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pizzamyheart's review
3.0
This is NOT a bad book, but it's not as easy as others make it out to be.
Most people will pick up a "fairy tale" book because they have kids or want an easy read. Most kids will be bored by this book. Just being honest. The stories are long winded and can take awhile to get to the point. That doesn't mean they are bad. They're actually really enjoyable stories. You just have to be prepared to spend some time reading them.
Now to the point... Wonder Tales is a collection of "fairy" tales told in the french court. They called them "wonder tales" in france because not all stories involved fairies. I actually liked this aspect. I've read numerous "fairy tales" and find the label quit limiting. Folk tales, tall tales, wonder tales, fables.. You get the picture. The labels just depend on the region.
These wonder tales are a blend of famous fairy tale tropes. Enchantments, hidden identities, strange bridegrooms/bedfellows, curses, etc. Each carries out a little aspect of french society. It's easy to imagine a group of people spending the afternoon together reciting one of these stories. The stories would be enjoyable to both fairy tale enthusiasts and history buffs. But again, I do think children will be bored by these stories. There are also some elements that parents may not want their children exposed to. For those reasons, I would recommend the book to anyone 14+.
Most people will pick up a "fairy tale" book because they have kids or want an easy read. Most kids will be bored by this book. Just being honest. The stories are long winded and can take awhile to get to the point. That doesn't mean they are bad. They're actually really enjoyable stories. You just have to be prepared to spend some time reading them.
Now to the point... Wonder Tales is a collection of "fairy" tales told in the french court. They called them "wonder tales" in france because not all stories involved fairies. I actually liked this aspect. I've read numerous "fairy tales" and find the label quit limiting. Folk tales, tall tales, wonder tales, fables.. You get the picture. The labels just depend on the region.
These wonder tales are a blend of famous fairy tale tropes. Enchantments, hidden identities, strange bridegrooms/bedfellows, curses, etc. Each carries out a little aspect of french society. It's easy to imagine a group of people spending the afternoon together reciting one of these stories. The stories would be enjoyable to both fairy tale enthusiasts and history buffs. But again, I do think children will be bored by these stories. There are also some elements that parents may not want their children exposed to. For those reasons, I would recommend the book to anyone 14+.
sandra94's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
giantarms's review
I cannot, in my current state of mind, enjoy these though I am sure they are charming. I read the first story and decided to put this one down. Called "The White Cat," here is how it goes:
Each time he sets off, he goes to this gorgeous palace made of otherworldly materials that is owned by the White Cat who takes an interest in Our Hero. She provides him the object he needs to fulfill the quest and they spend the rest of the quest period dicking about together how royals do. This seems to involve a lot of chess and hunting. I'm not sure this is a royal thing so much as a cat thing, but at one point the White Cat stages a naval battle between her cat courtiers and the rats. The rats have the advantage at first (because they can swim), but the cats eventually get the upper hand at which point the White Cat calls the battle to end. Her logic is that if the cats kill all the mice, they will have nothing do and get restive. Ah. Such wisdom.
This is all just a very long framing story for the real tale. Eventually, the thing the prince needs to fetch is a wife. Now, because the prince is Good, when the White Cat says, "Hey man, I want you to murder the hell out of me" he does it. The Cat is revealed to be Actually a Princess. Apparently, her mom, a human queen and a richer one than the prince's (never mentioned) mom, liked to travel. One day she was in the hinterlands and heard about some fairy place with very good fruit. She was seized with a craving for it and tried to get it, but she couldn't figure out how to enter the garden. She sits there, retinue and all, for SIX WHOLE WEEKS while PREGNANT and wasting away because she wants . . . fruit?
OBVIOUSLY this fairy fruit has put the magic disease in her brain and body because there is no way a pregnant woman is going to eat nothing for six weeks and also not, uh, die. Nevertheless, because she accepts the fairies' offer of fruit for unborn baby (she figured if she didn't get the fruit she'd die anyway), she is the one who gets blamed at the very end of the tale for screwing up. (The baby gets turned eventually into the White Cat because she tried to pull a Rapunzel and got caught.)
So, there were a lot of places where this story could have gone weird and wonderful, but ultimately, here's what the author suggests are the takeaways for us (emphasis mine):
TL;DR: An ensorcled woman is blamed for all the problems and that is the moral, I guess.
I'm sure these stories are great, and I really did enjoy imagining the palace (because I am a fool for gemstones and butterfly wings) but it's not what I need right now.
But I am enjoying the story about a dude who's nose fell off. Aw yeah.
Spoiler
A prince, who is described as Good, has to go on these arbitrary scavenger hunts in a competition with his two older brothers for his father's crown. The king wants to give up the crown because he is approaching the age where he is likely to be murdered by one of his own sons in order to take it. Delightful. But the young prince is, as has been stated, Good. So we follow him on his quests.Each time he sets off, he goes to this gorgeous palace made of otherworldly materials that is owned by the White Cat who takes an interest in Our Hero. She provides him the object he needs to fulfill the quest and they spend the rest of the quest period dicking about together how royals do. This seems to involve a lot of chess and hunting. I'm not sure this is a royal thing so much as a cat thing, but at one point the White Cat stages a naval battle between her cat courtiers and the rats. The rats have the advantage at first (because they can swim), but the cats eventually get the upper hand at which point the White Cat calls the battle to end. Her logic is that if the cats kill all the mice, they will have nothing do and get restive. Ah. Such wisdom.
This is all just a very long framing story for the real tale. Eventually, the thing the prince needs to fetch is a wife. Now, because the prince is Good, when the White Cat says, "Hey man, I want you to murder the hell out of me" he does it. The Cat is revealed to be Actually a Princess. Apparently, her mom, a human queen and a richer one than the prince's (never mentioned) mom, liked to travel. One day she was in the hinterlands and heard about some fairy place with very good fruit. She was seized with a craving for it and tried to get it, but she couldn't figure out how to enter the garden. She sits there, retinue and all, for SIX WHOLE WEEKS while PREGNANT and wasting away because she wants . . . fruit?
OBVIOUSLY this fairy fruit has put the magic disease in her brain and body because there is no way a pregnant woman is going to eat nothing for six weeks and also not, uh, die. Nevertheless, because she accepts the fairies' offer of fruit for unborn baby (she figured if she didn't get the fruit she'd die anyway), she is the one who gets blamed at the very end of the tale for screwing up. (The baby gets turned eventually into the White Cat because she tried to pull a Rapunzel and got caught.)
So, there were a lot of places where this story could have gone weird and wonderful, but ultimately, here's what the author suggests are the takeaways for us (emphasis mine):
This young prince was lucky indeed
To find in a cat's guise an august princess
Whom he would later marry, and accede
To three thrones and a world of tenderness.
When two enchanting eyes are inclined
To inspire love, they seldom find resistance, [lol -- ed.]
Especially when a wise and ardent mind
Moves them to inspire lasting allegiance.
I'll speak no more of the unworthy mother
Who caused the White Cat so many sorrows
By coveting the fruit of another,
Thus ceding her daughter to the fairies' powers.
Mothers, who have children full of charm,
Despise her conduct, and keep them from all harm.
TL;DR: An ensorcled woman is blamed for all the problems and that is the moral, I guess.
I'm sure these stories are great, and I really did enjoy imagining the palace (because I am a fool for gemstones and butterfly wings) but it's not what I need right now.
But I am enjoying the story about a dude who's nose fell off. Aw yeah.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
4.0
There are thrills that you can get from reading a book. There is the thrill of a totally mind numbing, heart stopping good book. The thrill one gets from reading a beloved book yet again. Then there is a different thrill. The wow, the author likes it too thrill.
That's what happened here.
I've read four of these tales before. My favorite French fairy tale is included in this volumne.
It's "The Great Green Wurm".
I get the book and see, to my surprise, that [a:A.S. Byatt|1169504|A.S. Byatt|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1221410963p2/1169504.jpg] translated one of the stories. I start reading and get a bigger thrill that she translated, you guessed it, "The Great Green Wurm".
I love "TGGW" because it is a fairy tale about the elder princess (hence, why Byatt might have translated it). I love the story because it is a dual "Beauty and the Beast" and a descendent of "Cupid and Pysche", except Hidessa, the heroine, is far, far cooler.
She's not stupid. She's got guts.
It's so cool that Byatt translated this one. I wonder if it is her favorite French fairy tale too. I know she was influenced by it in some of her work, but this is so awesome.
Also included in this volumne is the wonderful "The Subtle Princess" also sometimes called "The Story of Finette" (Finessa this translation). I have read several translations of this tale, and all the translations seem to have been good. Gilbert Adair's, however, has the most life and most humor. If you haven't read "SP" before, be prepared for a princess who can handle an ax ("with which her fingers toyed as though it were as light and airy as a fan"), can make a man take responisblity for his offspring instead of the single mother having to deal with the children, and she kicks people into glass filled barrels. It's a shame that this story is not read to young girls more often. Finessa is a better role model than any of the standard fairy tale heroines.
"The White Cat" is the lead story, and most likely the most famous one. It is a good inversion of a Beauty and Beast story, yet the changes are interesting. The cat helps the prince, not the prince's father as in the standard girl versions of the story.
I didn't like Murat's version of "Bearskin", though it has some humor. Part of the problem is that after the "SP", I kept wondering what happened to the princess' maid, for she had cunning and the princess didn't. "Starlight", as well, lacked some charm.
I haven't read "The Counterfeit Marquise" before. As I read it, I kept imagining Monty Python acting it out.
It really works.
That's what happened here.
I've read four of these tales before. My favorite French fairy tale is included in this volumne.
It's "The Great Green Wurm".
I get the book and see, to my surprise, that [a:A.S. Byatt|1169504|A.S. Byatt|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1221410963p2/1169504.jpg] translated one of the stories. I start reading and get a bigger thrill that she translated, you guessed it, "The Great Green Wurm".
I love "TGGW" because it is a fairy tale about the elder princess (hence, why Byatt might have translated it). I love the story because it is a dual "Beauty and the Beast" and a descendent of "Cupid and Pysche", except Hidessa, the heroine, is far, far cooler.
She's not stupid. She's got guts.
It's so cool that Byatt translated this one. I wonder if it is her favorite French fairy tale too. I know she was influenced by it in some of her work, but this is so awesome.
Also included in this volumne is the wonderful "The Subtle Princess" also sometimes called "The Story of Finette" (Finessa this translation). I have read several translations of this tale, and all the translations seem to have been good. Gilbert Adair's, however, has the most life and most humor. If you haven't read "SP" before, be prepared for a princess who can handle an ax ("with which her fingers toyed as though it were as light and airy as a fan"), can make a man take responisblity for his offspring instead of the single mother having to deal with the children, and she kicks people into glass filled barrels. It's a shame that this story is not read to young girls more often. Finessa is a better role model than any of the standard fairy tale heroines.
"The White Cat" is the lead story, and most likely the most famous one. It is a good inversion of a Beauty and Beast story, yet the changes are interesting. The cat helps the prince, not the prince's father as in the standard girl versions of the story.
I didn't like Murat's version of "Bearskin", though it has some humor. Part of the problem is that after the "SP", I kept wondering what happened to the princess' maid, for she had cunning and the princess didn't. "Starlight", as well, lacked some charm.
I haven't read "The Counterfeit Marquise" before. As I read it, I kept imagining Monty Python acting it out.
It really works.
francescaastraea's review against another edition
4.0
Some really interesting fairy tales. Very 'of their time'; a lot of the sexism, racism and social hierarchy irritated the f out of me, but the stories themselves were well written and well translated. Interesting notes as well.
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