Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
6.5/10.
The pros: I thoroughly enjoyed the way Pullman wrote these stories and I enjoyed a majority of them! I didn't think I'd get into a book like this too easily, but I found that I kept wanting to continue reading and read the next story. I knew a significant amount of these tales but definitely not all of them, so this was a good introduction to the others.
The cons: The stories Pullman chose to retell here became a tad repetitive and he seemed pretty judgmental about some of them in his notes about them.
The conclusion: Enjoyable, though not essential.
The pros: I thoroughly enjoyed the way Pullman wrote these stories and I enjoyed a majority of them! I didn't think I'd get into a book like this too easily, but I found that I kept wanting to continue reading and read the next story. I knew a significant amount of these tales but definitely not all of them, so this was a good introduction to the others.
The cons: The stories Pullman chose to retell here became a tad repetitive and he seemed pretty judgmental about some of them in his notes about them.
The conclusion: Enjoyable, though not essential.
Passing fair, but not impressed. Review here: https://thislifeofliterature.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/review-grimm-tales-for-young-and-old-philip-pullman/
medium-paced
Won't rate this. Sort of book I'll dip into occasionally.
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book even though it was very absurd and a bit abstract.
Well, overall it was an interesting read. I enjoyed reading the origin of tales I enjoyed as a child, and to see the inspiration behind the Disney versions. I also enjoyed some of the tales I did not know, but were weird or smart or imaginative in unique ways - like the creepy Juniper tree, the funny little tailor, and the super weird loyal Hans. I also view this as an anthropological experience - trying to understand which tales people told, how they viewed the world, and their morals.
However, there were too many tales and the tales were to similar for me to enjoy it throughout the whole book. I think I'll die if I hear about another maiden with skin white as snow and lips red as apples.
I recommend the book for anyone interested in the origin of these fairy tales. However, I would skip it (or read only some of it) if this topic is not your favorite.
However, there were too many tales and the tales were to similar for me to enjoy it throughout the whole book. I think I'll die if I hear about another maiden with skin white as snow and lips red as apples.
I recommend the book for anyone interested in the origin of these fairy tales. However, I would skip it (or read only some of it) if this topic is not your favorite.
I read this on holiday, and it took me a while. The weather on the Costa del Sol rendered me incapable of doing much other than sliding gracelessly from my sunbed to my pool every ten minutes.
I was brought up on Disney films as a child, and was also often bought fairy-tale anthologies to read. I was more than familiar with the more well-known tales, and vaguely familiar with the lesser known ones. Snow White was always a particular favourite of mine, both the Disney and the more (and less) authentic versions of the story gave me the chills. As a pale and dark haired child, I absorbed the story as part of my identity, as many young girls were still known to do as part of my childhood.
I also adore Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials are some of my favourite novels of all time. His books fall into the unique category of books I cannot bear to part with because it feels important that when I re-read the story, it's the same books that I bought as young teenager.
I did enjoy this book a lot, though not as much as I have enjoyed his novels. I liked having the opportunity to read tales that I was unfamiliar with, and there were many that certainly lived up to all my expectations, notable examples include The Juniper Tree, Thousandhands, and The Goosegirl At The Spring. I also enjoyed the notes included after each story that, at times, provided a fascinating insight into the origin and evolution of the tales. Pullman is the perfect writer to present these tales, having no qualms about presenting the darker aspects of the stories in bold, unflinching descriptions that make for disturbing as well as entertaining fairy-tales, much as I suspect the original story-tellers intended.
I found it difficult to become fully immersed in the book however, and looking back through the contents page, there are more stories than I originally thought that I can recall little or no details of. I didn't at all expect that I was be equally enthralled by each tale, the beauty of this kind of book is that everyone will be differently affected by each tale and will in turn have their own personal favourites that will stay with them. That being said, when thinking about it, there is a larger proportion of the tales that left me cold, or that I felt needed a little something more, than those that did not. It could be that I am expecting an anthology of fairy-tales to draw me in the same way that a really good novel can. I nearly always favour a novel to a book of short stories or poetry, I am a greedy reader, I like an epic story that occupies me for as long as physically possible, much like Pullman's other work does.
Rated four stars, rather than three, because of my suspicions that I might be letting my reading preferences unfairly judge the quality of this book.
I was brought up on Disney films as a child, and was also often bought fairy-tale anthologies to read. I was more than familiar with the more well-known tales, and vaguely familiar with the lesser known ones. Snow White was always a particular favourite of mine, both the Disney and the more (and less) authentic versions of the story gave me the chills. As a pale and dark haired child, I absorbed the story as part of my identity, as many young girls were still known to do as part of my childhood.
I also adore Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials are some of my favourite novels of all time. His books fall into the unique category of books I cannot bear to part with because it feels important that when I re-read the story, it's the same books that I bought as young teenager.
I did enjoy this book a lot, though not as much as I have enjoyed his novels. I liked having the opportunity to read tales that I was unfamiliar with, and there were many that certainly lived up to all my expectations, notable examples include The Juniper Tree, Thousandhands, and The Goosegirl At The Spring. I also enjoyed the notes included after each story that, at times, provided a fascinating insight into the origin and evolution of the tales. Pullman is the perfect writer to present these tales, having no qualms about presenting the darker aspects of the stories in bold, unflinching descriptions that make for disturbing as well as entertaining fairy-tales, much as I suspect the original story-tellers intended.
I found it difficult to become fully immersed in the book however, and looking back through the contents page, there are more stories than I originally thought that I can recall little or no details of. I didn't at all expect that I was be equally enthralled by each tale, the beauty of this kind of book is that everyone will be differently affected by each tale and will in turn have their own personal favourites that will stay with them. That being said, when thinking about it, there is a larger proportion of the tales that left me cold, or that I felt needed a little something more, than those that did not. It could be that I am expecting an anthology of fairy-tales to draw me in the same way that a really good novel can. I nearly always favour a novel to a book of short stories or poetry, I am a greedy reader, I like an epic story that occupies me for as long as physically possible, much like Pullman's other work does.
Rated four stars, rather than three, because of my suspicions that I might be letting my reading preferences unfairly judge the quality of this book.
Cute, and often amusing, but would probably work better as a print book to dip in and out of then as an audio, listening to the stories back-to-back.
This is definitely not a Disneyfied version of the tales though, but grim and gruesome, and often the bad guys, or those who just behave badly, will come out on top.
This is definitely not a Disneyfied version of the tales though, but grim and gruesome, and often the bad guys, or those who just behave badly, will come out on top.