Grimm's Fairy Tales, a classic collection of worldwide renown, was first published in 1812 by the brothers Grimm. Originally containing 86 stories, subsequent editions eventually expanded the selection to 211 (the seventh edition in 1857). Today's review is of an audiobook (ISBN 9780147526366), which presents 21 of the tales unabridged, each of which is read by a different person in "an award-winning cast," including Alfred Molina ("Doctor Octopus" in Spider-man 2).
This is a great collection, wonderfully read. Some tales will be familiar to many (Rapunzel, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel), but beware- these tales are unaltered from their original form, meaning these are not the Disney versions. Gruesome and violent things will happen.* Some tales are bizarre, but all have a moral of some kind- frequent themes include doing good to all (despite hideous appearances) and the deceiving ways of (and eventual justice for) those who do evil. If, like me, you want to sample the originals without going through all, this is the way to do it (it takes 3.5 hours to listen to this collection).
Rating: A
*making a fascinating study in what 'suitable for children' must have meant 200 years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment