marinuchi_goo13's review
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
emlickliter's review
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Beauty and the Beast by Maria Tatar – Need a new spring board for your BatB retelling? This book takes you back to the origin stories of my favorite fairy tale! Happy Reading!
oliviakateamerica's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
mssgiinny's review
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Although it doesnt have as much stories as Heidi Heiner's collection, it is always nice to have such a collection with mini essays about them; and Marina Warner demonstrates very well her knowledge about fairytales in this small collection
amandaquotidianbooks's review
4.0
I put this book down after reading a pretty grizzly story where an animal bridegroom stomps his mean bride to death. But when I picked this back up the writing was a lot less dry than I expected from fairytales, and there was no more bride-stomping. The translations of these tales felt modern and were easy to read. It is nice to have a large collection of animal bridegroom stories all in one place.
makz_marie's review
4.0
first off - old fairy tales are entertaining as hell, and we should all read them more.
secondly - I was expecting more academic writing than a straight collection of stories, but it was still informative because I've learned that a.) many fairy tale kings ain't shit and they owe their crowns to their wives being able to produce ludicrous grocery lists at the drop of a hat and b.) men who kidnap women by stealing their fur/feathers/animal skins really are VILLAINS. especially the ones who go after the poor women a second time once they've managed to reclaim their skins and escape. fuck that.
secondly - I was expecting more academic writing than a straight collection of stories, but it was still informative because I've learned that a.) many fairy tale kings ain't shit and they owe their crowns to their wives being able to produce ludicrous grocery lists at the drop of a hat and b.) men who kidnap women by stealing their fur/feathers/animal skins really are VILLAINS. especially the ones who go after the poor women a second time once they've managed to reclaim their skins and escape. fuck that.
velocitygirl14's review
4.0
I had read some of these before, due to having a wonderful collection as a child. It was great to revisit them again.
katiemoten's review
4.0
Beauty and the Beast is my favourite fairy tale, and I picked this book up around the time the Disney live action version came out. These stories are more broadly tales of animal brides and grooms (mostly grooms), and they come from all over the world, showing how folklore and fairy tales are universal.
I was really surprised how many countries were represented in this collection, and I don't even think this is an exhaustive list. What's interesting about these stories as well is that there are a few common roots, or a few similar archetypes that groups of stories follow. Many are similar to the Beauty and the Beast tale repopularised by Disney, but we also have versions that are similar to East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which itself follows the archetype of Cupid and Psyche, and still more are closely related to The Frog King, the most famous version of which is probably the Grimm brothers' story.
Tatar comes from a more academic standpoint. She's interested in the evolution of these stories, the meaning of the animal bride or groom in terms of humanity and nature. Her introduction to the collection is really interesting in relation to this meaning, and she wonders what Beauty and the Beast stories might look like in the future.
A really interesting collection. One I'll come back to in future.
I was really surprised how many countries were represented in this collection, and I don't even think this is an exhaustive list. What's interesting about these stories as well is that there are a few common roots, or a few similar archetypes that groups of stories follow. Many are similar to the Beauty and the Beast tale repopularised by Disney, but we also have versions that are similar to East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which itself follows the archetype of Cupid and Psyche, and still more are closely related to The Frog King, the most famous version of which is probably the Grimm brothers' story.
Tatar comes from a more academic standpoint. She's interested in the evolution of these stories, the meaning of the animal bride or groom in terms of humanity and nature. Her introduction to the collection is really interesting in relation to this meaning, and she wonders what Beauty and the Beast stories might look like in the future.
A really interesting collection. One I'll come back to in future.
phia's review
2.0
I saw this on a bookstore around the time Beauty and the Beast was showing, and for some reason it didn't occur to me it was going to be a collection of fairy tales despite it being spelled out for me on the title. I don't know what I expected then; I guess I was curious because of all the Beauty and the Beast hype.
In any case, I'm pretty neutral about this book. Insights could be gleaned from it but more than that, reading this made me feel somewhat nostalgic to the times I read fairy tales as a kid.
In any case, I'm pretty neutral about this book. Insights could be gleaned from it but more than that, reading this made me feel somewhat nostalgic to the times I read fairy tales as a kid.
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