girgir81's review against another edition
4.0
Where to start with this?
Let’s start with the rating… Honestly the rating could have been anything from 1 to 5 stars but I landed on 4 eventually for what it represents to me, and a lot of people around the world I’m sure. It was a part of my childhood even if some of the tales were localized and made culturally relevant to the part of the world I grew up in.
One of my favorite parts of this book was actually the introduction. You know how you read the preface of a book grudgingly zooming through it just to get to the actual first page of your book? Yeah, I didn’t feel that way with this book’s introduction at all. It was actually very informative going into details about the life of the Grimm brothers and how they got to compiling this book into its current form.
A few interesting facts I learned from this introduction:
- most initial versions of these tales had the mother as the evil character and not the stepmother. But with newer versions of these tales, the stepmother figure replaced the mother as the villain to preserve the sanctity of the special bond between a mother and her children.
- the tales were not meant for children initially due to their, for lack of a better word, grim nature. They were initially called household tales (Hausmärchen) and then toned down a bit and called Children’s and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen).
- the Brothers Grimm were historians. They did not weave these stories out of their imagination but rather compiled them from folk tales that were popular throughout that region and time. Most of those tales even went back to decades and decades earlier than their times even.
- some of the tales popular at the time did not make the cut and were not included among the collection by the Grimm Brothers as they felt they did not portray the German family values and do not reflect positively on society (not all tales were purely German, some came from neighboring cultures and civilizations)
Now to the content of the book, the actual tales… It think this will probably be the only book where I give a high star rating despite the fact that I found the content silly, gory, sexist and laughable at times. It’s not the tales themselves but rather the times and values they reflected. The original stories of Snow White and Cinderella are so much more sinister than the ones we grew up knowing. In Snow White for example, her own mother sent the huntsman after her to bring back the liver and some other organ of her own child to eat! Were people really that cruel? I mean, this has to come from somewhere…
Parents sent their children to the forest for small silly mistakes to fend off for themselves. People were punished in ways I didn’t even think possible.
Death in general was treated very lightly where you would be reading a tale and then bam someone is killed and no one bats an eyelash and life goes on. We’re talking a close family member, a sibling, a wife, a mother. Perhaps these are exaggerations but again, this was such a common theme that you can’t help but think it was rooted in reality.
Beauty, whiteness, blondness, social status and wealth dominated the “good” qualities. Being poor and having unfair skin or a bland appearance was obviously no bueno. To be fair, the tales did praise being good at heart and being kind, so I will give them that. But in general, characters went to extreme length to obtain riches and status like when the stepsisters in Cinderella cut off their toes and heels to have their feet fit into the glass slipper. Like, what??? How did they even come up with this stuff?!
And the MOST aggravating thing and THE most common theme was… you guessed it… objectifying and demeaning women! Kings gave their daughters as prizes to random men who completed challenges. Women were belittled and were ordered around to cook and clean and follow blindly. Clearly the times were different back then and things have since changed (have they really?) but still I found myself most of the times talking back at the book like a crazy person.
And don’t get me started on how many tales had a maiden-in-distress scenario…
Anyways, all in all, I really did enjoy the book in all its absurdity. It reflected different times and definitely exaggerated tales to deliver certain moral lessons. I definitely recommend this book and ask that you please do read the introduction. It does explain a lot about the key characters and the times.
Let’s start with the rating… Honestly the rating could have been anything from 1 to 5 stars but I landed on 4 eventually for what it represents to me, and a lot of people around the world I’m sure. It was a part of my childhood even if some of the tales were localized and made culturally relevant to the part of the world I grew up in.
One of my favorite parts of this book was actually the introduction. You know how you read the preface of a book grudgingly zooming through it just to get to the actual first page of your book? Yeah, I didn’t feel that way with this book’s introduction at all. It was actually very informative going into details about the life of the Grimm brothers and how they got to compiling this book into its current form.
A few interesting facts I learned from this introduction:
- most initial versions of these tales had the mother as the evil character and not the stepmother. But with newer versions of these tales, the stepmother figure replaced the mother as the villain to preserve the sanctity of the special bond between a mother and her children.
- the tales were not meant for children initially due to their, for lack of a better word, grim nature. They were initially called household tales (Hausmärchen) and then toned down a bit and called Children’s and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen).
- the Brothers Grimm were historians. They did not weave these stories out of their imagination but rather compiled them from folk tales that were popular throughout that region and time. Most of those tales even went back to decades and decades earlier than their times even.
- some of the tales popular at the time did not make the cut and were not included among the collection by the Grimm Brothers as they felt they did not portray the German family values and do not reflect positively on society (not all tales were purely German, some came from neighboring cultures and civilizations)
Now to the content of the book, the actual tales… It think this will probably be the only book where I give a high star rating despite the fact that I found the content silly, gory, sexist and laughable at times. It’s not the tales themselves but rather the times and values they reflected. The original stories of Snow White and Cinderella are so much more sinister than the ones we grew up knowing. In Snow White for example, her own mother sent the huntsman after her to bring back the liver and some other organ of her own child to eat! Were people really that cruel? I mean, this has to come from somewhere…
Parents sent their children to the forest for small silly mistakes to fend off for themselves. People were punished in ways I didn’t even think possible.
Death in general was treated very lightly where you would be reading a tale and then bam someone is killed and no one bats an eyelash and life goes on. We’re talking a close family member, a sibling, a wife, a mother. Perhaps these are exaggerations but again, this was such a common theme that you can’t help but think it was rooted in reality.
Beauty, whiteness, blondness, social status and wealth dominated the “good” qualities. Being poor and having unfair skin or a bland appearance was obviously no bueno. To be fair, the tales did praise being good at heart and being kind, so I will give them that. But in general, characters went to extreme length to obtain riches and status like when the stepsisters in Cinderella cut off their toes and heels to have their feet fit into the glass slipper. Like, what??? How did they even come up with this stuff?!
And the MOST aggravating thing and THE most common theme was… you guessed it… objectifying and demeaning women! Kings gave their daughters as prizes to random men who completed challenges. Women were belittled and were ordered around to cook and clean and follow blindly. Clearly the times were different back then and things have since changed (have they really?) but still I found myself most of the times talking back at the book like a crazy person.
And don’t get me started on how many tales had a maiden-in-distress scenario…
Anyways, all in all, I really did enjoy the book in all its absurdity. It reflected different times and definitely exaggerated tales to deliver certain moral lessons. I definitely recommend this book and ask that you please do read the introduction. It does explain a lot about the key characters and the times.
morituritesalutamus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
dakotamclane's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
As an avid reader of fairytale retellings, figured it was about time to refresh my memory on the originals. Obviously I can’t really critique the writing as it wasn’t written for the modern reader, but I did struggle in some places to keep my eyes on the page and not wandering off. Still love all the stories though, and am very glad I read them.
nottodaysatan's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
herphoenixloves's review against another edition
3.0
Some of these tales are very strange. Some didn't make a whole lot of sense. We enjoyed this book but we're glad it's over.
patriciaabad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
fast-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
yungokssss's review against another edition
4.0
Some of these are really creepy... A job well done, but still... REALLY creepy...
alexlcriddle's review against another edition
5.0
These classic fairy tales are very entertaining and contain lessons to be learned and relearned. I would recommend this collection to anyone who enjoys fairy tales and wishes to visit the originals. There are many familiar stories, as well as little-known, less popular stories that will have you laughing at the ridiculous situations and characters.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
2.0
I was quite curious as to who translated this version, and as it turns out, nobody knows! The book says, "This anonymous translation [...] was first published in 1869," with little else to go on. This particular edition of the mysterious translation was published in 2003.
Some of the translations are a bit... odd. Even taking into account that the translation was reputedly done in the latter half of the 19th century, there were still some very strange choices. One example is the title of the story Märchen von einem, der auszog das Fürchten zu lernen ("the story of the one who went forth to learn to fear"), which is here translated as A Tale of One Who Traveled To Learn What Shivering Meant. The story revolves around a young boy who, as the title suggests, tries to learn what being afraid means—he does indeed say something like, "I wish I knew how to shiver," but in the sense of shuddering or getting goosebumps etc., not literally shivering. There are various other small but confusing choices made throughout.
Some of the translations are a bit... odd. Even taking into account that the translation was reputedly done in the latter half of the 19th century, there were still some very strange choices. One example is the title of the story Märchen von einem, der auszog das Fürchten zu lernen ("the story of the one who went forth to learn to fear"), which is here translated as A Tale of One Who Traveled To Learn What Shivering Meant. The story revolves around a young boy who, as the title suggests, tries to learn what being afraid means—he does indeed say something like, "I wish I knew how to shiver," but in the sense of shuddering or getting goosebumps etc., not literally shivering. There are various other small but confusing choices made throughout.