Reviews

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

tallulahchanel's review against another edition

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I grew up watching the Disney retelling as well as the most recent live action and I loved them both, so I wanted to read the original story. I had so much difficulty getting into it that I couldn't finish it. This is nothing against the author, this book just isn't for me.

levitatingnumeral's review against another edition

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4.0

A short review for a short story: with an enchanting writing, coloured with metaphors, The Little Mermaid tells a sad, yet very beautiful story. An excellent read.

silenthillda's review against another edition

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3.0

Overall Rating: 3.5

I adore the Disney 1987 Classic and the new remake is coming out this week, so I decided to check out the original fairy tale.

The same skeleton is there. A young mermaid falls for the world of land and the boy who inhabits it.

What differentiates this version is it’s a bit darker in tone and does not end the same. I did enjoy it because it was quite different enough to get into. Hans descriptions are very vivid. Even with this being short, I teleported into the story.

There’s many interpretations and lessons you can get with the story. Overall it is enjoyable and it’s short. A bit melancholy but also slightly hopeful. It does have religious subtexts but not over handed.

ayazz's review against another edition

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3.0

i LOVE an unhappy ending

avalinda's review against another edition

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5.0

Having grown up around a million different "Little Mermaid" adaptations, mostly in film, reading this story has been way overdue for me. I actually loved this much more than I expected, thanks to Andersen's haunting and beautiful writing. There were times I could almost see the deep blue depths of the sea, the shimmering palace of the underwater kingdom, the vastness of the sky above the ocean and the magnificence of the sunsets, ships, and icebergs. It was as if I experienced those things anew through the various mermaids' eyes.

Even the darker moments of the story were presented in sharp, heartbreaking fashion - from the sinister setting in which the sea-witch demanded her sacrifice, to the pain and despair of the little mermaid as she watched her dream slowly crumble to pieces. Though her fate was an unhappy one, I found it more realistic than the completely positive versions that I was used to; after all, humans are a fickle bunch, and very rarely do things go right for the innocent and kind among us. However, I'm glad there was still some potential for the mermaid's redemption at the end, even if she could never return to either world she had known. All things considered, out of all the mermaid stories I've encountered so far, this one will definitely remain my favorite.

cuddlesome's review against another edition

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2.0

WELL. HM.

This modern play adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's [b:The Little Mermaid|132391|The Little Mermaid|Hans Christian Andersen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309204955l/132391._SX50_.jpg|245197] seems like it would be a little painful to sit through in a theater with the way that the merpeople talk in very clipped, short sentences (unless given a potion to speak "human") for a large chunk of the story. There weren't enough transformative elements to make me feel like this version warranted existing.

Also, the main character is named Undine as a reference to Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's [b:Undine|140996|Undine|Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348601951l/140996._SX50_.jpg|2947682]. Just thought it was kind of interesting that that was the route they went given that this iteration of The Little Mermaid doesn't feel very similar to that story.

For what it's worth, the descriptions of the costumes and stunts sounded neat and I could get a good sense of what the aesthetic was going for. The stuff with the sea witch was vaguely interesting. That was about it.

the_knitted_reader's review

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2.0

What did I just read? I’ve always heard Disney films were far from the traditional tails, but oh my god what was that?! Mermaids have no souls, but if, somehow they can earn the love of a human, then they can become an invisible sylph, then spend 300 years trying to earn their immortal soul?! Seriously just stay in the water Ariel! Live your 300 years and the fade away into sea foam!!!

pacelikeaghost's review against another edition

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the little mermaid's decision making skills were horrible, to say the least. she's just like me fr

iwantsomesushe's review against another edition

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1.0

Nah the dickeating is crazy

eleanora0901's review against another edition

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3.0

3

“Never had she danced so beautifully; the sharp knives cut her feet, but she did not feel it, for the pain in her heart was far greater.”