Folktales from the Soviet Union: The Caucasus

Folk Tales From The Soviet Union

by Robert Babloyan (Compiler), Mirlena Shumskaya (Compiler), Mikhail Anikst (Designer)

Published in Moscow for the English-language market. Wonderful and beautifully illustrated folk tales from the formerly Soviet Union make up this collection. Three countries - Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan - are represented. Contents include: The Poor Man and the Knight's Three Pomegranates / The Fair Maid from Faraway Nigozeti / Azaran Bulbul / Ibrahim the Orphan and the Greedy Shopkeeper / The Story of Zarniyar Who Had All Her Wits About Her.

Genres: Childrens, Russia

140 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

Reviews

[Yoana · Rating 4 out of 5]

И тук се срещат вариациите за трима братя, от които най-малкият е най-умен/добър, змейове, умни хубавици, вълшебни предмети, надхитряване на алчни богаташи и най-често срещания елемент в тази поредица приказки - говорещи коне :)

Забелязвам, че като възрастен човек са ми много по-симатични приказките за хора, които се справят благодарение на ума, хитростта, житейския опит, самообладанието си и т.н., отколкото за вълшебства, демони и геройства, които ми бяха любими като малка. Макар че някои вълшебни елементи са все така пленителни - например разчупеният нар, от който изниква цял град с дворци, градини и реки.

Арменската приказка свършва така: "От небето паднаха три ябълки - една за разказвача, една за мен и една за този, който изслуша приказката". Тъй че по случайност ми се разкри един литературен цитат :)

[T.F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories also had events very similar to those in Russian and Ukranian folk tales. Just the names of people and magical creatures seemed kind of Arabic. Here we have devs and divs instead of dragons. Plain kings instead of Tsars and Khans. When you have read enough of these stories you become familiar with a set of events that are mished and mashed in different combinations to create different stories. You have the gift from a powerful magical benefactor, the powerful hero who slays dragons, ogres etc. to rescue princesses, only for someone else to claim credit, performing heroic tasks at the bidding of an unreasonable king only to depose him in the end and take his place. There are also stories of wits and wisdom - these are more fun than the stereotypical hero's quests.

Overall it is nice to read these stories and get a glimpse of the myths of legends of a foreign land.

[sweet pea · Rating 3 out of 5]

the stories in this collection have some common themes: poor man gets wealthy, youngest son prevails. although, i'd never read any of them before. there are some strong female characters throughout the tales, including a cross-dressing wife who saves the day. the illustrations vary from story to story and are quite interesting: some highly-polished, some rudimentary. the stories are seemingly chosen randomly. so it's not a comprehensive collection. but still an entertaining one.

[Patricia Woodruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A darling little book of folk tales. You can feel the oriental influence and how it changed classic tales. You can see where the lore of the ancient divine "Dev" is becoming transformed into being more demonic. I'm not impressed with the illustrations, but that's my own preference. They are very stylistic.