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cass_nobody's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aminowrimo's review against another edition
3.0
This was a nice collection of stories. My list of most interesting/favorites:
- An Impossible Enchantment
- The Partnership of the Liar and the Thief
- What Comes of Picking Flowers
- The Daughter of Buk Ettemsuch
- Cannetella
- The Fairy's Blunder
- Prunella
- An Impossible Enchantment
- The Partnership of the Liar and the Thief
- What Comes of Picking Flowers
- The Daughter of Buk Ettemsuch
- Cannetella
- The Fairy's Blunder
- Prunella
skilletsnail's review against another edition
4.0
Really fun but I wish it had annotations of some sort explaining what various monsters were.
iceangel9's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The sixth book in his collection of fantasy fairy tales. Another masterpiece collection from Lange. A must read for lovers of classic fairy tales.
toad_maiden's review against another edition
3.0
The best stories: "The Goblin Pony," "The Partnership of the Thief and the Liar," "What Came of Picking Flowers," "The Story of the Queen of the Flowery Isles," and "Long, Broad, and Quick-Eye."
jennoux's review against another edition
1.0
1.5
It's my least favorite so far... so much racism in this one!
It's my least favorite so far... so much racism in this one!
bunnies's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jensypensy89's review against another edition
3.0
This was not my favorite fairy tale book ever. Some of the fairy tales were really weird...like mixtures of several of the more popular ones from the Grimm brothers. Some of them were really good. I probably won't read it again though.
sonshinelibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
This was all right. I didn't find as many interesting in this one as I have in some of the others. There are fewer stories I am familiar with, though, so it's interesting in that way.
hazelalaska's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
2.5
Halfway through this "series" at last. It's taken me a long time but I enjoy seeing stories from different cultures and finding inspiration from stories I think have the potential for retellings. I do have to say that many of the stories rely on similar tropes so they seem like the same story over and over again, just with small variations, but there are some unique ones as well.
I didn't like this one as much as some of the other books, because many of the stories were just okay for me. They didn't wow me, and there were quite a few that disappointed me. There were also some that I really disliked, mostly because there was so much unnecessary killing and violence against innocent people and creatures. I don't mind if the people were bad or deserved it, but I think some of the deaths were uncalled for within the stories because these characters didn't do anything wrong, and it made me dislike the protagonists.
In my edition at least two of the stories were not listed in the table of contents and it appears that one story, The Bear, is missing altogether, unless it also wasn't listed and I just missed it somehow. From what I saw online this is supposed to have 35 stories and mine only had 34. I found no new favorites in this book, so I'll just skip to the ones I thought were good.
Good:
An Impossible Enchantment
Cannetella
Long, Broad, and Quickeye
Prunella
The Goat-faced Girl
The Magician's Horse
The Story of Bensurdatu
The Story of Dschemil and Dschemila
The Story of the Queen of the Flowery Isles
The Street Musicians
The Sunchild
The Unlooked for Prince
The White Wolf
What Came of Picking Flowers
Okay:
A Fairy's Blunder
Bobino
Donkey Skin
Fortunatus and His Purse
Herr Lazarus and the Draken
Janni and the Draken
The Daughter of Buk Ettemsuch
The Dog and the Sparrow
The Jackal and the Spring
The Little Gray Man
The Ogre
The Partnership of the Thief and the Liar
The Simpleton
The Story of the Fair Circassians- This one was a bit long and I didn't really understand it because I got completely lost in the middle. I did like the beginning though.
The Story of the Three Sons of Hali- This one was far too long for me and I didn't end up finishing it. I got a bit confused and bored and wanted to move on. I think it also connects to the previous story and they might have been in the wrong order in my edition because this one just randomly ends. I think The Story of the Fair Circassians was meant to be after this one but it was listed before.
The Twin Brothers
Udea and her Seven Brothers
Didn't like:
Laughing Eye and Weeping Eye, or the Limping Fox- This one irked me in particular because it uses a plot device that I can't stand, which is the character doing exactly what they are specifically told not to do multiple times, repeatedly making the same mistake even though bad things happen as a result. I've seen it a few other times and I'm just tired of it, but the ending to this one was rushed and I didn't enjoy it at all.
Mohammed with the Magic Finger- This I think takes the cake for the worst story I've read from one of these books. There is so much unnecessary killing and all the characters are pretty horrible, including the protagonist. He is incredibly dishonest and unlikeable. It also felt like the story dragged on for too long, which did not help my mood. I don't plan on ever rereading this particular story.
The Goblin Pony- This was another horrible one, and then it just randomly ended and I didn't see the point of it other than as a moral story to tell children to listen to their elders but there was nothing enjoyable about it.
I didn't like this one as much as some of the other books, because many of the stories were just okay for me. They didn't wow me, and there were quite a few that disappointed me. There were also some that I really disliked, mostly because there was so much unnecessary killing and violence against innocent people and creatures. I don't mind if the people were bad or deserved it, but I think some of the deaths were uncalled for within the stories because these characters didn't do anything wrong, and it made me dislike the protagonists.
In my edition at least two of the stories were not listed in the table of contents and it appears that one story, The Bear, is missing altogether, unless it also wasn't listed and I just missed it somehow. From what I saw online this is supposed to have 35 stories and mine only had 34. I found no new favorites in this book, so I'll just skip to the ones I thought were good.
Good:
An Impossible Enchantment
Cannetella
Long, Broad, and Quickeye
Prunella
The Goat-faced Girl
The Magician's Horse
The Story of Bensurdatu
The Story of Dschemil and Dschemila
The Story of the Queen of the Flowery Isles
The Street Musicians
The Sunchild
The Unlooked for Prince
The White Wolf
What Came of Picking Flowers
Okay:
A Fairy's Blunder
Bobino
Donkey Skin
Fortunatus and His Purse
Herr Lazarus and the Draken
Janni and the Draken
The Daughter of Buk Ettemsuch
The Dog and the Sparrow
The Jackal and the Spring
The Little Gray Man
The Ogre
The Partnership of the Thief and the Liar
The Simpleton
The Story of the Fair Circassians- This one was a bit long and I didn't really understand it because I got completely lost in the middle. I did like the beginning though.
The Story of the Three Sons of Hali- This one was far too long for me and I didn't end up finishing it. I got a bit confused and bored and wanted to move on. I think it also connects to the previous story and they might have been in the wrong order in my edition because this one just randomly ends. I think The Story of the Fair Circassians was meant to be after this one but it was listed before.
The Twin Brothers
Udea and her Seven Brothers
Didn't like:
Laughing Eye and Weeping Eye, or the Limping Fox- This one irked me in particular because it uses a plot device that I can't stand, which is the character doing exactly what they are specifically told not to do multiple times, repeatedly making the same mistake even though bad things happen as a result. I've seen it a few other times and I'm just tired of it, but the ending to this one was rushed and I didn't enjoy it at all.
Mohammed with the Magic Finger- This I think takes the cake for the worst story I've read from one of these books. There is so much unnecessary killing and all the characters are pretty horrible, including the protagonist. He is incredibly dishonest and unlikeable. It also felt like the story dragged on for too long, which did not help my mood. I don't plan on ever rereading this particular story.
The Goblin Pony- This was another horrible one, and then it just randomly ended and I didn't see the point of it other than as a moral story to tell children to listen to their elders but there was nothing enjoyable about it.
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