Reviews

The Folk Tales of Scotland : The Well at the World's End and Other Stories by William Montgomerie

pines_and_needles's review

adventurous dark funny informative lighthearted 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

4.0

thelibraryskeeper's review

5.0

What an amazing collection of Scottish folktales. I love that the authors found oral sources for many of the stories, its really special to know that they stories have been told the same way for so many years and I'm sitting at my desk reading the same tales. I loved the magic of these stories and plan to purchase this book for my personal library, as I've checked this one out from the library. I highly recommend this book for all fans of fairy tales and folktales alike. I'm half Scottish so these stories mean even more to me as its part of my heritage.

thatsme_lauravz's review

5.0

I'm not going to read these to children any time soon, but I really enjoyed this! Minus all the blood and death and stuff.

arantzazureads's review

5.0

Picked this one up while in Scotland--made the perfect companion to afternoon tea in that beautiful landscape! I love that they tell you what region each tale comes from, and if you're traveling through different regions as I did, you can follow along and read each relevant tale wherever you go. There's something really magical about connecting the place with the history with the people in this way.

orndal's review

adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

4.0

I thought it was very interesting how many of the stories were similar to the norwegian folk tales i read as a child, but i wish there had been more info about the tales.


The tales themselves are quick, and i feel like the montgomeries watered then down? What do i know. This book feels like a hug

teaandbooklover's review

4.0

What a beautiful book on the outside, and great tales on the inside. The binding and quality of this book are excellent also. I'm so glad this was reprinted, and so well too.

As for the tales, interesting and enjoyable for young and old alike. I like reading of folk tales, for myself and to the kids, because I think one can learn about human character and behavior through them, not to mention the beliefs of a culture.

Wonderful!

alexandramilne's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

lellis's review

4.0

A nice collection of stories! Reading then all after one another got a bit one-sided, but the retelling of the stories was super cosy and nice. Highly recommend!

tericarol21's review against another edition

4.0

A fascinating collection of tales, many recorded from oral tradition all around Scotland.
Like most folk tales, lots of these are very strange, and some have tragic endings, and there often is no "moral of the story" per se. But it is an interesting window to culture so often now lost.
Note: it's a good idea to read these in the order they are presented, because some rely on prior knowledge that is presented in earlier stories (especially the ones about Finn of the Feinne--you need the first story that explains about the wisdom tooth or you'll have no idea what's going on later!).

amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition

3.0

I FINALLY finished this!! This was a nice collection of folk tales. I loved how their was a glossary for some of the Scots words the reader may not understand. But I've come to the realization that thought I love, in general, fairy tale retellings and themes, I don't get much enjoyment when reading original fairy tales, Hans Christian Andersen excluded. I'm glad I actually read this collection, though, and it was a lovely souvenir of Scotland.