Grimm Tales: For Young and Old by Philip Pullman

by Various

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genres: Fantasy

Audio CD

First published December 1, 2003

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Livvy Cropper · Rating 3 out of 5]

3*

this audiobook version is wonderfully performed by sam west - i don't think i could have endured all 10+ hours otherwise - but it's really rather dry and repetitive in content.

philip pullman's authorial voice doesn't come through much and he states in the introduction that he's intentionally put none of his own spin, interpretation or even character into these tales - they are "faithful" retellings of the originals, which he hopes the reader will tell again with their own lens. there are no footnotes, comments or explainers in this audiobook version, as other reviewers have stated. i think i would've enjoyed the stories more if these had been present.

many of the tales have been heard by most readers many times e.g. cinderella, rapunzel, snow white, sleeping beauty, etc. [it's not suitable for small children though, these aren't the disney versions!]

there are so many stories included - making it a pretty comprehensive collection rather than a selective one.

given there are probably at least 50 stories contained within, there are also some i'd never heard before, but they mostly blur into one due to the number of shared themes/topics and even repeated phrases (and he took the kings daughter for a wife, each daughter was more beautiful than the last, the wicked stepmother was punished with a painful death, the boy lived happily to the end of his days, etc etc). it doesn't help (to this end) that many characters are never named, although i understand that's typical of fairytales.

a highlight for me was the story of the fisherman, the magic flounder, and the wife ilsabil. as i write this, i just realised it's probably the only story where the wife is named and the husband isn't, which might be why it stuck in my mind!

borrowed from leeds library using borrowbox.

[Scott Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read with an excellent opening on the general appeal and wonder of stories. The chosen tales to be rewritten give a full insight into the Grimm brothers and their sources while covering the well known and loved classics. My only qualm is that the insights at the end of each tale are short and precise. I'm unsure it feels like he did not wish to give his opinions. Which is a shame since I was most interested in his versions of these retellings. A good mix would have been the historical context, of which there is plenty, then his own opinions and decisions. There is some I could just do with more... Lovely book.

[Brian Gowthorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable and beautifully performed by Sam West. I knew a lot of the takes but far from all. Philip Pullman has used all his storytelling skill to update his favourite fifty, satisfyingly reinstating the matter of fact brutality and grimness that set these stories apart from more anodyne British stories. I guffawed several times and half the fun is in the punchlines. Some live happily ever after, but by no means all.

[Bethany Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid grimdark fairytale reader, I really enjoyed Samuel West's narration of these stories. As dark as some of them are, there's a sense of comfort I feel when listening to tales like these.

Some stories I liked and some I loved, so overall, I'd rate it 4 stars. It's definitely worth a listen for fellow fairytale addicts.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a teacher and I read this before letting my Year Six's loose on it, and I would definitely not say it's for the young! Think a slightly watered down Angela Carter. Excellent stories retold brilliantly though.

[Louise Wilford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Some of the short stories are bonkers and I enjoyed Phillip Pullmans opinions on them. He also writes a little about the history of some of them too. I read this with my girl and we both enjoyed them.