Reviews

Fantastic Tales: Visionary and Everyday by Philarète Chasles, Ivan Turgenev, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Théophile Gautier, Jean Lorrain, Gérard de Nerval, Charles Dickens, Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Honoré de Balzac, Auguste de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, Walter Scott, Hans Christian Andersen, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Ambrose Bierce, Vernon Lee, Jan Potocki, Prosper Mérimée, Rudyard Kipling, Guy de Maupassant, Nikolai Leskov, Italo Calvino, Nikolai Gogol, J. Sheridan Le Fanu, H.G. Wells

glowe2's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

A collection of supernatural short stories.  As with many collections, your interest in the genre will determine your enjoyment of teh book.  I am not that big on fantasy but did enjoy the Robert Louis Stevenson story and a few others.

23149014345613's review against another edition

5.0

This really is a well-selected and well-arranged collection of short stories. The editor has thoughtfully created a comprehensible through-line, and the whole collection has a sense of rising tension and transformation. Great intro to some new authors I've been meaning to read for a while too - Balzac, Hoffman, Leskov, among others. I found myself constantly wanting to read one more, one more, until the whole thing had been gobbled up in record time. Gogol is starting to grow on me, but Robert Louis Stevenson is a clown. Can't believe I forced my way through Treasure Island when I was like 14.

mmarques's review

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This large tome contains short stories from the 1800s. While I love Italo Calvino’s fantastic tales, I didn’t care for many of the stories he selected for this collection.  One story by Sir Walter Raleigh, I didn’t finish, because I couldn’t follow the Irish dialog. My favourite story was the final story, by H. G. Wells, The Country of the Blind. 

breadandmushrooms's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

inesferreira's review against another edition

3.0

In general it was a good book. With so many story’s from so many different artists, sometimes it took me sometime “to get used to” a different type of writing. There were some really good and really bad tales, but overall it was way more positive.

nssmc's review against another edition

3.75

reading this stoned has to be one of my greatest ideas

mui's review against another edition

4.0

It was Calvino's name that drew me to this book and I'm so glad I read it. A fabulous anthology of fantastical tales.

My favorites: E.T.A. Hoffmann's The Sandman, Gogol's The Nose, The Elixir of Life by Honore de Balzac, Maupassant's Night: A Nightmare.

italo_carlvino's review against another edition

5.0

I really enjoyed this short story collection. I thought it would be kind of dull but these stories were some truly fantastic tales!