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mgouker's review against another edition
3.0
I had the pleasure of reading this for my History of the English Language Linguistics class. There are some good stories here but some--as you might expect--are representative of repressive historical cultures where women are prizes to be won and whose nature, whenever they have self-determination, are burdens to be borne. In any case, I did enjoy more than half despite the flaws. They are, after all, stories from the past, so what more can we glean than the way of that world.
misstessamaye's review against another edition
3.0
Weird & wonderful. The illustrations give me heart-eyes.
rosekk's review against another edition
4.0
I've now read half of Lang's fairy-tale collection, and in spite of the way events and themes repeat throughout I'm not bored. I like seeing motifs repeat across different stories, from different places.
iceangel9's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The classic fantasy collection of fairy tales, the 7th in the series. A wonderful collection of tales from varied countries. A Reader's Corner Must Read.
paperbackstash's review against another edition
3.0
Didn't recognize any of these. I especially liked the narrator doing the voices for 'The Grateful Prince'.
mouthoflethe's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
hazelalaska's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
3.5 stars
I actually really enjoyed most of the stories in this one, and I think this is in my top 2 of all the collections in this series that I've read so far, putting it just behind The Blue Fairy Book. I was going to give this 3.75 stars but I still feel I like The Blue Fairy Book better and I rated that 3.5 stars. I think in part I have some nostalgia attached to that one since it was the first of these books I read when I was younger, and one I've reread several times. I have a vivid memory of sitting in the airport one time reading it on my Kindle while we waited for our rental car when I was about 11 or 12. I have actually read this one before, but I couldn't remember if I had or hadn't.
Favorites:
A Tale of the Tontlawald
The Girl Who Pretended to be a Boy
Good:
The Finest Liar in the World
The Nine Pea-Hens and the Golden Apples
The Lute Player
The Grateful Prince
The Child Who Came from an Egg
Stan Bolovan
The Story of a Gazelle
How a Fish Swam in the Air and a Hare in the Water
The Envious Neighbor
The Fairy of the Dawn- This one was quite a long one and there were random mythology references that didn't really make sense in context.
The Enchanted Knife
Jesper Who Herded the Hares
The History of Dwarf Long Nose
The Monkey and the Jelly-Fish
The Headless Dwarfs
The Boys with the Golden Stars
The Frog
The Story of Halfman
Okay:
The Story of the Three Wonderful Beggars
Schippeitaro- The version of the story here is actually from a translated German version despite being Japanese in origin, and as a result some aspects have been altered, which I wasn't a fan of.
The Three Princes and Their Beasts
The Goat's Ears of the Emperor Trojan- This is just a variant of one of the King Midas stories from Greek mythology, so nothing really new here.
The Two Frogs
Two in a Sack
The Underground Workers
The Nunda, Eater of People
The Story of Hassebu
The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet
The Young Man Who Would Have His Eyes Opened
The Princess Who was Hidden Underground
The Prince who Wanted to See the World
Virgilius the Sorcerer
Mogarzea and his Son
I actually really enjoyed most of the stories in this one, and I think this is in my top 2 of all the collections in this series that I've read so far, putting it just behind The Blue Fairy Book. I was going to give this 3.75 stars but I still feel I like The Blue Fairy Book better and I rated that 3.5 stars. I think in part I have some nostalgia attached to that one since it was the first of these books I read when I was younger, and one I've reread several times. I have a vivid memory of sitting in the airport one time reading it on my Kindle while we waited for our rental car when I was about 11 or 12. I have actually read this one before, but I couldn't remember if I had or hadn't.
Favorites:
A Tale of the Tontlawald
The Girl Who Pretended to be a Boy
Good:
The Finest Liar in the World
The Nine Pea-Hens and the Golden Apples
The Lute Player
The Grateful Prince
The Child Who Came from an Egg
Stan Bolovan
The Story of a Gazelle
How a Fish Swam in the Air and a Hare in the Water
The Envious Neighbor
The Fairy of the Dawn- This one was quite a long one and there were random mythology references that didn't really make sense in context.
The Enchanted Knife
Jesper Who Herded the Hares
The History of Dwarf Long Nose
The Monkey and the Jelly-Fish
The Headless Dwarfs
The Boys with the Golden Stars
The Frog
The Story of Halfman
Okay:
The Story of the Three Wonderful Beggars
Schippeitaro- The version of the story here is actually from a translated German version despite being Japanese in origin, and as a result some aspects have been altered, which I wasn't a fan of.
The Three Princes and Their Beasts
The Goat's Ears of the Emperor Trojan- This is just a variant of one of the King Midas stories from Greek mythology, so nothing really new here.
The Two Frogs
Two in a Sack
The Underground Workers
The Nunda, Eater of People
The Story of Hassebu
The Maiden with the Wooden Helmet
The Young Man Who Would Have His Eyes Opened
The Princess Who was Hidden Underground
The Prince who Wanted to See the World
Virgilius the Sorcerer
Mogarzea and his Son
sonshinelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
The further into this series of fairy books I get, the less familiar the stories become. This one had quite a few I didn't know and I find them quite fascinating.
amalia1985's review
5.0
''Stories that have been inherited by our earliest civilised ancestors, who really believed that beasts and trees and stones can talk if they choose, and behave kindly or unkindly. The stories are full of the oldest ideas of ages when science did not exist and magic took the place of science.''
My first experience with Andrew Lang's writing took place at university via a very interesting bibliography on Folklore. I hadn't had the chance to read a volume of the Fairy Books series until I discovered the entire collection in my favourite bookshop. I decided to start with The Violet Fairy Book that includes 25 tales from Serbia, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Japan, Africa, Romania, Portugal, Italy, Sweden and Germany.
''Yes, forwards', answered the horse, 'but you must tell me, my lord, at what speed you wish to go. Like the wind? Like thought? Like desire? Or like a curse?''
(The Fairy of the Dawn, Romania)
Brave princesses who fight for their destiny, princes and young peasants who are tested in all sorts of ways, kings who are deceived by evil queens, daughters who take up arms to protect their families, wise women with their spells and curses, animals that accompany the heroines and heroes, dragons, dwarves, bewitched children, fairies and giants. And even if certain tales may seem dated and old-fashioned, we need to remember that forced modern values and political correctness are of no use here. Tales and fables are what they are, born out of their era and particular social circumstances. Anything else is one more chance for ridiculous discussion on social media.
'' 'Between Christmas and the New Year', said he, 'I often amuse myself by wandering about the earth watching the doings of men and learning something about them. But as far as I have seen and heard I cannot speak well of them. The greatest part of them are always quarreling and complaining of each other's faults, while nobody thinks of his own.''
My favourite tales in the volume are A Tale of the Tontlawald from Estonia, The Three Princes and their Beasts from Lithuania, he Goat's Ears of the Emperor Trojan from Serbia, The Nine- Pea Hens and the Golden Apples from Serbia, The Lute Player from Russia, The Child Who Came From An Egg from Estonia, The Two Frogs from Japan, The Underground Dwarves from Estonia, The Boys With the Golden Stars from Romania, and The Frog, an Italian version of the Russian tale of The Frog Princess.
''I sing of blooming flowers
Made sweet by sun and rain;
Of all the bliss of love's first kiss,
And parting's cruel pain.
'Of the sad captive's longing
Within his prison wall,
Of hearts that sigh when none are nigh
To answer to their call.''
'' 'Warriors', he told her, 'only rest when they have won the victory. You have still another battle to fight, and it is the hardest of all.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
My first experience with Andrew Lang's writing took place at university via a very interesting bibliography on Folklore. I hadn't had the chance to read a volume of the Fairy Books series until I discovered the entire collection in my favourite bookshop. I decided to start with The Violet Fairy Book that includes 25 tales from Serbia, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Japan, Africa, Romania, Portugal, Italy, Sweden and Germany.
''Yes, forwards', answered the horse, 'but you must tell me, my lord, at what speed you wish to go. Like the wind? Like thought? Like desire? Or like a curse?''
(The Fairy of the Dawn, Romania)
Brave princesses who fight for their destiny, princes and young peasants who are tested in all sorts of ways, kings who are deceived by evil queens, daughters who take up arms to protect their families, wise women with their spells and curses, animals that accompany the heroines and heroes, dragons, dwarves, bewitched children, fairies and giants. And even if certain tales may seem dated and old-fashioned, we need to remember that forced modern values and political correctness are of no use here. Tales and fables are what they are, born out of their era and particular social circumstances. Anything else is one more chance for ridiculous discussion on social media.
'' 'Between Christmas and the New Year', said he, 'I often amuse myself by wandering about the earth watching the doings of men and learning something about them. But as far as I have seen and heard I cannot speak well of them. The greatest part of them are always quarreling and complaining of each other's faults, while nobody thinks of his own.''
My favourite tales in the volume are A Tale of the Tontlawald from Estonia, The Three Princes and their Beasts from Lithuania, he Goat's Ears of the Emperor Trojan from Serbia, The Nine- Pea Hens and the Golden Apples from Serbia, The Lute Player from Russia, The Child Who Came From An Egg from Estonia, The Two Frogs from Japan, The Underground Dwarves from Estonia, The Boys With the Golden Stars from Romania, and The Frog, an Italian version of the Russian tale of The Frog Princess.
''I sing of blooming flowers
Made sweet by sun and rain;
Of all the bliss of love's first kiss,
And parting's cruel pain.
'Of the sad captive's longing
Within his prison wall,
Of hearts that sigh when none are nigh
To answer to their call.''
'' 'Warriors', he told her, 'only rest when they have won the victory. You have still another battle to fight, and it is the hardest of all.''
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/