thomasgoddard's review against another edition
4.0
I lost track of all the things I learned from this collection. I had to go back to places where I knew that there were tales I’d forgotten to note down precisely enough.
I picked this up thinking that it would help me by adding a little more meat to the idea of a novel I’m working on. In the end, I think I should give a free copy of my book to the author of this one, when I’m done writing it. Because this book has really shaped my understanding of the subject and how best to incorporate elements of folklore into my own work.
There were things I knew already, but those bits of information were polished and newly faceted by revisiting them and having things expanded on.
I spent a good deal of the time reading this sharing the little stories and the reason they were so lovely – the hidden/disguised metaphors at work – with my partner.
A really proficient and highly readable text on the supernatural landscape above, below and behind the British Isles.
I picked this up thinking that it would help me by adding a little more meat to the idea of a novel I’m working on. In the end, I think I should give a free copy of my book to the author of this one, when I’m done writing it. Because this book has really shaped my understanding of the subject and how best to incorporate elements of folklore into my own work.
There were things I knew already, but those bits of information were polished and newly faceted by revisiting them and having things expanded on.
I spent a good deal of the time reading this sharing the little stories and the reason they were so lovely – the hidden/disguised metaphors at work – with my partner.
A really proficient and highly readable text on the supernatural landscape above, below and behind the British Isles.
raven_morgan's review against another edition
3.0
I received this eARC from the publisher via Netgalley.
****
"The Land of the Green Man" is precisely what its subtitle describes it to be: a journey through the landscape of the British Isles as seen through the lens of folklore and story.
This would be a brilliant starting point for anyone who was beginning to learn about British folklore. So many different topics are covered, all the way through changeling and kelpie legends, to more modern uses of folklore as filtered through fantasy literature. The only issue I had with the book is that few individual topics are explored in depth, but given the extraordinary breadth of topics covered, that would have been impossible to do without creating an immense tome.
A good springing-off point for exploration of British folklore - getting the feel of the lay of the land, so to speak - but probably not of much use to people who have already studied a lot of the topics explored.
****
"The Land of the Green Man" is precisely what its subtitle describes it to be: a journey through the landscape of the British Isles as seen through the lens of folklore and story.
This would be a brilliant starting point for anyone who was beginning to learn about British folklore. So many different topics are covered, all the way through changeling and kelpie legends, to more modern uses of folklore as filtered through fantasy literature. The only issue I had with the book is that few individual topics are explored in depth, but given the extraordinary breadth of topics covered, that would have been impossible to do without creating an immense tome.
A good springing-off point for exploration of British folklore - getting the feel of the lay of the land, so to speak - but probably not of much use to people who have already studied a lot of the topics explored.
roseparis's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
An interesting meander through familiar British and Irish legends around the country with some reflections on their relevance in modern literature and film.
whogivesabook's review against another edition
4.0
I lost track of all the things I learned from this collection. I had to go back to places where I knew that there were tales I’d forgotten to note down precisely enough.
I picked this up thinking that it would help me by adding a little more meat to the idea of a novel I’m working on. In the end, I think I should give a free copy of my book to the author of this one, when I’m done writing it. Because this book has really shaped my understanding of the subject and how best to incorporate elements of folklore into my own work.
There were things I knew already, but those bits of information were polished and newly faceted by revisiting them and having things expanded on.
I spent a good deal of the time reading this sharing the little stories and the reason they were so lovely – the hidden/disguised metaphors at work – with my partner.
A really proficient and highly readable text on the supernatural landscape above, below and behind the British Isles.
I picked this up thinking that it would help me by adding a little more meat to the idea of a novel I’m working on. In the end, I think I should give a free copy of my book to the author of this one, when I’m done writing it. Because this book has really shaped my understanding of the subject and how best to incorporate elements of folklore into my own work.
There were things I knew already, but those bits of information were polished and newly faceted by revisiting them and having things expanded on.
I spent a good deal of the time reading this sharing the little stories and the reason they were so lovely – the hidden/disguised metaphors at work – with my partner.
A really proficient and highly readable text on the supernatural landscape above, below and behind the British Isles.
bookshirecat's review against another edition
5.0
Very easy-to-read but not trivial introduction to British folklore. The book is organized into chapters by theme, so you have death and loss, lust and love or continuity and change etc. The added value of the book for me is that the author explains why the particular folklore sprang to life, i.e. what the then inhabitants of British Isles attempted to explain with it - natural phenomena, social inequality, anything they weren't able to explain by rational means.
You get a solid starting point for deeper research or an enjoyable casual reading, depending on your mood and purpose. This balance is not easy to achieve but Larrington managed it quite well.
You get a solid starting point for deeper research or an enjoyable casual reading, depending on your mood and purpose. This balance is not easy to achieve but Larrington managed it quite well.
nellsmith's review
3.0
Yay, I finally finished this! It was interesting, and got lots of follow up reading from it, just got a bit bogged down.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
4.0
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
There is one thing wrong with this book. Let’s get it out of the way first. How can you write a book that deals with English Folklore, that mentions the influence on modern writers, and yet not mention, even in passing, Terry Pratchett? It’s true that there is already a book about Discworld and folklore, but still. It’s like this huge turtle hanging over the book.
That aside, this book is pretty good. Larrington details various folklore and legends of the countryside. The book is more than just the Green Man, but also fairies, selkies, and ghostly dogs. Larrington’s retelling of the various tales is solid, and she includes varieties. What is particularly interesting is her analysis of various tales.
She is able to connect selkie tales to marriage stories and how a woman might view marriage. In fact, if you have read Gould’s Spinning Straw Into Gold, Larrington’s book makes an good companion read. Larrington’s anaylsis adds another level to the idea of the Beauty and the Beast as tale preparing women for marriage. Additionally, her reading of the Finn saga, and in particular Sadb, is actually pretty mind blowing. It made me want to re-read the stories with her analysis in mind.
Larrington also connects the stories to modern work. If you are fan of Neil Gaiman, this book is worth reading for her gets several pages. Less popular authors and works get credit too, and there is a good chance that you will want to track down a newspaper article or two.
All in all, this is a good book about folklore connected to the landscape.
There is one thing wrong with this book. Let’s get it out of the way first. How can you write a book that deals with English Folklore, that mentions the influence on modern writers, and yet not mention, even in passing, Terry Pratchett? It’s true that there is already a book about Discworld and folklore, but still. It’s like this huge turtle hanging over the book.
That aside, this book is pretty good. Larrington details various folklore and legends of the countryside. The book is more than just the Green Man, but also fairies, selkies, and ghostly dogs. Larrington’s retelling of the various tales is solid, and she includes varieties. What is particularly interesting is her analysis of various tales.
She is able to connect selkie tales to marriage stories and how a woman might view marriage. In fact, if you have read Gould’s Spinning Straw Into Gold, Larrington’s book makes an good companion read. Larrington’s anaylsis adds another level to the idea of the Beauty and the Beast as tale preparing women for marriage. Additionally, her reading of the Finn saga, and in particular Sadb, is actually pretty mind blowing. It made me want to re-read the stories with her analysis in mind.
Larrington also connects the stories to modern work. If you are fan of Neil Gaiman, this book is worth reading for her gets several pages. Less popular authors and works get credit too, and there is a good chance that you will want to track down a newspaper article or two.
All in all, this is a good book about folklore connected to the landscape.