| Title | : | The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0691160597 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780691160597 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 568 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1815 |
From "The Frog King" to "The Golden Key," wondrous worlds unfold--heroes and heroines are rewarded, weaker animals triumph over the strong, and simple bumpkins prove themselves not so simple after all. Esteemed fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes offers accessible translations that retain the spare description and engaging storytelling style of the originals. Indeed, this is what makes the tales from the 1812 and 1815 editions unique--they reflect diverse voices, rooted in oral traditions, that are absent from the Grimms' later, more embellished collections of tales. Zipes's introduction gives important historical context, and the book includes the Grimms' prefaces and notes.
A delight to read, "The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm" presents these peerless stories to a whole new generation of readers."
The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: The Complete First Edition Reviews
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my becoming-a-genius project, part 15!
the background:
i have decided to become a genius.
to accomplish this, i'm going to work my way through the collected stories of various authors, reading + reviewing 1 story every day until i get bored / lose every single follower / am struck down by a vengeful deity.
in this case, i'm out of collected stories and really want to read some fairytales but this has 150 stories in it and i will NOT be reading the same book for 5 months so...5 stories a day it is. insert sunglasses emoji. i also won't be individually rating them, because they're like 3 sentences long.
PROJECT 1:
THE COMPLETE STORIES BY FLANNERY O'CONNOR
PROJECT 2:
HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES BY CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
PROJECT 3:
18 BEST STORIES BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
PROJECT 4:
THE LOTTERY AND OTHER STORIES BY SHIRLEY JACKSON
PROJECT 5:
HOW LONG 'TIL BLACK FUTURE MONTH? BY N.K. JEMISIN
PROJECT 6:
THE SHORT STORIES OF OSCAR WILDE BY OSCAR WILDE
PROJECT 7:
THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK BY ANDREW LANG
PROJECT 8:
GRAND UNION: STORIES BY ZADIE SMITH
PROJECT 9:
THE BEST OF ROALD DAHL BY ROALD DAHL
PROJECT 10:
LOVE AND FREINDSHIP BY JANE AUSTEN
PROJECT 11:
HOMESICK FOR ANOTHER WORLD BY OTTESSA MOSHFEGH
PROJECT 12:
BAD FEMINIST BY ROXANE GAY
PROJECT 12.5:
DIFFICULT WOMEN BY ROXANE GAY
PROJECT 13:
THE SHORT NOVELS OF JOHN STEINBECK
PROJECT 14:
FIRST PERSON SINGULAR BY HARUKI MURAKAMI
PROJECT 15: THE ORIGINAL FOLK AND FAIRY TALES OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM
STORY 1: THE FROG KING, OR IRON HENRY
personally i'd rather be called the frog king. sounds cooler.
2: THE COMPANIONSHIP OF THE CAT AND MOUSE
ben and jerry!
wait. tom and jerry is the cat and mouse. ben and jerry is the ice cream. i am a fool.
3: THE VIRGIN MARY'S CHILD
the virgin mary plays a real rumpelstiltskin role in this one.
4: GOOD BOWLING AND CARD PLAYING
sounds like my kinda night!
minus what turns out to be a beating-cats-to-death part. can't win em all.
5: THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN KIDS
kids as in goats. what a twist.
6: THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE BLINDWORM
me standing next to my pretty friends.
just kidding. i'm pretty and i don't have friends :)
7: THE STOLEN PENNIES
ghost story!!!!!!!
8: THE HAND WITH THE KNIFE
gotta love the stories that are no moral, just suffering.
9: THE TWELVE BROTHERS
evil mother-in-law. a classic.
10: RIFFRAFF
great word.
11: LITTLE BROTHER AND LITTLE SISTER
so many kings hunting in so many forests and finding so many beautiful maidens to be dazzled by.
12: RAPUNZEL
in this version, the prince climbs up rapunzel's hair to get her pregnant.
more realistic.
13: THE THREE LITTLE MEN IN THE FOREST
this is almost exactly the same as little brother and little sister. and not just because they both have little in the title.
14: NASTY FLAX SPINNING
the moral of this story is that only ugly people should have to work.
15: HANSEL AND GRETEL
i know this gingerbread house is about to make me so hungry.
yuuuum. roof made of cake.
16: HERR FIX-IT-UP
this book is fond of the phrase "a thousand million," which makes me fond of it.
17: THE WHITE SNAKE
gotta love when back to back stories are exactly the same.
18: THE JOURNEY OF THE STRAW, THE COAL, AND THE BEAN
this one has an alternate ending to itself right in the text. life hack.
19: THE FISHERMAN AND HIS WIFE
the first sentence of this includes both the phrase "once upon a time" and the equally beloved and oft-used "lived in a piss pot."
20: A STORY ABOUT A BRAVE TAILOR
a more straightforward title than "the brave little tailor."
it's the same, though, except it ends with "[The rest of this story is missing.]" another ending hack!
21: CINDERELLA
heavy hitter alert!
22: HOW SOME CHILDREN PLAYED AT SLAUGHTERING
there are 5 characters in this story and the body count of this story is 5.
23: THE LITTLE MOUSE, THE LITTLE BIRD, AND THE SAUSAGE
i've said it before and i'll say it again: tag yourself.
24: MOTHER HOLLE
this describes someone as "like the Cinderella of the house." meta.
25: THE THREE RAVENS
a lamer east of the sun, west of the moon.
26: LITTLE RED CAP
in this version the wolf is described as gobbling up the "fat chunks" of little red. disturbing in and of itself.
27: DEATH AND THE GOOSE BOY
so many chances to tag yourself, so little time.
28: THE SINGING BONE
why are any murders unsolved? just make the bones into mouthpieces for your instruments and they'll tell you what happened?
29: THE DEVIL WITH THE THREE GOLDEN HAIRS
gotta love when all the heroism is done by an uncredited woman.
30: LITTLE LOUSE AND LITTLE FLEA
read that as "louise" the first 3 times.
31: MAIDEN WITHOUT HANDS
pretty good album name.
32: CLEVER HANS
this ends by saying God protect us from geese. and it's right to say it.
33: PUSS IN BOOTS
shrek fans activate.
34: HANS'S TRINA
"Hans's Trina was lazy and didn't want to do any work." and who can blame her?
35: THE SPARROW AND HIS FOUR CHILDREN
this is about a group of birds who like...REALLY love god.
36: THE LITTLE MAGIC TABLE, THE GOLDEN DONKEY, AND THE CLUB IN THE SACK
what more do you need in this life?
37: THE TABLECLOTH, THE KNAPSACK, THE CANNON HAT, AND THE HORN
sensing a theme here...
38: MRS. FOX
fingers crossed she's fantastic.
39: THE ELVES
this is three stories, just about the kind of stuff that elves get up to.
40: THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM
this is about a princess who watches her grandmother's murder and then carries her chopped-off finger for 24 hours for threat reasons. it's good.
41: HERR KORBES
the classic story of a group of animals and inanimate objects who take a trip to visit some dude and then kill him because he was kinda late.
42: THE GODFATHER
coppola, explain!
43: THE STRANGE FEAST
this has: two sausages who are best friends; a violent sausage who is a "blood sausage"; the most important character referred to as "someone - I don't know who it was." a goddamn masterpiece.
44: GODFATHER DEATH
if you guessed that this would slightly more badass but deeply similar to the godfather, you'd be right.
45: THE WANDERING OF THUMBLING, THE TAILOR'S SON
thumbelina is cooler.
46: FITCHER'S BIRD
screaming that this bluebeard-type story contains the transition phrase "Back at his place,"
47: THE JUNIPER TREE
this is about a mom who gets so excited to have a baby that she spontaneously dies, and then a stepmother who accidentally kills said baby and then frames her kid for the murder, and dines on a soup made of the body and flavored by the tears of the framed killer.
48: OLD SULTAN
sultan is a dog's name. bet you didn't see that one coming.
49: THE SIX SWANS
if there's one thing fairytales love almost as much as kings finding hot girls in the woods, it's 6 brothers turning into birds.
50: BRIAR ROSE
classic check!
51: THE FOUNDLING
every story should end like this: "They were very happy, and if they haven't died, they're still alive."
52: KING THRUSHBEARD
i always think that women are right and men are wrong, and this story (in which the punishment for a girl making a joke about a man's chin is years of poverty, mockery, starvation, and suffering) only proves i'm right.
53: LITTLE SNOW WHITE
the first story i felt obligated to
tweet about.
54: SIMPLE HANS
crazy how some things never change. like we still determine paternity by giving a kid a lemon and sending him to church and whoever he hands it to is his dad.
55: RUMPELSTILTSKIN
my favorite creepy little goblin creature <3
56: SWEETHEART ROLAND
maybe it's just me, but i think if a guy turns his girlfriend into a rock and forgets about her he shouldn't get to marry her.
57: THE GOLDEN BIRD
one single golden feather was worth more than this bozo's whole kingdom. sounds like a real sh*thole.
58: LOYAL GODFATHER SPARROW
gotta admire a story that's like 60% death threats.
59: PRINCE SWAN
this is #1 with a bullet in the Most Confusing rankings.
60: THE GOLDEN EGG
this is a "fragment," which is a nice way of saying it's short and doesn't have an ending.
61: THE TAILOR WHO SOON BECAME RICH
eat the tailor.
62: BLUEBEARD
bluebeard!!! i love this freak!
63: THE GOLDEN CHILDREN
turn your name into a fairytale title! just start with "THE GOLDEN" and put any word at all after that.
64: THE SIMPLETON
finally, some representation.
65: ALL FUR
"I am nothing and am good for nothing except for having boots thrown at my head."
new catchphrase alert.
66: HURLEBURLEBUTZ
if anyone's looking for name ideas.
67: THE KING WITH THE LION
if you're allowed to wish for anything you want, a pretty badass option is "11 clones."
68: THE SUMMER AND THE WINTER GARDEN
this is literally, exactly, top to bottom beauty and the beast.
69: JORINDA AND JORINGEL
we are rich in potential baby names.
70: OKERLO
i cannot do this one, which includes cannibals and screwball comedy and conveniently placed 7 mile boots that only walk 1 mile and hairdos made of butter, justice.
71: PRINCESS MOUSESKIN
the baby name jokes are too easy.
72: THE PEAR REFUSED TO FALL
this is...the worst song of all time.
73: THE CASTLE OF MURDER
if my new husband were going to move me into a place called "the castle of murder," i would simply refuse to go. no offense to this girl but i'm different.
74: JOHANNES WATERSPRING AND CASPAR WATERSPRING
gotta love a water feature-based immaculate conception.
75: THE BIRD PHOENIX
bit redundant.
76: THE CARNATION
the beautiful princess in this is named Lisa.
77: THE CARPENTER AND THE TURNER
suddenly i want to reread
alice.
78: THE OLD GRANDFATHER AND THE GRANDSON
a nice little tale of elder abuse.
79: THE WATER NIXIE
nixie goes to church!!!!!
i have been eagerly anticipating this since emma told me of it in the comments, and it lived up to my internal hype.
80: THE DEATH OF LITTLE HEN
this story is called the death of little hen, but in fact everyone who appears in this story dies.
81: THE BLACKSMITH AND THE DEVIL
if you suck so bad even hell doesn't want you, you can go to heaven.
82: THE THREE SISTERS
imagine having three daughters and managing to sell ALL of them into matrimony with a different wild animal.
83: THE POOR MAIDEN
if you give all your clothes away and live as a nudist you'll be rewarded in wealth.
84: THE MOTHER-IN-LAW
you probably love your mother in law
85: FRAGMENTS
aaaaand there's the anti-semitism.
86: THE FOX AND THE GEESE
"Then he laughed and said, 'Ho, I've come at just the right moment.'" 😈
87: THE POOR MAN AND THE RICH MAN
volume 2 baby! skipping the preface because obviously.
88: THE SINGING, SPRINGING LARK
an exact mix of beauty and the beast and east of the sun, west of the moon. all-star pairing.
89: THE GOOSE GIRL
the real moral of this story is that if you treat your employees so poorly that switching places with them is a horrific curse, then you deserve it.
90: THE YOUNG GIANT
pretty good band.
91: THE GNOME
my favorite way to travel is playing a flute that was hanging on my wall and for every note i play another gnome comes and then each gnome grabs a strand of my hair and flies to my destination.
92: THE KING OF THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN
i'm getting real tired of people "lousing" each other.
93: THE RAVEN
nevermore?
94: THE CLEVER FARMER'S DAUGHTER
i also think that the most romantic thing your spouse can do for you is some light kidnapping.
95: THE GENIE IN THE GLASS
wish i'd read this story years ago, so i'd know that you're supposed to pay off your student loans by turning steel into silver with a magic band-aid.
96: THE THREE LITTLE BIRDS
seems like telling fairytale readers that if they hit a dog in the face it'll turn into a handsome prince is a bad idea? but what do i know.
97: THE WATER OF LIFE
back to back stories where the protagonist's two siblings are the villains. i gotta watch out for my sisters.
98: DOCTOR KNOW-IT-ALL
amazing burn.
99: THE FROG PRINCE
the princess in this sleeps with a frog in exchange for a nice glass of water.
100: THE DEVIL'S SOOTY BROTHER
"The soldier looked so dreadful, even more frightening than a scarecrow."
did a crow write this?
101: THE DEVIL IN THE GREEN COAT
the devil was living in the grimm brothers' heads rent free.
102: THE WREN AND THE BEAR
this involves birds going on hunger strike for compliments, which i respect immensely.
103: THE SWEET PORRIDGE
imagine loving oatmeal so much you write a fairytale about it.
104: THE FAITHFUL ANIMALS
the REAL magic is the redistribution of wealth.
105: TALES ABOUT TOADS
f*ck. yes.
106: THE POOR MILLER'S APPRENTICE AND THE CAT
it's a 20-story day, folks.
107: THE CROWS
horror movie check!
108: HANS MY HEDGEHOG
a half hedgehog half boy who plays the bagpipes.
109: THE LITTLE SHROUD
this shows how important is is, when your child dies, to just shut up about it.
110: THE JEW IN THE THORNBUSH
somehow even more anti-semitic than i expected.
111: THE EXPERT HUNTSMAN
imagine carrying 3 giant tongues in your backpack for months.
112: THE FLESHING FLAIL FROM HEAVEN
what the hell is a fleshing flail?
113: THE CHILDREN OF THE TWO KINGS
gay dads???
114: THE CLEVER LITTLE TAILOR
déjà vu.
115: THE BRIGHT SUN WILL BRING IT TO LIGHT
more anti-semitism. but at least it's like...not okay in this one?
116: THE BLUE LIGHT
i'm not jealous. i have multiple items that emit blue light.
117: THE STUBBORN CHILD
when a child is stubborn he deserves to die, and his mom will beat his corpse up.
118: THE THREE ARMY SURGEONS
turns out surgery is just rubbing salve on stuff.
119: THE LAZY ONE AND THE INDUSTRIOUS ONE
if you're lazy, you'll be turned into a raven and then you'll die because no one will kiss a lazy bird.
120: THE THREE JOURNEYMEN
journeymen are the old timey version of travel bloggers.
121: THE HEAVENLY WEDDING
say it with me, jacob and wilhelm: RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDA IS NOT A FAIRYTALE.
122: THE LONG NOSE
hate when the evil princess loses in the end.
123: THE OLD WOMAN IN THE FOREST
i wish i had a tree boyfriend.
124: THE THREE BROTHERS
maybe the most boring story so far.
125: THE DEVIL AND HIS GRANDMOTHER
okay so i'm obsessed with the concept of satan's nana.
126: FAITHFUL FERDINAND AND UNFAITHFUL FERDINAND
when you don't wanna marry someone, just cut their head off and be like oops, no take backs, i can't put it back.
127: THE IRON STOVE
the repetition is starting to get to me.
128: THE LAZY SPINNER
this story, about a woman who hides in the woods and speaks in rhyme about the wickedness of work so her husband will overhear and be too spooked out to make her do it, is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
129: THE LION AND THE FROG
these siblings love each other a little too much. that's all i'll say.
130: THE SOLDIER AND THE CARPENTER
this soldier was very enthusiastic about killing three innocent animals.
131: PRETTY KATRINELYA AND PIF-PAF-POLTREE
90% sure i've seen this title before in a white woman's twin name idea tiktok.
132: THE FOX AND THE HORSE
charlie mackesy stolen valor.
133: THE WORN-OUT DANCING SHOES
barbie was right. the twelve dancing princesses is a much better title.
134: THE SIX SERVANTS
this is a fairytale based purely on the various forms of body shaming.
135: THE WHITE BRIDE AND THE BLACK BRIDE
i got a bad feeling about this one.
136: THE WILD MAN
the finest gift you can give someone is chicken stuffed with money.
137: THE THREE BLACK PRINCESSES
another new catchphrase: "You cursed dog, our blood shall cry out for vengeance!"
138: KNOIST AND HIS THREE SONS
started with a naked man and ended with a religious verse. keeping me on my toes.
139: THE MAIDEN FROM BRAKEL
anyone who calls a saint a stupid brat in a church is a friend of mine.
140: THE DOMESTIC SERVANTS
two servants who both have husbands named Chain and babies named Scab.
141: LITTLE LAMB AND LITTLE FISH
little lamb is one of my dog's 57 nicknames!
142: SESAME MOUNTAIN
as in open, sesame, or as in bagel, sesame?
update: open.
update: i'm disappointed.
143: THE CHILDREN OF FAMINE
religious suicide for kids!
144: THE LITTLE DONKEY
this is the same as hans my hedgehog, but worse.
145: THE UNGRATEFUL SON
men, am i right?
146: THE TURNIP
the genius character in this is an astrology girl.
147: THE REJUVENATED LITTLE OLD MAN
this is from title to end incredible.
148: THE ANIMALS OF THE LORD AND THE DEVIL
god created all animals except goats, which are evil.
149: THE BEAM
GIRLS. ARE. ALWAYS. RIGHT.
150: THE OLD BEGGAR WOMAN
this is scarier than any serial killer episode of any tv show.
151: THE THREE LAZY SONS
me and the word limit are fighting. and it's violent. and i'm losing.
152: SAINT SOLICITOUS
sainted bearded virgin woman.
153: THE TALE ABOUT THE LAND OF COCKAIGNE
hehe. "cockaigne." heh.
154: THE TALL TALE FROM DITMARSH
i have now edited, reformatted, and pared down this review 3 times. don't say i've never done anything for you.
i mean, this is maybe for me.
155: A TALE WITH A RIDDLE
i love a riddle!!!
wait this isn't a riddle. it's an answer.
i'm suing the grimms. fairytale descendants: watch your backs
156: THE GOLDEN KEY
this is the end of the book, which means this WHOLE THING ends with us waiting to see what is revealed when a boy who is about to freeze to death finds a key and finishes unlocking the casket he just dug up.
OVERALL
this was the weirdest thing ever, but it was almost always fun, and for that: 3.5 rounded up! -
People often ask me which edition of Grimm they should pick up. THIS ONE.
-
These are not the sanitised (or Disneyfied) fairy tales we have come to love as children: these are politically incorrect, sexually explicit and gloriously gory folktales told around a roaring campfire in a German forest, as a group of frightened peasants huddled around expecting the forest sprites to appear any moment and devour them - or worse. However, for an Indian who has been fed on a diet of Hindu mythology during childhood
of Narasimha disembowelling Hiranyakashipu,
Bheema tearing Jarasandha in two and
)
Bheema drinking Dushasana's blood,
these stories seem tame to me. -
You know all those moments in which the prince--or the monster--or the monster prince-- falls asleep with his head on the princess's lap?
In the original version of the story, she's lousing him.
Yep.
Lousing.
As in head-lice.
Ah, the romance.
You may think you know Grimms’ Fairy Tales, but if you’ve been reading them in English, I can guarantee you’ve never encountered them like this. The Grimms actually published seven different versions of the stories, starting in 1812/1815 and culminating in the “definitive” 1857 version. The Grimms found themselves rather disappointed by the reception of their 1812/1815 “Volk tales.” Assuming the stories were too coarse and unfinished, the Grimms began to edit them. In each subsequent version, the stories were a little more flowery and overblown, a little more bowdlerized, a little more pious and inoffensive to the readers of the day.
In the original version, the stories are presented in a raw, unvarnished, dialectic form, just as they were heard by the Grimms. In this form, we see the digressions into rhyme or extraneous detail, the nonsensical, often fragmented plots, and the sometimes tiresome repetition of themes and plotlines, but we also get the closest glimpse of the real stories. The differences between the versions are as fascinating as the stories themselves. Fortunately, Zipes spends quite a significant portion of the introduction contrasting the tales and highlighting the differences. (Sadly, in my advanced reader copy, the text of the appendix was so garbled and scrambled that I was often unable to understand the commentary. I was, however, able to read enough to appreciate Zipes' thorough commentary and to wish that the appendix had been complete.)
So, apart from the romance of lousing, what did I learn from the original Grimms' Fairy tales?
The myth of the wicked stepmother.
The wicked stepmother is also far more of a creation of the Grimms than a true artefact of the stories themselves. In the 1812/1815 version of the tales, it is the biological mother who tempts Snow White with a poisoned apple and sends Hansel and Gretel into the forest. However, because the Grimms believed in the sanctity of motherhood, those less-than-ideal maternal examples were quickly transformed into the wicked stepmothers we know and love. In fact, most of the powerful women in the 1812 version are transformed from fairies, queens, and saints into the ubiquitous witches of the 1857 version.
Ah, the romance.
As fairy tales have been reshaped and retold, they have gained in sensibility and romanticism, so that the original versions come as something of a shock. One of my favourite altered stories is that of "Rapunzel". In the 1857 version, the half-witted Rapunzel blurts out that the prince climbs up her hair far faster than the evil witch. In the original story, Rapunzel’s clothes start...ahem... fitting rather tightly around her stomach, causing the fairy to cast out her “godless child.” And Snow White isn’t saved by a kiss; instead, a servant exasperated with cleaning the glass case eventually slaps her, accidentally performing some variant of the Heimlich maneuver and causing the chunk of apple to fly out of her throat. (Life lesson, Snow White: when offered a magical apple, chew, don’t gobble.)
The morality of the tale.
If it is the case that “good” always triumphs in fairy tales, then “good” had a rather peculiar definition in 1812. In quite a few of the tales, the only moral of the story seems to be that "might is right." Several of the protagonists are gleefully cruel, vindictive, and violent, and it is only these less-than-kindly actions that lead to a happily-ever-after. For example, in "The Frog Prince," it requires parental pressure for the princess to grudgingly fulfil her bargain with the frog, and even then, when the frog petitions to sleep in her bed, she tries to kill him by throwing him against the wall, causing him to turn into a handsome prince, at which point she does indeed promptly take him into her bed.
Slap a cross on it.
The injection of Christian piety is often superficial at best; for example, in one of the stories, the Virgin Mary takes on a role that seems more suited to a fairy or pagan goddess, making a deal with one woman for her newborn child and punishing another by repeatedly spiriting off her children into a palace in the clouds. The devil takes the place of the giant in the Jack-and-the-beanstalk stories, complete with sympathetic wife.
In this original form, the collection is somewhat difficult to read, as the stories are often fragmentary and repetitive. The collection contains a smattering of "just so" stories, a few of the Epaminondas style, and even some possible origins of Pinnochio and the phrase, "Open Sesame." Most of the stories have a similar theme: a protagonist who is virtuous, but makes a mistake, and must fulfil a series of nearly impossible tasks to achieve redemption. Not all of the stories end happily; for example, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" had a less uplifting ending than the better-known version, but in general, things turn out well for simple or innocent protagonists. Yet the stories contain that intrinsic charm that only fairy tales possess. Good deeds are guaranteed to produce tangible rewards, so they can be performed not out of kindness but because of an expectation of karmic payback. One should always follow the edicts of a mysterious man or woman in the woods, no matter how insane the commands might be. Everything can be set aright without explanation; a prince or princess can be restored to life, a marriage to a less desirable woman can be nullified without question, a child can be found and restored, a curse can be instantly undone. Evil is obvious and evildoers can be destroyed without mercy. Overall, although this wasn't perhaps a particularly absorbing read--the sheer amount of repetition made the stories quickly tiresome--I greatly appreciated the opportunity to see the stories in their most unvarnished form.
Excerpted from
my review on BookLikes.
~~I received this ebook through NetGalley from the publisher, Princeton University Press, in exchange for my honest review. ~~ -
Super dark and super fun fairy tales. Not your average rainbows and butterflies here!
-
Now I have noticed that some readers/reviewers who enjoy, who love the 1857 edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen, of the Brothers Grimm's collection of folk and fairy tales, and consider these (in either the original German or in English translation) as suitable reading or reading aloud material for children (and even very young children) are kind of having a few issues with Jack Zipes' translation of the 1812/1813 edition (titled The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by Zipes), finding many of the tales strangely different from what they are used to from the 1857 edition and also considering quite a number of the stories as not really all that appropriate for younger children. And yes, I actually do tend to somewhat even agree with said assessment, as it certainly can be a trifle disconcerting that for example in the 1812/1813 version of Rapunzel Rapunzel is sent into the wilderness by Mrs. Gothel (by the fairy) because she is obviously pregnant, a fact that is certainly no longer present in the 1857 version of the tale, and that in the original Snow White, the heroine was pursued by her jealous mother, and only later was the jealous mother turned into an evil stepmother, but that to be honest, I actually also in no way think that the 1812/1813 edition of the Brothers Grimm folk and fairy tales is what I would ever consider labelling as literature specifically meant for children.
For if one is aware of the background and the history of the Grimms' Kinder- und Hausmärchen, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm in fact did NOT originally put in writing the folk and fairy tales they collected from their sources, from their contributors (a list of whom is actually provided by Jack Zipes in The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm) for an audience consisting mainly of children, but that originally the tales were considered both an academic experiment and also meant to be read mostly by adults (and that indeed, Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm ended up revising and changing their original edition, that the 1857 Kinder- und Hausmärchen mostly owes its publication and its very existence to the fact that parents were increasingly reading Grimms' stories to their children and were complaining about inappropriate and problematic content, that in particular mothers did not really feel comfortable reading to their children stories of evil biological parents such as had appeared in the already mentioned Snow White of the 1812/1813 edition and equally in Hansel and Gretel but were seemingly not so squeamish about the culprits, about the villains being evil and horrid stepparents, and that definitely, for reading pleasure and in particular for sharing the Grimms' folk and fairy tales with children, for me and in my opinion, the 1857 edition is most definitely the way to go, is much more suitable and not to mention also enjoyable for younger readers and younger listeners).
Now with regard to how Jack Zipes has set up The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm and also considering the quality of his, of Zipes' translation, yes indeed, I am totally and absolutely impressed. Because not only does the table of contents of The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm give both the English language and also in brackets the original German title of each of the stories (and which definitely makes comparative reading much easier and less frustrating), how Jack Zipes has translated the Grimms is wonderful, is spectacular, with Zipes always keeping to the original spirit of Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm's original text but also with there also and happily being no pedantic and frustrating word for word translation from German to English to be encountered in The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm. And therefore, totally five stars plus for The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm (and yes, with Jack Zipes also providing a wonderful introduction and equally delightful, enlightening endnotes both being the absolute icing on an already majorly delicious textual cake, and also immediately and permanently moving The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm onto my favourites shelf).
And finally, I also need to mention a fun but ultimately also really silly and hugely historically inaccurate movie about the Brothers Grimm I recently watched on Turner Classic Movies. For while the sense of time and place was really nice and looked authentic, the fact that in particular Wilhelm Grimm was shown in said film as wanting to collect folk and fairy tales first and foremost because he wanted stories for German children, well no, that is not accurate at all, as both Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm originally collected their tales not specifically for children. -
DNF @ 46%
I give up. I tried so hard to like this collection and I thought that it would be a home run for sure but this turned out to be so far from that. In the very lengthy introduction it mentions that the popular Grimm fairytales, which most of us are familiar with are actually extremely edited versions of the originals. Intrigued I started this book, however very quickly I realized that I *gasp* actually prefer the edited mainstream versions (blasphemy I know).
I am far from an expert in fairytales but I just expected so much more, I found most of the stories to be dull, dumb and repetitive, and indeed many of the stories are almost exact copies of each other except for very minor changes. This made reading extremely tedious and I quickly tired of this collection.
I cannot in good faith recommend this version of Grimm's fairytales, and would suggest just sticking to the more familiar version of events (Edition 7).
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. -
I've read several versions of Grimm's fairy tales, starting with the sanitized version as a child, then the 1825 version as a teenager (thinking that they were the originals) and now, I've finally had the chance to read the originals, or at least as close as one can get to the originals. I love the bizarre morals, the stories about tricking the devil, the antics the characters get up to, particularly in 'The Devil and the Blacksmith," and that the stories are so gritty. They are really quite delightful, in a morbid sort of way. I must admit, the repetition of several themes and story frameworks became a little tedious, but I cannot see why this penultimate edition, with notes and a 53 page introduction to the original tales does not deserve five stars. I wouldn't recommend reading it cover to cover like I did (quite an undertaking), but take the book out from time to time and have a laugh over a great fairy tale :)
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I’m not sure what I expected when I began this translation of the original compilation of folk tales. I guess I anticipated some surprises, stories which I had never heard before. And there were a few of those, but mostly what surprised me was how many of these tales were familiar to me!
Virtually everyone knows about Cinderella, Beauty & the Beast, Rapunzel, Rumplestiltskin, and Hansel & Gretel. It was fun to see the older versions, un-Disneyfied and unadorned. But what a walk down memory lane, reading stories like The Frog Prince or The Swan Princes. And the 6 princesses who were each mysteriously wearing out a pair of dancing slippers every evening, dancing underground with 6 handsome princes. Glass mountains to be climbed, witches to be outwitted, sleeping potions to be avoided, there are always obstacles for the heroes to overcome. And those heroes seem to be split between princes and paupers, even princesses and common maidens get to star in many of them.
Although there are pious Christian messages overlaying a few of the stories, more of them seem to hint at a pre-Christian past in a tantalizing way. Well worth a read if you are interested in the origins of some of our literary conventions. -
This book is a classic and it contains 156 stories, many that I remember from childhood. I enjoyed this translation and I love the book. It is exquisite. I read through some of the other reviews and I'm not sure what others had hoped to find in this translation but you have to keep in mind that these stories were written in 1812 through 1815. I found the collection to be fun and it was an enjoyable read.
I intend to keep this collection close by so that many of the stories can be re-read when the mood strikes. -
(I got an ARC courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
Though it took me quite some time to finish this book, it wasn't for want of interest.
It contains both volumes of the tales gathered by the brothers Grimm, published around 1812-1815. I applied for the ARC out of curiosity, and was surprised at some of those stories, at the way the ones I remembered from my childhood was really edulcorated versions: both because of the editing performed by recent publishers, and because of their "authors" themselves, since the brothers reworked many of them years later to make them fit more within Christian morality.
Indeed, while these stories looked familiar, they were also different in how their characters were portrayed, and their actions were carried out. For instance, in the original tales, the "wicked stepmother" is more often than not the actual mother. Parents don't hesitate to throw children out of their home, to have them killed at the slightest mishap, and the kind of "traditional moral" to the stories isn't always the one modern readers would have expected. More than the lessons I got used to when I was younger, the tales are examples of how sometimes, cunning or even violence gets the job done faster.
Reading those versions was definitely an intriguing experience, perhaps more from an anthropological point of view than from a leisurely one: somehow, I enjoyed the book's material more for its comparative value than as a collection of actual tales read for pleasure only. (I guess this may be one of the shortcomings here: I don't recommend reading everything at once, for a lot of stories become redundant after a while, pôssibly because they're based off similar traditions. However, if one goes through them at a slower pace, interest remains sparkled. At least, this is what happened to me—and the reason why it took me over a full month to read everything.) The introduction itself is a fairly interesting piece, too, one that gives more information and details about how the Grimm brothers went about collecting the tales.
This book also made me question tales in general. Overall, I mostly read/heard them when I was a child, and later on went to read modern retellings. I had forgotten—or maybe I just didn't have enough hindsight, nor background at the time to realis this—what kind of place the tales may have had in society, and the way they're so different from what I'd be looking for today. The place of women, among other things: the greedy wife who always wants more; the jealous mother; the one who wants her own daughter to have it all, while providing minimum effort; the princess shirking responsibility after a hastily-made promise; etc. (Men aren't spared from this, but I think it just struck me more when it was about women.)
I found the first volume more interesting in general; this may have had to do with how the second one felt more "Christianity-laden", with characters regularly happening upon "the Lord" or "the Devil". Those already felt like they bore the traces of what would become their future, more well-known versions.
Overall, it wasn't such an easy read, but it clearly holds academic value. 3.5/4 stars. -
The Cool Kids' Grimm
From 1812 to 1857, Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm (mainly Wilhelm from 1816 onward) published seven editions of their now world-famous fairy tales. The seventh edition is the most well known and widely read, providing the source material for Disney, etc. — it is also, compared to the first, a highly edited, polished, and sanitized version. (Apparently Wilhelm was like neurotic Goodreads users, like me, who obsessively tinker with their reviews). This edition, for the first time, compiles all 156 stories from the first edition (Part I from 1812, Part II from 1815) in English. As the editor says,All [the] editorial changes to the tales in the first edition of 1812/15 should not lead us to believe that the tales were crude, needed improvement, and do not deserve our attention. On the contrary. I would argue that the first edition is just as important, if not more important than the final seventh edition of 1857, especially if one wants to grasp the original intentions of the Grimms and the overall significance of their accomplishments. In fact, many of the tales in the first edition are more fabulous and baffling than those refined versions in the final edition, for they retain the pungent and naïve flavor of the oral tradition. They are stunning narratives precisely because they are so blunt and unpretentious. Moreover, the Grimms had not yet “vaccinated” or censored them with their sentimental Christianity and puritanical ideology.
I'm generally opposed to (read: apoplectic about) originalist arguments, and look forward to the day Scalia gets to roll in his grave — but I'll allow it here, partly because the result of this originalist maneuver is the opposite of what one usually takes it to be, i.e. to domesticate history within the dimwitted pastures of conservative orthodoxy. Here going back to the original means going fucking wild, man! Another interesting point in the fascinating introduction is that the Grimms got interested in the whole endeavor of compiling folk and fairy tales while studying law at the University of Marburg, where Friedrich Carl von Savigny, "a young professor of jurisprudence... opened their eyes to the historical, philological, and philosophical aspects of law as well as literature." I could relate to this, as law school also made me want to do literally anything but practice law.
I had many many favorites in this collection. Generally, I can't recommend this edition enough for being wildly entertaining, interesting, inspiring, and, at times, very creepy, indeed. -
My favorite intro to to one of these tales: "In the days when wishing still helped..."
Really glad I read this, but also really kind of exhausted. I thought that reading many brief tales would go by quickly. I was really surprised at what a slog this became. Some of these tales are confusing. Some are repetitive in a way that was probably a delight when these were passed down orally, but are unbearable to read. And some are downright acid-trips.
As others have mentioned, some of these original stories are quite horrific. It's interesting that some of those "evil stepmothers" were originally just "mothers." Violence abounds -- and often for no good reason. A prevalent theme throughout these tales is that of poor but daring individuals doing the impossible to get what they desire despite the usually fatal consequences of failure. People behave badly, and get their comeuppance -- usually. But not always. This world is dark and wild.
Things to be learned from these stories:
Children usually come in twos, threes, or dozens. Usually of the same gender, but if not, the youngest one is the only boy/girl. And the youngest one usually wins the day.
Parents seem to delight in pitting their children against each other.
Removing curses and spells usually involves the slaughter of animals.
Talking animals have a weird habit of asking you to eat them. Generally, you should.
The cut illustrations are really beautiful and spooky.
A friend of mine's 4-year-old received this as a Christmas gift. Parents might want to screen these stories before reading them aloud. And then be ready for a LOT of questions...
(Side note: I saw "Into the Woods" while reading this. I was surprised at some of the details from the show/movie that were pulled directly from the original tales -- details that I didn't remember at all from childhood.) -
I grew up reading these! I had this really old purple hardback that was falling apart. Unfortunately, my parents threw it away when we moved. Even falling apart, it still had sentimental value and I wish they would have kept it.
I want to share a quote from Criminal Minds about fairy tales I really like;
No, actually most fairy tales in their original form were gruesome to the extreme. In Cinderella the stepsisters had their feet mutilated to fit in the shoe and her eyes were eventually picked out by doves. Sleeping Beauty was raped while she was unconscious by the King. Hansel and Gretel were held captive by a half blind cannibal. Solders were instructed to cut out Snow White's liver and lungs, so the Queen could feast upon them.
My point is: one could argue that the sanitized versions we have today are actually counterproductive to the original purpose of fairy tales, so the children can safely confront their darkest fears. -
Once upon a time there were two brothers who gathered together a number of folk and fairy tales and published them in a book. These stories were filled with polymorphism, animals, and inanimate objects acting as if they were human, damsels in distress, princesses treated like livestock and given away as prizes, reneged promises, and a vast number of incidents in which child protective services would need to be called. This book was filled with wisdom and foolishness, partial stories and familiar stories, forests in which trouble always seems to occur, stories with almost identical plots but with slightly different scenarios, class warfare, and more nobility getting beheaded than during the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
This was a book that was in a unique position of being both charming and disturbing at the same time. The charming aspects show themselves where some stories were later modified and turned into Disney movies such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Briar Rose. Others were disturbing enough that they likely will never find themselves in any form as a Disney movie such as How Some Children Played at Slaughtering or The Stubborn Child. That poor stubborn child will never be a Disney Princess. Although this reviewer would not be surprised if The Stubborn Child became a movie made by George A. Romero.
Indeed over the years the stories changed to be more family friendly in forms more familiar to a modern audience with some stories removed completely.
Often, many of these stories seemed to have common themes such as three siblings often all of the same gender, where the youngest is the ultimate victor and the elder are scoundrels, forests often were scary and dangerous places to enter, godless villains, and Hans who is sometimes clever, sometimes simple and sometimes foolish.
This reviewer has a rule not to give a star rating to any story written over a hundred years ago and is usually just happy to have had the opportunity to read something that has stood the test of time. But this time he has made an exception as he was quite charmed by this book and plans to pick it up again sometime in the future.
The heroes do not always win in these stories. Sometimes the villains win. But nobody lives happily ever after. Instead they sometimes live happily to the end of their days and if they are not dead yet then they are still alive. -
Had this one next to my bed since may when my lovely other half bought me it for my birthday. It’s beautifully illustrated!
There’s a good segment at the start providing the history of the Grimm brothers which was quite interesting.
I love Grimm stories in their purest form. They’re dark, strange, and leave you with the weirdest morals..
It’s great to dip in and out of. I can’t wait to have kids and introduce them to these classic tales. -
Fabulous volume. I am very grateful to Jack Zipes for undertaking such a task. The earliest run of this book is the best. The deckle edge pages were changed when the publisher went back to print. Pretty unfortunate for book collector's. Illustrations are magnificent. It would be nice if a special collector's volume was issued. I would definitely buy it.
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Yay!!
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This no doubt was enjoyable having been taken back to my childhood stories but I had so many issues with this book.
1. WHY THE HELL WERE GIRLS PRIZE IN EVERY STORY
2. The greatest thing was marriage and for being married you always got the kings daughter in return even if she disliked she was made out the bad guy - girl
3. The biggest insult was to be called ugly and if you were ugly no matter the riches or knowledge you had you were useless
4. Why were the youngest always the good children the oldest evil and the middle a follower to the youngest? As a middle child, I would like to say much the opposite is the case in my family
I hated many other things but these four were compulsory in every story so not spoilers if you would call them that. On the other hand, this was enjoyable and I heard of allot of stories I would of otherwise never known. -
Read the fairy tale about a frog prince that is not kissed by the princess but tossed against the wall with the intent to kill, except the violence turns him into a prince (and then they marry). Cinderella’s stepsisters, urged by their mother, cut off parts of their feet to get the golden slipper on, but the prince notices “blood streaming out of the slipper” and knows of each girl’s deception. Snow White ends up in a glass coffin that a prince finds in the woods and who falls in love with her; however, it is an irritated servant stuck lugging her around the castle, because the prince wants the glass coffin at his side at all times, who happens to pop out the poisoned apple that is lodged in her throat from jostling her on a tight passage. These are just a few of the classic fairy tales we grew up with in their original form as they are revealed in the 1812 Grimm’s fairy tale first edition, translated into English for the first time. This authentic look at fairy tales that were told orally shows that they were written for adults. Extensive notes in the appendix reveal the Grimm’s as brilliant folklorists that gathered information from ancient manuscripts as well as people from all walks of life. If you enjoy the study of folklore, the introduction by scholar and fairy tale expert, Jack Zipes, is full of background knowledge on what the Grimm’s were trying to accomplish in their first volume and what led them to change their focus over 40 years of revisions that created fairly tales less violent, child-centered, and romantic.
One disturbing story that kept reappearing is the woman who marries a rich man who is nice to her, but has a test where he leaves the castle and gives her keys or an object and says she can’t look in one particular room. She does and it is filled with chopped up female body parts. The room is enchanted and the key or object becomes stained with blood that she can’t get out so when her husband comes home he says he has to kill her for looking in the room. She escapes through magic and the husband is punished. Needless to say, we gladly don’t see this serial killer fairy tale cropping up in kids stories. It is a chilling horror story that shows how curiosity is so strong people can’t resist doing what they are told not to do and that some people are dangerous predators. But it also shows storytelling not only as a way to pass on morals, but as a form of entertainment in the horror genre.
The Grimms’ collected stories from well-educated middle-class women that shared stories in social circles that they heard from servants or nannies growing up. They also gathered stories from ancient manuscripts, soldiers, peasants, aristocrats, a pastor, and a tailor’s wife. As Zipes explains, these diverse voices give the first edition a unique voice that reflects the stories’ sociohistorical context. From class struggles where the common man becomes king, to women “lousing” men, to the “simpleton” as an underdog persevering with courage and wit to win the princess, these stories have a flavor that shows a gap between rich and poor and a patriarchal society where women want more but do not break from the conventional norms. As Zipes explains many of the themes are universal: sibling rivalry, greedy tyrants, oppressive rulers, oppressed women and young people, abandoned soldiers, children mistreated, Death rewarding the virtuous boy, and so on. The protagonists are simple-minded and innocent making readers sympathize with him or her. They achieve their goals through humility and kindness and social justice is achieved at the end. The theme of underdogs cooperating to achieve justice is strong throughout the stories. Usually some gruesome death occurs to the “evil” person at the end. Punishment is harsh with villains being burned at the stake, made to dance in hot iron shoes, or rolled in a spiked barrel.
The tales usually have women that are “beautiful” and men that are handsome. They become rich and live happily ever after, but don’t think all the stories have this droll convention. Some of the stories show women not being so satisfied with their life and as underdogs manipulating the men around them to get what they want. “Nasty Flax Spinning” has a king being outwitted by his daughters to avoid the chore of spinning. “The Clever Farmer’s Daughter” shows an intelligent woman who outwits the men around her within a patriarchal society. Not only does she do what is socially just, she is proactive and outwits her dimwit husband, the King. The women in these stories love their husbands and are with them in the end so the story isn’t threatening any social norms. There is a morality to the stories that is not overly didactic. There is also the Simpleton who is either a commoner or the third son of the king that must overcome odds to win the kingdom and princess. The Grimms were studying law at university and had an influential professor that used interdisciplinary methods of studying relationships between laws, customs, beliefs, and values which affected how they wrote the tales. The Grimms gathered stories using this approach and the sociocultural context is evident and interesting to look for when reading.
Many of the stories are tales about how strangers or animals are treated with arrogance or kindness. The kind person is rewarded for his or her actions. The tales are diverse with animal stories, legends, tall tales, and nonsense tales. The weaker animals use intelligences to overcome the larger ones again reinforcing the theme of underdogs succeeding. Usually something miraculous happens to help the underdog. Magic is a necessary element in these tales as it is what allows the protagonist to finish impossible tasks. There is one story with a stereotyped stingy Jew that might offend some and another about three ugly coal black sisters that confused me as they were dressed in black with a little white on their face. The Grimms viewed their collection as an educational primer of ethics, values, and customs. They have legends from all over the world. Even the “Genie in the Glass” is parallel to story in “The Thousand and One Nights” and the notes say that “The Frog Prince” story is related to “Cupid and Psyche” by Apuleius. I kept thinking of stories that I had read aloud to students. “Strega Nona” by Tomie DePoala and “Tunjur, Tunjur, Tunjur,” is just like the fairy tale, “The Sweet Porridge”. If you like fairy tales, don’t miss this fascinating comparison that shows how much they have changed since the nineteenth century. -
IF YOU LOVE FAIRY TALES OR IF YOU HAVE A SCHOLARLY INTEREST IN FAIRY TALES THEN THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. JACK ZIPES WNET AHEAD AND TRANSLATED THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES OF THE FAIRY TALES THAT THE GRIMM BROTHERS COLLECTED, IN THIER ORIGINAL FORM UNEDITED AND THAT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE. THE GRIMM BROTHERS WENT ABOUT THE GERMAN COUNTRY SIDE COLLECTING ORAL FAIRY TALES AND AS THEIR WORK BECAME MORE POPU8LAR AND ACCEPTED THEY ALSO MODIFIED THE FAIRY TALES MAKING THEM MORE PALATABLE TO THE READING AUDIENCE OIF THE TIME. THE DETAILS THAT WERE LEFT OUT ARE OFTEN BLOODY WITH PEOPLE DYING PAINFUL DEATH, OF COURSE THIS DOES NOT COMPARE TO AN R RATED MOVIE BUT YOU GET THE GIST.
THE GRIMM BROTHERS, JACOB AND WILHELM, WERE THE TWO SONS OF A GERMAN MAGISTRATE. THEY STUDIED TO GO INTO LAW BUT A FAMILY DISASTER CUT THAT SHORT, ALTHOUGH ONE OF THEM DID GET INTO THE PROFESSION BY BECOMING AN APPRENTICE. THE BOOK IS FILLED WITH BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION AND SCHOLARLY NOTES FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN DELVING INTO THE BACKGROUND. THE MEAT OF THE BOOK IS THE STORIES THEMSELVES.
I CANNOT GIVE YOU A PLOTLINE SUMMARY BECAUSE THERE IS A NUMEROUS AMOUNT OF FAIRY TALES. MANY THEMES ARE SIMILAR THROUGHOUT THE DIFFERENT TALES. A STEPMOTHER FAVORS HER CHILD OVER THE PROTAGANIST AND TRIES TO BRING HIM OR HER DOWN ONLY TO BE DEFEATED IN THE END. SOMETIMES BY HANGING, SOMETIMES IT IS VERY BLOODY. THREE BROTHERS GOING ON A QUEST WITH THE TWO OLDER BROTHERS PLOTTING AGAINST THE YOUNGER ONLY TO GERT THEIR S IN THE END. A PRINCE PROMISES A MAIDEN TO MARRY HER BUT FORGET AND SHE GOES ON A QUEST TO REMIND HIM. PRINCES AND HANSOME MEN ARE DISGUISED AS ANIMALS ONLY TO BE RELIEVED BY THE ONE THEY LOVED. IF YOUR INTO FAIRY TALES PICK THIS BOOK UP. -
The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, translated by Jack Zipes and Illustrated by Andrea Dezsö
When it comes to fairy tales the brothers Grimm are probably one of the most popular names that may come to mind. Their version of these tales has become the foundation for many other retellings and adaptations. Nonetheless not many people know that even they have different versions of some of the tales as they did some mild or heavy tweaking with each edition. This particular book is a translation of the first edition of the collection.
One of the key features of this edition, as it is mentioned in the introduction, is that the stories are more raw. When I call them raw I am not saying that they are poorly written, I'm rather referring that compared to later versions, the stories in this collection are more violent, and sometimes shocking, and less censured. The posterior editions are a little bit more tamed.
The introduction and the notes that accompany this translation are wonderful and informative, giving the Grimm's work even more depth as it provides, with much care and detail, some background on process of collection of the stories.
This book is also accompanied by the illustrations of Andrea Dezsö, who manages to capture in ink and paper the uncanny and eerie feeling that this stories have.
I received this book from NetGalley. -
This was a great read. I really enjoyed the stories. I liked Volume 2 better than 1 but I liked Snow White in Volume 1 more than the one that Disney made!!
Fairy tales or Folk tales are positive literature. I is hard to stay depressed listening to these stories. I had kind of a miracle of my own today. I was reading
The Name of the Rose and came across a word and place I hadn't heard of. I looked it up on Wiki. "Cockaingne", "where wheels of cheese and aromatic sausages grow on the trees that ooze honey."
Well chapter 67 of this book has the story: The Tale About the Land of Cockaigne.
Now how often does that happen.
This was a fun read and especially so because it was a twin read with a twin from Bangladesh. Thank you!! -
Το πρώτο βιβλίο που διάβασα ποτέ. Φυσικά όχι στα αγγλικά και όχι σε αυτή την πανέμορφη έκδοση, αλλά σε μία άλλη που στα μάτια μου τότε φάνταζε εξίσου πανέμορφη. Δεν έχω ιδέα πού βρίσκεται εκείνη, πράγμα περίεργο, γιατί από μικρή δεν ήμουν από τους ανθρώπους που έχαναν βιβλία. Από την άλλη, δεν έχει και μεγάλη σημασία, τον σκοπό του τον επιτέλεσε: μαζί του ξεκίνησα το διάβασμα. Θυμάμαι ακόμα, σαν να 'ταν χθες, τον παιδικό εαυτό μου να κρατάει το τεράστιο σκληρόδετο βιβλίο στα χέρια του, να στριφογυρίζει για ώρες στο κρεβάτι και να διαβάζει τις ίδιες ιστορίες ξανά και ξανά, ενόσω στον οβάλ καθρέφτη που κρεμόταν πάνω απ' το κεφάλι του κάτι μαγικό ζωντάνευε και αργοσάλευε, προσκαλώντας τον να το ακολουθήσει - σε κάθε παραμύθι και κάτι αλλιώτικο.
Ίσως πάλι, τα πράγματα να έγιναν και κάπως διαφορετικά. Ποιος ξέρει; Ποιος μπορεί να τα βάλει με τα γεννήματα της παιδικής φαντασίας; -
I absolutely adore this book. Exactly what I have been searching for!
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For my final major project at college :-) ✨
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3.25 ★
I have always been interested in anything Faerie related since I was a little girl and was curious to know more about the origins of most of our modern Fairy Tales so of course I had to buy this book.
It took me a long time to find an edition of their original tales and not just one of their most recent ones and this book is a little treasure !
The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm is a translation of their very first edition that the two Brothers had published in two separate volumes : 1812 (volume 1) and 1815 (volume 2).
The introduction is fascinating and insightful and knowing about the brothers Grimm, the different versions and translations of their work and the origins of the tales really add a lot to the book.
The illustrations are lovely and I can only wish there were more of them.
I have to say that I didn't like or care for most of the tales. All in all they are easy to read but I personally think that some of them are simply uninteresting and redundant.My favorite tales were :
Rapunzel
Hansel and Gretel
The Six Swans
Rumpelstiltskin
The Queen Bee
This is definitely not a book for children, the stories in there are brutal and gruesome, even gore for most of them but it's interesting to see the source where our to-day tales come from.
After having read those Original Folk and Fairy Tales I am planning on reading their most recent work to compare the stories and see what changes they made. -
these were so repetitive and there were maybe three stories that i actually found interesting lmfao thank god it's over
