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archaicgambit's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
A really impressive collection! I am not Jewish but interested in learning the folklore of different cultures. I thought this was extremely accessible as a gentile, with vocabulary guides in the back and detailed commentaries.
I appreciated the diversity of the stories collected, ranging from North Africa to throughout Europe and the Middle East, even a Chinese Jewish folktale! There was also special commentary about getting stories shared in womens communities.
I admit to power-browsing the mystical section. As a gentile it was the most dense and least interesting for me, but I still did learn, and I think if you were more familiar with the cultural context you’d get a lot, so that’s more on me than on the book. There’s obviously still great value in this section, just not the reason I picked up the collection.
I appreciated the diversity of the stories collected, ranging from North Africa to throughout Europe and the Middle East, even a Chinese Jewish folktale! There was also special commentary about getting stories shared in womens communities.
I admit to power-browsing the mystical section. As a gentile it was the most dense and least interesting for me, but I still did learn, and I think if you were more familiar with the cultural context you’d get a lot, so that’s more on me than on the book. There’s obviously still great value in this section, just not the reason I picked up the collection.
evavroslin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
An essential book for anyone wanting to know more about Jewish folk tales, and well-divided into different categories as well
abetterjulie's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't a huge fan of the Mystical section, but I might have been if I were Jewish, as it was very religion focused. I loved seeing where all of the tales originated and trying to guess before I finished reading each one. I was surprised by how different these tales are from all of the other oral tradition folktales that I have read so far. They were closer in context to the Arabian Nights than any other, but even then, they had a very different feel. All in all, a great collection that was accessible and entertaining.
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