Reviews

The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm

vsnotresponding's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition

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What can i say about Grimm's fairy tales that hasn't been iterated a dozen times over - they're gruesome, violent, depressing, occasionally bawdy, and all 260-some stories seems little more than variations on a dozen different plot lines (with, for the most part, equally unoriginal titles). Some of the tales, no matter how many times i've read them, still don't make two cents of sense ("Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie", notably). and every fifth character is named Hans, or doesn't have any name at all (do you know how many generic princesses and maidens there are in this thing?). Still, it's a nice big book to curl up in pile of pillows with. And it's a classic - you can't see the Disney versions and then not read these.



A fun collection (and i actually do usually read it cover-to-cover, although i don't really recommend that. it gets pretty dreary after an hour or two).

jazlem's review against another edition

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adventurous dark lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I read this because I feel like it's one of those books you should read in your lifetime, but a lot of the stories were similar and has the same plot line. Also the women characters had literally no automony and had no choice but to end up married to their rescuer or abuser! It got some stars because it was good to read the original tales behind the Disney classics.

kat1776's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

3.0

foreverbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious sad 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

3.0

carlyg123's review against another edition

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3.0

Tom Thumb and the little Peasant should collaborate - I imagine that would work. Although Tom wasn't particularly viscous with his intentions, his goal was actually rather reasonable, they each used a fair level of skulduggery. // And...was Clever Gretel actually clever at all? I mean the intuition was there but...greed essentially played the greatest role. // Rumplestiltskin went from being a hobgoblin to a dwarf in reference... I'm sure there are differences between the two. // As for the old woman in the chair of the "murderers' lair" how did we know she could be trusted? Why hadn't she been killed? Was she too old? Was she somehow involved? The men listened to her when she said they should stop looking for the finger. Why? Had she helped them before? Was the idea for the girl to marry and take the old woman's place? If they had wanted to kill her there would have been many opportunities. Why go to the trouble of getting married just to kill someone? In fairy tale it seems quite odd. The other girl killed was just a bound and gagged stranger - as far as we know. Her death could have been to see if the fiancée stepped in to help the girl or if she was happy to go along with the murder. She wasn't asked to explain why she didn't turn up for the party; maybe they knew she was there, really. The old woman could have escaped any time the men were out, she didn't need a sleeping draught to do that. What happened to her after? // At a certain point, the tales stopped being thought-provoking and in the end it became a drag.

heleneb's review

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medium-paced

5.0

psyckers's review against another edition

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4.0

A great collection of stories that engage, even though at times they can seem a little repetitive.
The style may feel dated, but when you remember when they were first publish, and the preface explains the circumstances that motivated the set of stories, your perspective changes to admiration on the Grimm Brothers Intuition in compiling such stories.
But cautious is required as some stories are quite dark and impressionable minds may be traumatized by thinking a bit too deeply or literally about the stories.

ids100's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A

4.25