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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
I enjoyed reading this collection and would reread select stories. There were plenty I was unfamiliar with, and I found Pullmans endnotes to be informative and thought-provoking. The stories are formulaic and some are too similar to one another, but despite this and the misogynistic undertones I found these tales delightful.
new retelling of Grimm's fairy tales with a charming British accent.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
A couple of familiar stories but most were new to me. I enjoyed the stories but really had to get past the whole 'here, take my daughter as a reward' kind of thing!
These two brothers are solely responsible for most of the world knowing a number of fairy tales. Their names: Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, two Germans. They were neither the first nor the last to collect stories, slightly adapt and publish them as a collection. However, for some reason, their changes managed to enchant people and before long, theirs were THE Hausmärchen to have and know.
Philip Pullman is himself an accomplished author who has apparently been heavily influenced by classic fairy tales and seems delighted about their comeback that has taken place lately.
This collection, then, contains 53 fairy tales; the 53 fairy tales Philip Pullman supposedly loves the most, which have influenced him and his writing the most, and which he thought were most representative for certain styles and eras and messages to be conveyed.
A little bit of a recap first of all:
I grew up in a family where nobody reads. Thus, I was never told about children's classics or books that meant a lot to one relative or another. But I was lucky in that my great-grandmother often told me old tales of cursed princes and enchanted princesses, talking animals, wicked witches and cunning devils. At one point, my grandmother forbade it as it wasn't "proper" but the damage was done - magic had entered my life. My favourites, that I remember to this day, were The Goose Girl and Three Little Men In The Woods and The Golden Bird. There are others that left a lasting impression as well but there are so many that I cannot possibly talk about them all.
The same can be said about this collection: too many to name them all but they had the wonderful effect of bringing back my childhood. Not the Disney version either but the old and almost untamed versions of the fairy tales, as dark and bloody as they were. And they are a nice mixture of the typical and most famous ones and pretty unheard of ones as well. There is a certain atmosphere around them despite the fact that Pullman changed the fairy tales a little - according to the author, that is the way fairy tales were meant to be told anyway: each with a little personal bit of the teller thrown in (unlike stories from novels).
Naturally, many stories are quite silly what with people first doing all manner of things to get children but then treating them abominally; or people always being good-looking and therefore virtuous. Many of the tales also have similarities or even merged over time. Pullman often points out the interesting fact that many of the tales seem to be missing something structurally; making suggestions for how the stories should have been fleshed out. It's not a surprise that some stories seem to be missing some structure as these were originally told orally. Therefore, I especially like that after each tale, Pullman writes a note, explaining the origins of the respective tale, the way it is structured and other information.
I must say that the audio version really brought these stories to live. Probably because they were always meant to be passed on orally. The narrator is fantastic with different accents and has an impeccable sense for how to present them. However, the audio version does not have the aforementioned additional author's notes which is why I got the printed version as well.
This book offers a slightly more modern collection of some of the most influential and important fairy tales the Brothers Grimm brought to the world and despite me being a traditionalist when it comes to stories, I liked the changes Pullman had made as they were delicate and tasteful and I think this is a wonderful alternative to the classic collection (many don't have a copy of the Hausmärchen in the house anymore, saying they are too "old(fashioned)" so it's about time their printed version became more popular again).
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think I made a mistake reading this. I've never read the original Grimm Fairy Tales and these are edited versions of the originals by the Grimm Brothers. I wish I had so that I could compare them.
Philip left his opinions at the end of every tale and I eventually stopped reading them too. I had to. So I can have my own opinions of the stories when I do eventually read them. Sometimes he seemed rather rude about the stories/tales when they didn't deserve it.
I found from the 50 tales in this book that a lot of them seemed to repeat themselves. Or were really similar. There were a lot of miller's daughters and three kids that were white and snow and red and blood. Only one mentioned hair as black as ebony, the other was golden hair and the third didn't mention the colour at all. So, a little repetitive.
I do really regret reading this before reading the original versions. If you haven't read them then I don't recommend this for you. I got this from my library, who don't have any other books with the Grimm tales in them. My library really sucks most of the time.
I can't really say anything else about this. The book has 50 of the Grimm's stories but they've been edited or retold in a new edition. I'd like to see how much he changed them though. I feel like they're classics for a reason though and messing around with them just ruins them. I don't know. I mean, things like books and movies become classics for a reason. Saying that, I've read a few classics lately that I don't even get why they became classics in the first place. The Wind in the Willows for one.
Anyway, that's all I'm going to say about this book.
Philip left his opinions at the end of every tale and I eventually stopped reading them too. I had to. So I can have my own opinions of the stories when I do eventually read them. Sometimes he seemed rather rude about the stories/tales when they didn't deserve it.
I found from the 50 tales in this book that a lot of them seemed to repeat themselves. Or were really similar. There were a lot of miller's daughters and three kids that were white and snow and red and blood. Only one mentioned hair as black as ebony, the other was golden hair and the third didn't mention the colour at all. So, a little repetitive.
I do really regret reading this before reading the original versions. If you haven't read them then I don't recommend this for you. I got this from my library, who don't have any other books with the Grimm tales in them. My library really sucks most of the time.
I can't really say anything else about this. The book has 50 of the Grimm's stories but they've been edited or retold in a new edition. I'd like to see how much he changed them though. I feel like they're classics for a reason though and messing around with them just ruins them. I don't know. I mean, things like books and movies become classics for a reason. Saying that, I've read a few classics lately that I don't even get why they became classics in the first place. The Wind in the Willows for one.
Anyway, that's all I'm going to say about this book.
The cover is one of the best I've ever seen! That paper art is fantastic.
This is such an easy-read version of the Brothers Grimm... I gobbled it down it went so smoothly. Pullman's little comments at the end of each tale were quite interesting too; I especially liked the short catalogue of similar stories that went with each.
I got this from the library, but it's such a good quick reference that I think I'll go get my own copy.
This is such an easy-read version of the Brothers Grimm... I gobbled it down it went so smoothly. Pullman's little comments at the end of each tale were quite interesting too; I especially liked the short catalogue of similar stories that went with each.
I got this from the library, but it's such a good quick reference that I think I'll go get my own copy.