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A review by katiemoten
The Complete Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault by Nicoletta Simborowski, Sally Holmes, Charles Perrault, Neil Philip
3.0
Rating: 3/5
Perrault's tales have the distinction of being some of the best-known fairy tales in the world, spawning several expansions and adaptations. Probably the most famous adaptation of Perrault is Disney's Cinderella. What's interesting about reading Perrault himself, though, is how different some of the tales are from the versions you hear as a child. Perrault's Sleeping Beauty and Red Riding Hood are not quite the stories I remember hearing when I was little.
Part of the pleasure of this collection is discovering how different some stories are. Another pleasure is the humour and whimsy of the tales and their morals. There's also something magical about reading the words 'Once Upon a Time', which I haven't encountered in any of the other original tellers I've been reading.
This collection also includes three verse tales, the most notable of which are the story of Patient Griselda and Donkey Skin. Donkey Skin especially is interesting, because it's not a story I heard when I was little and the comparison with Cinderella is obvious.
One thing that struck me is how silly some of the stories are, mainly because they're lacking in explanation or detail. Characters appear that don't really have a purpose also. It feels as though some of the stories are unfinished, but I suppose that's how fairy tales or folk tales are often. It makes me glad that there are expanded versions of these tales, because the sparseness of these tales would make me want more story.
Perrault's tales have the distinction of being some of the best-known fairy tales in the world, spawning several expansions and adaptations. Probably the most famous adaptation of Perrault is Disney's Cinderella. What's interesting about reading Perrault himself, though, is how different some of the tales are from the versions you hear as a child. Perrault's Sleeping Beauty and Red Riding Hood are not quite the stories I remember hearing when I was little.
Part of the pleasure of this collection is discovering how different some stories are. Another pleasure is the humour and whimsy of the tales and their morals. There's also something magical about reading the words 'Once Upon a Time', which I haven't encountered in any of the other original tellers I've been reading.
This collection also includes three verse tales, the most notable of which are the story of Patient Griselda and Donkey Skin. Donkey Skin especially is interesting, because it's not a story I heard when I was little and the comparison with Cinderella is obvious.
One thing that struck me is how silly some of the stories are, mainly because they're lacking in explanation or detail. Characters appear that don't really have a purpose also. It feels as though some of the stories are unfinished, but I suppose that's how fairy tales or folk tales are often. It makes me glad that there are expanded versions of these tales, because the sparseness of these tales would make me want more story.