"This is a short collection of folk tales from the nation of Georgia by Marjorie Wardrop. Wardrop also translated the Georgian author Rusthaveli's The Man in the Panther's Skin. Although many of the motifs of these stories are also found in European folklore, there are characters and plot elements which localize them in the central Asian area." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)
Table of Contents:
Publisher's Preface; Preface; Georgian Folk Tales; Master And Pupil (or The Devil Outwitted); The Three Sisters And Their Stepmother; The Good-for-nothing; The Frog's Skin; Fate; Ghvthisavari (i Am Of God); The Serpent And The Peasant; Gulambara And Sulambara; The Two Brothers; The Prince; Conkiajgharuna ; Asphurtzela ; The Shepherd And The Child Of Fortune; The Two Thieves; The Fox And The King's Son; The King And The Apple ; Mingrelian Tales ; The Three Precepts; Kazha-ndii; The Story Of Geria, The Poor Man's Son; The Prince Who Befriended The Beasts; The Cunning Old Man And The Demi; Sanartia; The Shepherd Judge; The Priest's Youngest Son; Mingrelian Proverbs; Gurian Folk Tales; The Strong Man And The Dwarf; The Grasshopper And The Ant ; The Countryman And The Merchant; The King And The Sage; The King's Son; Teeth And No-teeth; The Queen's Whim; The Fool's Good Fortune; Two Losses; The Story Of Dervish; The Father's Prophecy; The Hermit Philosopher; The King's Counsellor ; A Witty Answer; Endnotes
About the Publisher:
Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org
Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.
While there are similarities with some European folklore, the Georgian ones seem to be far more violent and have many more threads, twists and turns. I could see the crossing of East and West in some of the stories but I struggled in most cases to see the message the story was trying to tell (except all Princesses are beautiful, handsome Princes are licensed to hunt and kill and devilish imps should be avoided).
This collection is a little hard to get through, but that is kind of its strength. We read folklore to get an insight into the past and other cultures and other cultures in the past. These stories do not match current expectations. Often the wicked person is the one who thrives. Very lucky, very random events often sway the story. The logic is more Looney Tunes than Brothers Grimm.
But for all that, it's a pretty fascinating read and a few of the stories are classics.
I've got to say, these were pretty interesting, even though quite many of them left me scratching my head at times. There were lots of devis, lots of princes (some favored, some not), lots of marrying random princesses for sake of marrying random princesses. Overall, nothing that will probably stick out in my memory as great but it was still fun to read.
با خوندن داستان های فولکلور گرجستان متوجه شدم، هیچی ایران خودمون نمیشه:)) داستان ها به نظرم پایان بندی مسخره ای داشت در حالیکه سیر روایی داستان های ایرانی بسیار زیبا و حرفه ای سینه به سینه نقل شده. شباهت هاش با داستان های فولکلور بقیه کشورها جالب بود ولی به نظرم نخونیدش:)
I read this book of Georgian folk tales in conjunction with a trip to the Republic of Georgia in May 2018. The tales are interesting, but written in rather stilted language. They did make a fine backdrop to my trip and enabled my understanding of a rich, ancient culture.
I've been interested in the Grimm Brother Tales and all manner of folk stories for a long time and I've read quite a few anthologies of them. The Georgian Folktales assembled by Marjory Wardrop are fresher and more enjoyable than many I've read. Almost every story has several twists that I wouldn't have expected. I found myself laughing, sometimes simply at the oddity of the plot element, oftentimes because characters often unexpectedly do the wrong thing, the morally incorrect thing. And sometimes they get away with it! You don't have to read too many tales by the Brothers Grimm before you find a dud, one or more stories, in fact, that are just a bit dull. I didn't find that to be the case with these tales. The anthology includes Mingrellian tales and Gurian tales and I did find those described as Georgian, which make up more than half of the anthology, to be the best. You will find stories that make you think of certain folk tales you are familiar with, but are truly different.