Under the Starfruit Tree: Folktales from Vietnam

by Alice M. Terada

The culture of Vietnam is rich in diversity: its folk literature reflects, shapes, and transmits that culture. This collection of stories contributes to our understanding of the traditions, values, and human qualities of the Vietnamese peoples.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published December 1, 1989

Reviews

[Adrian Weber]

<3

[☀️Carden☀️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very short and has a few of the common tales you will see in some other books that are written about Vietnamese legends.

I can’t do a long review but this book did a good job on explaining some stories in my culture.

I also learned from here that suicide was a important part in love and war because husband and wife are so devoted to each other that if one dies,one either stays faithful or kills themself so they don’t suffer.

All the stories are broken down into sections and where they belong to:

-Foibles Of Man and Quirks of animals
-Tales from The Lowlands and Highlands
-Spirit World
-Food,Love,and Laughter

The fourth section doesn’t balance well. It’s mostly about love. There is no food and the laughter is hard to understand.

I won’t spoil everything but if your curious to hear a few tails that are familiar: yes you will see the Vietnamese Cinderella in here and the scholar who got the pearl to be able to talk to animals and how land and water keep fighting.

Yep you will see some familiar friends in here. Overall,short and simple to understand. Not the best,buts its cool.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Folktales from Vietnam and the Highlands. I love how folktales from cultures across the world have many variations of the same theme, for example Cinderella. There were also some enjoyable humorous tales near the end of the book.