The Golden Key: And Other Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm

by Philip Pullman

Pullman’s versions of the three stories in this Penguin Special—“The Twelve Huntsmen,” “The Buffalo-Hide Boots,” and “The Golden Key”—are not to be found anywhere else and are accompanied by personal commentary about their sources, history, and everlasting appeal. They’re among Pullman’s favorite Grimm tales, and they supplement the fifty he’s selected and retold in the upcoming volume Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm—two of which, “The Goose Girl at the Spring” and “The Three Snake Leaves,” appear here as bonus stories alongside the three feature stories.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Short Story Collection

45 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2012

About the author

Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, The Times named Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In a 2004 BBC poll, he was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to literature.
Northern Lights, the first volume in His Dark Materials, won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book. For the Carnegie's 70th anniversary, it was named in the top ten by a panel tasked with compiling a shortlist for a public vote for an all-time favourite. It won that public vote and was named all-time "Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, The Golden Compass. In 2003, His Dark Materials trilogy ranked third in the BBC's The Big Read, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.

Reviews

[Amina (ⴰⵎⵉⵏⴰ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The notes at the bottom of the pages were hilarious!

[Hestia Istiviani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read in English but this review is written in Bahasa Indonesia

He dug all around it and with a struggle he pulled it up out the frozen earth, thinking, "There must be some treasure in here. I hope the key fits!"

Berbicara tentang Philip Pullman aku akui adalah sesuatu yang baru. Aku hanya sempat menonton adaptasi filmnya yang berjudul Golden Compass. Belum sama sekali mencoba membaca karyanya. Sore itu, salah seorang rekan kantor berujar bahwa Pullman memiliki gaya penulisan yang menarik. Ia menyarankan ku untuk mencoba karyanya.

Saran itu langsung aku lakukan. Aku buka situs resmi Kobo dan melihat-lihat mana sekiranya karya Pullman yang tipis dan ramah kantong. Rupanya The Golden Key menjadi pilihanku (harganya tidak sampai USD3!). Dari sinopsisnya saja sudah membuatku tertarik. Iya, 4 cerita pendek yang ada di dalamnya merupakan penceritaan ulang dari dongeng Grimm Bersaudara yang terkenal itu.

And she said, "I don't know. I can't compare my love with anything."

Empat penceritaan ulang dongeng Grimm Bersaudara dibawakan oleh Pullman dengan singkat. Tidak lebih dari 10 halaman. Bahkan ada yang hanya 2 halaman saja. Rangkaian kalimatnya juga tidak panjang. Memudahkan pembaca untuk memahami tulisannya.

Di akhir cerita, Pullman memberikan catatan dari dongeng manakah tulisannya itu. Tidak hanya itu, ia bahkan memberikan referensi lain yang sama-sama merupakan pengembangan dari sumber/dongeng aslinya. Bahkan ada sedikit penjelasan darinya pada sisi manakah penulis-penulis tersebut mengembangkan ide milik Grimm Bersaudara. Dari 4 cerita, Pullman sering sekali menyebut Italo Calvino sebagai salah satu penulis yang juga melakukan penceritaan kembali. Tentu, aku jadi semakin penasaran dengan tulisan-tulisan Pullman dan Calvino karena hal ini. Apalagi ternyata Pullman memang gemar melakukan penceritaan ulang.

Catatan yang dibubuhkan oleh Pullman sebenarnya bisa dijadikan bahan pembelajaran untuk melakukan story telling yang nantinya bisa menjadi formula dasar untuk beragam tulisan. Baik itu untuk keperluan fiksi atau nonfiksi (seperti copy writing) misal.

Nevertheless, it might happen that...and so on. This marvellous tale shows how complex a structure can be built on the simplest of bases and still remain immediately comprehensible.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already knew I like Grimm's Fairy Tales, but with Pullman's comments they are even better.
Now I want to read the full book! Nice teaser. :)

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent retelling of old fairy and folk tales. I appreciated the bibliographic citations after each story.

[Felix Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I read a different version. My favourite is the Juniper Tree which I performed with my Dad at a story telling event with my sister.

[Asna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the personal commentary. it's funny and thoughtful.