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Summary: This Is One Of My Favorites!
Review: I have owned this book since I was a child. Here's the origional fairy tales to some of the most popular story tales ever. Sometimes grusome, a few stories aren't for the faint of heart but they always teach a good lesson. A true classic and a book I will always treasure. The Fisherman and His Wife is my absolute favorite! Get this book!
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Summary: It Brings back wonderful memories . . .
Review: I haven't read this book in years! I've been looking for it for the longest time. I must say it is a WONDERFUL book, and I love it. Just seeing the cover brings back memories of me sitting on my bed reading 'til the break of dawn. This book teaches you very important lessons (even though some of the stories are . . . graphic).
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Summary: Things were different back then...
Review: In regards to a previous review, there are a few things to consider when reading the Brothers Grimm. They are not stories for today's children, nor were they intended for children when they were written. If you read the review given above, it clearly states that this collection is more of a nostalgic indulgence. I love to reread my favorite fairytales and see what Disney was hiding from us. It's fun! Not to sound too "Gore is cool," but I'm older now-- I can handle the evil stepsisters cutting off their heels or toes to fit in to the glass slipper. And the beheadings, while gruesome, simply reflect the time period of the stories. Also, let us remember that while there may be a reference to God here and there, this is NOT a religious book. For example, the story "Peasant in Heaven" struck me as one big joke! While some feel it is teaching the wrong lesson, I read it a timeless punch line-- the angels celebrated because hardly any rich men get in to Heaven. Ha! It's like a stupid man getting into Harvard or Yale. With Eve's children, the same basic principle applies. It's not that the Grimms were saying, "Beauty is everything, and ugly children deserve a beating." Sometimes to learn a lesson, you must make a mistake. This story is put here not to learn the what to do, but what NOT to do. Lessons can be learned more effectively sometimes by negative reinforcement. The writing is good, I think, for a translated text. repeated text in a fairytale is necessary, I think, to drive home a point. Some characters need to say the same exact thing in different situations in order to reveal the irony and the comedy behind some stories. The endings might be predictable to some people since we know the basic theme behind most of them and the fairytale pattern is repeated for all the stories. ...well, what's that? (If you don't know what I mean, read the other reviews and figure it out). To sum it up, Grimms is not for kids, but for adults who like to revisit their childhood. Sometimes the stories will make you, laugh, perhaps even cry or cringe, and sometimes you'll learn a lesson or reinforce an old one. Either way, this book is part of history. ...
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Summary: A Fairy Tale book for adults
Review: Like most children, I grew up with the stories of Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretal, Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White and a host of other Grimms Fairy Tales. Now I am grown, my children are grown, and I just happened upon this book and decided to treat myself, to bring back memories of a past childhood maybe. Well, it didn't completely do that, as the stories are certainly not, for the most part, the stories that I knew as a child. They are not the glossed over, perfect happy endings that we think of when we think of 'Fairy Tales'. This book has the tales the way they were originally written, complete with enough violence, blood-shed and gore that would make even Freddie Kreuger cringe. But they are also full of humour, life lessons and morals that we could all learn from. The notes at the back of the book are also very informative. Each story title is given it's original German translation, with information on when it was first published and the source from whence it came. The section of Omitted Tales is particularly interesting. These tales were originally ommitted due to either their gruesomeness, similarity to other tales or for other reasons stated in the notes at the back. For those people who want the 'real stuff' and not the 'sugar coated variety' then this is for you. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Wanted book with larger text possibly more illustrations.
Review: Not quite as much a book I will reach for because type is fairly small-- wanted more of a richly presented illustrated (perhaps one per story) treasury. If you are looking for visually interesting text or illustrations-- better keep looking. If you want a record of stories for reference-- of for adult reading-- perhaps this will suit you.
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Summary: Wanted book with larger text possibly more illustrations.
Review: Not quite as much a book I will reach for because type is fairly small-- wanted more of a richly presented illustrated (perhaps one per story) treasury. If you are looking for visually interesting text or illustrations-- better keep looking. If you want a record of stories for reference-- of for adult reading-- perhaps this will suit you.
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Summary: Love it!!
Review: One big fat collection of Grimm's fairy tales all wrapped up in one inexpensive compendium. Who could ask for more. Now I something to read to my kids that isn't all buttered & Disney'd up.
Rating:
Summary: Love it!!
Review: One big fat collection of Grimm's fairy tales all wrapped up in one inexpensive compendium. Who could ask for more. Now I something to read to my kids that isn't all buttered & Disney'd up.
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Summary: Grim, Entertaining, and Strangely Insightful
Review: The brothers captured much about the German spirit in theircollection of fairly tales, including those aspects of it thatresonate with human nature in general. Most of the tales have German folk origins, some are remakes of French tales, and a few, well... may have been invented by the women who supplied the brothers with fairy tales. The Grimms were academics. Cultured and urban, they did not hang around the villages, pestering peasants for fairy tales. Rather they obtained their material from middle class and aristocratic women who visited their home and related the stories. The women themselves got their material from their mothers or nannies. Wilhelm and Jacob, however, produced an inspired collection of tales with their own distinctive character and flavor. Perhaps they were prodded by the erotic impulse to do that. The tales have certainly withstood the test of time. There is a lot of good natured, blue-eyed German innocence in these tales; strange, dark, and grotesque imagery and symbolism can surely be found; and of course, anyone reflecting on these tales, cannot help by think of all the grusome violence. For some of the most graphic examples of violence check out "Fichter's Bird" and "The Robber Bridegroom" in the first volume. Strangely enough, children do not seem to be disturbed by the violence of these tales. I read this book for the first time when I was seven or eight, and I was fine--perhaps I wasn't old enough to realize what was really happening. Of course, my experience is typical of the way children respond to these tales. I am more disturbed by Grimm's tales as an adult. Their violence, combined with dark imagery and symbols of darkness (ubiquitous forests), irrational behavior (read "Clever Hans" or "Katy and Freddy"), strong pagan themes ("Gambling Hans"), all this combined with certain naivte and matter-of-factness makes you fear that culture and people a bit. "The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm" is a masterpiece, as revealing of the times and culture, as they are imaginative and grim in their images and storylines.
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Summary: I finally found a complete collection!
Review: The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm date back to centuries ago, but only in the 19th century were they written down and collected. An avid fan of fairy tales, I consider this an important treasure. These are the original, untouched-by-Disney, pure tales. All 250, incluidng 40 never before seen, are in this. Many are actually redos of the same tale, but always with a different twist. They are full of gore and violence and everything else, but I've been reading them since I was little. The author Jack Zipes also provides plenty of history notes on the collecting, writing, and translating of the tales and the lives of the Brothers Grimm. All in all, 'tis excellent collection!
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