A review by singalana
Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm

adventurous lighthearted reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

As this is a complete collection of fairy tales, it's a very mixed bag. Some of them are witty and funny, and others incredibly repetitive and confusing. And often similar tales follow each other, so basically it's the same story twice. 

A modern reader can pick up elements that would nowadays be considered problematic: women are treated as prizes, the ugly and overweight are often presented as evil, and there is some antisemitism as well. 

About 15 % of these stories are actually good, 35 % fulfil the need for nostalgia for those who grew up listening to these stories. And the rest… Well, frankly I could have done without. 
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