devinelybookish's review against another edition
4.0
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tale Collection
Favourite stories:
The Little Mermaid
Thumbelina
The Ugly Duckling
The Little Matchstick Girl
The Shadow
Auntie Toothache
This collection of fairytales are wonderful to read before bedtime. Most of the time, they are the perfect length. The book comes with a foreword and afterword which contains some interesting insights into the authors life, translations, and interpretations of the stories.
Born poor and earning fame, Anderson shines a light on the inequality of society, on feeling outcast and other, while offering lessons of resilience, engaging for both adults and children alike.
He brings his own experiences into his work. Not belonging to bourgeois nor lower class society. His bisexuality, repressed sexual desires, among other behaviours seperated him from society and humanity.
I found some of the stories too long, (though they still tend to be broken down into parts), or not as interesting.
The stories towards the end of the book are ones written later in his life and tend to he more cynical i.e. has sad endings.
You find yourself rooting for characters and the classic 'happily ever after' that doesn't come. Sometimes it feel poignant and the subversion hits well. Sometimes it feels frustrating.
Overall, I'd recommend thisnto anyone who likes fairytales and classic books
Favourite stories:
The Little Mermaid
Thumbelina
The Ugly Duckling
The Little Matchstick Girl
The Shadow
Auntie Toothache
This collection of fairytales are wonderful to read before bedtime. Most of the time, they are the perfect length. The book comes with a foreword and afterword which contains some interesting insights into the authors life, translations, and interpretations of the stories.
Born poor and earning fame, Anderson shines a light on the inequality of society, on feeling outcast and other, while offering lessons of resilience, engaging for both adults and children alike.
He brings his own experiences into his work. Not belonging to bourgeois nor lower class society. His bisexuality, repressed sexual desires, among other behaviours seperated him from society and humanity.
I found some of the stories too long, (though they still tend to be broken down into parts), or not as interesting.
The stories towards the end of the book are ones written later in his life and tend to he more cynical i.e. has sad endings.
You find yourself rooting for characters and the classic 'happily ever after' that doesn't come. Sometimes it feel poignant and the subversion hits well. Sometimes it feels frustrating.
Overall, I'd recommend thisnto anyone who likes fairytales and classic books
rvelra's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
decafplease's review against another edition
5.0
The illustrations are poignant, sophisticated and astoundingly beautiful. Loved it.
katrina_ingram's review against another edition
3.5
This was a good collection of Andersen’s tales, I didn’t love the narrator on the version I got which did affect my rating. I liked listening to classics I am familiar with, especially the little mermaid that is not quite the same as the Disney version!! I also liked discovering new ones like the nightingale, or ones I’ve heard retellings of but never read the original like the wild swans. He was a gifted storyteller and it he got my wondering what categorises a story as a fairytale…of down the rabbit hole I go
yetilibrary's review against another edition
5.0
This collection of Andersen tales rates 5 stars and a "highly recommended" rating due to the way the tales have been curated. An excellent biography and introduction lead into seven categories of stories, and this scheme led me to read Andersen in new ways. I learned a lot!
wetdryvac's review against another edition
5.0
Brain fried on Rackham by this point - I'm working with the art as part of a project - but every time I think, "This is going to start hurting," It gets fun again instead. This book is a charming case in point. And creepy.
bright_night's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
cdaly's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I am the princess on the pea and I want to steal her life give me the prince who deserves a high maintenance sensitive girl
readerofdafuk's review against another edition
5.0
I read so many fairy tales from these authors, and I am still looking for more!!! There are so many different version of each tale, and so many stories from each culture. For example, in 3 different kinds of Cinderella, the stepsisters are either forgiven, ignored, or, as in the French version, their eyes were pecked out by wild birds. In Snow White, she and the Prince forced the Wicked Queen into burnning hot shoes where she was forced to dance 'til she was dead. Even the Little Mermaid was strange as the original, she got lungs and commited suicide by drowning, and is now waiting to go to heaven. But with a diferent spin off of old stories, there are many new ones that have never been heard of. It is fun to read and compare to many other tales, for anyone.
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
5.0
What a beast this was to get through... But my, what a beauty it was to read!
(^ See what I did there...? ;D)
The complete illustrated stories of Hans Christian Anderson fell nothing short of my high expectations. Of course I grew up reading and seeing film adaptations of some of his most famous works so being able to read his entirety (and finding it for only £1.99!) was a wondrous and nostalgic experience that I wish for everyone to try!
I was shocked to see that not everything Mr. Anderson created was that of fairy-tales and was astonished to see that even a simple tale about a shilling pulled fond emotions from my heart and soul. I loved how the words flowed with the stories that I was familiar with (e.g. The little sea maid, Thumbelina, The snow queen, of which if you check out my progress updates you can see some little reviews of) and rekindled my love for some stories I had once forgotten. For example, whilst reading The Little Match girl I remembered how I had a cassette set with a lot of Anderson's work on them and it brought me back to the times where I'd take them out, sit at my desk at home, with my little red chair and tape player, and listen to them for hours! Ah! The memories!
I did find it a struggle to get through some of the more unfamiliar stories, especially ones that were very different to what I'd usually read, but this doesn't in anyway cheapen the beauty of the tales, it just took a little more effort to read, therefore in most cases, increasing my appreciation. Some examples of ones that were a little difficult to read and slow to start but I ended up loving were Grandmother, Poultry Meg's Family and Under the willow tree.
I was confused with if the whole of the stories after The Story of my life were still part of the autobiography, which would make sense if they were, but if so, almost felt detached somehow.
The layout of the original text and illustrations complemented the stories beautiful and I'm so happy to have read all of Hans Christian Anderson's works from when he was just beginning and finding his feet to when he was soaring high with the best of them- which was enhanced through his autobiography!
This is a special gem that I think everyone should read, whether you're just introducing The Little Mermaid to your young ones for the first time (perhaps with the censor on :P) or you're picking up some much beloved stories for the 500th time, just read it! :D
There's so much more I can say, but can't put into words, so instead of stumbling on my words read Anderson's words instead!
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
(^ See what I did there...? ;D)
The complete illustrated stories of Hans Christian Anderson fell nothing short of my high expectations. Of course I grew up reading and seeing film adaptations of some of his most famous works so being able to read his entirety (and finding it for only £1.99!) was a wondrous and nostalgic experience that I wish for everyone to try!
I was shocked to see that not everything Mr. Anderson created was that of fairy-tales and was astonished to see that even a simple tale about a shilling pulled fond emotions from my heart and soul. I loved how the words flowed with the stories that I was familiar with (e.g. The little sea maid, Thumbelina, The snow queen, of which if you check out my progress updates you can see some little reviews of) and rekindled my love for some stories I had once forgotten. For example, whilst reading The Little Match girl I remembered how I had a cassette set with a lot of Anderson's work on them and it brought me back to the times where I'd take them out, sit at my desk at home, with my little red chair and tape player, and listen to them for hours! Ah! The memories!
I did find it a struggle to get through some of the more unfamiliar stories, especially ones that were very different to what I'd usually read, but this doesn't in anyway cheapen the beauty of the tales, it just took a little more effort to read, therefore in most cases, increasing my appreciation. Some examples of ones that were a little difficult to read and slow to start but I ended up loving were Grandmother, Poultry Meg's Family and Under the willow tree.
I was confused with if the whole of the stories after The Story of my life were still part of the autobiography, which would make sense if they were, but if so, almost felt detached somehow.
The layout of the original text and illustrations complemented the stories beautiful and I'm so happy to have read all of Hans Christian Anderson's works from when he was just beginning and finding his feet to when he was soaring high with the best of them- which was enhanced through his autobiography!
This is a special gem that I think everyone should read, whether you're just introducing The Little Mermaid to your young ones for the first time (perhaps with the censor on :P) or you're picking up some much beloved stories for the 500th time, just read it! :D
There's so much more I can say, but can't put into words, so instead of stumbling on my words read Anderson's words instead!
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén