Outfoxing Fear: Folktales from Around the World (Aesop Prize

by Kathleen Ragan (Editor), Jack D. Zipes (Preface)

A multicultural collection of hopeful, utopian folktales for all ages that tackle our most elemental human fear.

Humans of all eras and cultures have lived with of becoming jaguar prey, of being besieged by Vikings, or of nuclear holocaust. For millennia, huddled around campfires and in cottages, we have created folktales to help us transform this fear into action, into solutions, into hope. Inspired by the residual fear and need for stories of resilience following September 11th, Kathleen Ragan, editor of the anthology Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters , has scoured the globe and collected these 64 tales that respond to fear in its wide variety of incarnations. From the old Japanese woman who tricks the tengu monster to the bluebird that uses the Chinook wind to teach her mother compassion, Outfoxing Fear is a collection of positive, even utopian, folktales arranged thematically around topics such as the nature of fear and courage, the importance of laughter, and the need for hope. 16 illustrations, map.

Genres: Folklore, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Short Stories

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 9, 2006

Reviews

[Davidg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting collection of folk tales from around the world. They have an interweaving theme of controlling fear, courage and defeating the 'enemy' (often a monster, ghoul or demon).

There is also the overarching story of the author collecting the stories in response to 9/11 and the reaction to the events of that day. This does not really work, it just seems to give her the opportunity to talk of the interesting places she has lived in. However, fo me, that does not detract from the quality and variety of the stories. It isn't the best collection I have, but it does have a number of good tales that I haven't encountered before.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. Good concept but only so-so delivery. The stories didn't all fit the author's declared purpose/framework and she veered away from her theme far too often in her author shorts inserted between tales. In fact, they came across as quite self-indulgent. Also it rang as an afterthought (and somewhat cheap, at that) to invoke 9/11 as the logic behind this collection. All in all, I expected something much more flowing and cohesive. Especially after the glowing intro that painted her as Scheherazade.

[Honeywine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't actually like the book all that much...
ended up being pretty random, and the whole "dealing with fear from 9/11" thing, folk tales are not going to help you there lady... you're just adding some of your own fantasy to the fantasy that the government fed you. Try talking about it, finding out what happened. The only way to effectively deal with fear is to collect your emotions, gather some facts and come to a conclusion. You can learn your way out of fear; take for example you are in the jungle and you hear a crack in the bush behind you, it could be a panther or it could be the wind. You need to use your five sensed to gather information about what is really going on in your current situation, analyze the information you have gathered, come to a conclusion and then make a decision.

I did enjoy some of the fables such as:

What are you most scared of? - Japan

Death and the old woman- Hungary

The bee and the Asya- Hopi of North America

Ole sis goose- African American

Legend of Sway-Uock- Snohomish of North America

The meatballs' leader- Afghanistan

[Rebecca Schwarz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since I read this to my 9YO, we skipped the author's essays. I like the idea of a themed collection, though trying to gather folktales around the theme of fear is, I think, tricky. All folktales have an element of fear, granted some more than others.

There were some good tales in here, and I liked the breadth of material. There were tales from native peoples of North America, Africa, Australia, various island nations to name a few, so it's a good collection to balance out the preponderance of European tales available in English.

Several stories were written in extremely heavy dialects, which just completely didn't work for me. Maybe because I was reading them aloud... It was just too much work to try to parse the meaning of each sentence to get through the story. We ended up skipping those stories.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admittedly did not find this collection of folktales as compelling as I had anticipated, especially considering how much I liked Ragan’s other collection. However, Ragan makes enough excellent points about the importance of folktales in our lives and for cultural transmission that there is still an awful lot to think about. Anyone who enjoys folktales will certainly find something of interest in this collection.

[Erica | · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice collection of folktales woven together within a frame narrative. The collection reflects the questions associated with fear. What is it? Does it have a purpose? How do various cultures approach fear, and what are some of the common fears faced by humans? The collection is, at its heart, about hope.
Though I enjoyed the tales, some familiar and some not, I felt the overarching narrative could have been a bit more reflective or offered up stronger personal reflection in relation to the sections.

[Maegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let's start with the idea of this book. A collection of stories from around the world to enrich and diversify our minds. That is why I picked up this book, to get ideas and stories from other cultures. I was a little disappointed though, because less than 10 stories in this book stuck out to me enough to remember or want to read again. There were quite a few that didn't make sense, or didn't really have much of a story or and ending, and some that read as abridged versions. Now I know this isn't really the author's fault because she can only transcribe these stories, not change them. But then, she chose these stories to publish.
I did enjoy most of the author's life tidbits she added in the book that were interspersed throughout.
I think that I am glad I read it because otherwise I would not know of those stories that stuck out to me, and I will read those stories again.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, it goes over the top with its message. But "The Old Woman and the Tengu" was very popular with my education majors; there are some good stories here.

[Jocelyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another 5 trillion * read. This is my go-to book and jumps in my hand whenever I feel anxiety. A good hot honey and milk read. Good for all ages!

[Tim Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

disappointed, stories too weird to use in talks or for my retreats and camps

[Caleb · Rating 1 out of 5]

The introduction promises a Arabian Nights-like set-up, with Ragan acting as a Scheherazade telling the collected stories as a way of coping with 9/11. In reality, it's simply a collection of folk stories all dealing with fear in some way or another, broken up by short, confessional pieces about Ragan's own life and thoughts on being a mother, wife, woman and citizen of the world.

[Demuzeblog · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.8weekly.nl/artikel/4307/ka...

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.