Reviews

Japanese Fairy Tales: Japanese wisdom passed on from ages! by Yei Theodora Ozaki

jholloed's review against another edition

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3.0

Its finny how fairy tales the world over have such come themes.
Good and evil, fantastic magic, etc.
Good read, easy to get through becuase you can read it in short clips. Veru insightful to the culture I think.

ogreart's review against another edition

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3.0

I found these to be interesting. The transmission of what is important in a culture coming down through the fairy tales we tell our children is so visible. Then again, I was looking for it, so maybe that's why. The stories themselves were enjoyable and the narrator did a fine job.

omega's review against another edition

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adventurous informative lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

3.5

ohmycookies's review against another edition

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2.0

Ik had andere verwachtingen. Eigenlijk was dit boek niet heel erg leuk...

darthshep's review against another edition

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4.0

Some really good short stories in here.

qalminator's review against another edition

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4.0

Quite enjoyable to see fairy tales from a non-western culture. Some themes are still common (animal adventures and "just so" stories; problems with stepmothers; childless couples receiving miraculous children), but with a slightly different flavor. My favorite difference is that instead of having a fairy kingdom in fairy mounds, there's a dragon king with a kingdom under the sea which serves much the same function; I'm particularly amused that no one worries about how mortal visitors are supposed to breathe down there: they just do.

what_alice_saw's review against another edition

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I can’t rate a book that defines a culture, but I loved these stories. Several reminded me of Native American coyote tales. Different cultures, similar stories.

oleade's review against another edition

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4.0

Nice, simple introduction to japanese tales. I would love to find a book with commentaries and analysis of those tales, as i am sure there are symbols and meanings I did not pick up on.
My favorites where the classic, the tale of the Bamboo Cutter and the Moon-Child, as well as the Happy Hunter and the Skillfull Fisher.

creolelitbelle's review against another edition

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2.0

These fairy tales were entertaining if not a bit predictable at times. The Grimm fairy tales, which I was already more familiar with from Disney adaptations prior to reading, fit more to my tastes, but I did like learning the fairy tales of the Japanese culture. While reading these I was reminded how much environmental affects stories such as these, because many of the tales featured Japan’s geographic features such as valleys and mountains and the island itself as essential to the plots.

cdhotwing's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5