A review by lezreadalot
Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki

3.0

This was good! I got exactly what I expected out of it, or maybe a little less. I picked it up because I wanted to read a bit more about the folklore of other countries, and Japanese mythology isn't something I know a lot about. All of the stories were interesting in their own way, but the method in which they were told... eh. In the forward, the author freely admits that she translated and adapted these tales specifically with an eye towards making them more digestible for a young, western audience, and you can tell. They all feel little bit watered down, and there are several words and phrases used that feel like they were picked out of any typical European fairytale. The author/translator also says that she changed and added things as she saw fit, which makes me really curious about what these stories are like in their original form. These just felt a little stiff, a little dry.

Still, I'm glad I read it. A few of them left an impact: The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab, The Ogre of Rashomom, The Farmer and the Badger, and The Shinansha. A lot of stories seemed to centre around old couples that wanted a baby, or suddenly found a baby, which is never my favourite theme, but ah well. Listened to the audiobook as read by Leslie Bellair, and it was fine. This was one of those books that I didn't take especial pleasure in, but I'm glad I read it for the experience and knowledge.