Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version
Publisher
Genre(s)
Age Range
6+
Release Date
November 08, 2012
ISBN
978-0670024971
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#1 New York Times bestseller Philip Pullman retells the world’s best-loved fairy tales on their 200th anniversary.

Two centuries ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of "Children’s and Household Tales." Now Philip Pullman, one of the most accomplished authors of our time, makes us fall in love all over again with the immortal tales of the Brothers Grimm.

Pullman retells his fifty favorites, from much-loved stories like “Cinderella” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Gretel” to lesser-known treasures like “The Three Snake Leaves," "Godfather Death" and "The Girl with No Hands." At the end of each tale he offers a brief personal commentary, opening a window on the sources of the tales, the various forms they've taken over the centuries and their everlasting appeal.

Suffused with romance and villainy, danger and wit, the Grimms' fairy tales have inspired Pullman's unique creative vision — and his beguiling retellings will draw you back into a world that has long cast a spell on the Western imagination.

#1 New York Times bestseller Philip Pullman retells the world’s best-loved fairy tales on their 200th anniversary.

Two centuries ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of "Children’s and Household Tales." Now Philip Pullman, one of the most accomplished authors of our time, makes us fall in love all over again with the immortal tales of the Brothers Grimm.

Pullman retells his fifty favorites, from much-loved stories like “Cinderella” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Gretel” to lesser-known treasures like “The Three Snake Leaves," "Godfather Death" and "The Girl with No Hands." At the end of each tale he offers a brief personal commentary, opening a window on the sources of the tales, the various forms they've taken over the centuries and their everlasting appeal.

Suffused with romance and villainy, danger and wit, the Grimms' fairy tales have inspired Pullman's unique creative vision — and his beguiling retellings will draw you back into a world that has long cast a spell on the Western imagination.

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Reliving happy childhood memories with the help of: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm
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Philip Pullman is one of my favorite authors. If you haven't read His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass (Everyman's Library (Cloth)) trilogy you better correct that mistake soon.
I was very excited when I saw that Pullman did a retelling of Brothers Grimm fairy tales, I knew that he would do them justice.

This anthology consists of 50 fairy tales handpicked by Pullman from a larger collection of stories that Brothers Grimm collected.
I must shamefully admit that I liked Pullman's retellings even more than the original. He did not edit out strange and odd parts of the stories but his versions are much easier to read, without archaic language constructs. Also, one thing that I most appreciated, he shortened out sometimes boring repetitious parts.
At the end of each story we have notes where Pullman explains what changes he made to the original story. He even treats us with a little bit of historical background: when it was first published and a list of similar stories and adaptations. These notes were very interesting to me, but if you don't like them you can always skip them with no harm done.

This book has something to offer to everybody. It can be savored a tale a day or devoured in one afternoon. You can read it to your kids before bedtime or you can read it alone.
Whatever pace you set or audience you choose, if you are a lover of classic fairy tales you will definitely enjoy this book.

I recommend this book to: young and old fans of classic fairy tales.

Disclaimer: I was given a free ebook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.
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