0
Greek Myths by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a collection of 6 famous stories based on the myths and legends of Greek. These stories are narrated by Eustance Bright to a group of children who are his cousins. Keeping the legendary stories short and sweet the author presents the tales of "The Gorgon's Head", the tale of Medusa; "The Golden Touch", the story of Midas touch; "The Three Golden Apples", the narrative of Hercules and Atlas; "The Miraculous Pitcher", the fable of the pitcher which is always full and "The Chimaera", the legend of the winged horse, Pegasus. Easy to understand and straight to the point the stories are very interesting and entertaining.
skjam's review against another edition
3.0
Tanglewood is a large country house out in the Berkshires which is owned by the Pringle family. They have a great many relatives with young children who often come visiting, and it frequently falls to their sole teenage relative, Eustace Bright, to entertain the younglings. It’s a good thing that young Mr. Bright knows many fascinating stories, and delights in the telling of them! Through the year, he regales his audience with tales of Greek mythology.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the great American writers, creating The Scarlet Letter among other fine books, and was part of the Romantic and Gothic movements in literature. As seen in the introduction to this volume, he was also a firm believer in the right of writers to adapt and modernize stories in the public domain to match the needs of a new audience.
So it is that Eustace Bright feels free to switch details up, omit large sections and invent new plot points or characterization as he tells six stories from the Greek myth cycles. Covered in this volume are: Perseus & Medusa (which was also covered in The Blue Fairy Book which I have previously reviewed); King Midas and the Golden Touch; Pandora’s Box (lots of liberties taken here); Hercules and the Three Golden Apples; Philemon & Baucis; and Bellerophon & Pegasus. Introductions and postludes detail how each story comes to be told and the children’s reactions.
Mr. Hawthorne has some fun with his characters–Eustace has the sympathy of the narrator, but we are reminded from time to time that he is, after all, just a very bright teenager. The words “sophomoric erudition” are used, and Eustace has a fourth wall-breaking speech in which he admits that Hawthorne could in fact rewrite him and all his relatives at will. The member of the child audience who gets the most development is Primrose, a saucy thirteen year old lass who pokes fun at her older cousin’s self-importance even as she clamors for more of his stories.
The writing is lively and often humorous, but the “modernization” of the Greek myths ironically makes the telling seem old-fashioned. On the other hand, modern children might find the sections set in “the present day” more alien than the familiar stories of myth. There are also many fine illustrations by Walter Crane, including several color plates–sensitive parents should know that there’s some artistic nudity. And though some of the ickier aspects of Greek mythology are glossed over or omitted, there’s still plenty of violence.
The edition I have is a Barnes & Noble reprint; unlike The Blue Fairy Book it seems not to have been shortened. It’s a handsome book that should withstand being read by children.
Recommended for parents who want to introduce their children to relatively child-safe tellings of Greek mythology. I would suggest reading it with your children the first go-round to explain the setting of the frame story and help with some archaic words.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the great American writers, creating The Scarlet Letter among other fine books, and was part of the Romantic and Gothic movements in literature. As seen in the introduction to this volume, he was also a firm believer in the right of writers to adapt and modernize stories in the public domain to match the needs of a new audience.
So it is that Eustace Bright feels free to switch details up, omit large sections and invent new plot points or characterization as he tells six stories from the Greek myth cycles. Covered in this volume are: Perseus & Medusa (which was also covered in The Blue Fairy Book which I have previously reviewed); King Midas and the Golden Touch; Pandora’s Box (lots of liberties taken here); Hercules and the Three Golden Apples; Philemon & Baucis; and Bellerophon & Pegasus. Introductions and postludes detail how each story comes to be told and the children’s reactions.
Mr. Hawthorne has some fun with his characters–Eustace has the sympathy of the narrator, but we are reminded from time to time that he is, after all, just a very bright teenager. The words “sophomoric erudition” are used, and Eustace has a fourth wall-breaking speech in which he admits that Hawthorne could in fact rewrite him and all his relatives at will. The member of the child audience who gets the most development is Primrose, a saucy thirteen year old lass who pokes fun at her older cousin’s self-importance even as she clamors for more of his stories.
The writing is lively and often humorous, but the “modernization” of the Greek myths ironically makes the telling seem old-fashioned. On the other hand, modern children might find the sections set in “the present day” more alien than the familiar stories of myth. There are also many fine illustrations by Walter Crane, including several color plates–sensitive parents should know that there’s some artistic nudity. And though some of the ickier aspects of Greek mythology are glossed over or omitted, there’s still plenty of violence.
The edition I have is a Barnes & Noble reprint; unlike The Blue Fairy Book it seems not to have been shortened. It’s a handsome book that should withstand being read by children.
Recommended for parents who want to introduce their children to relatively child-safe tellings of Greek mythology. I would suggest reading it with your children the first go-round to explain the setting of the frame story and help with some archaic words.