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World of Stories
The House of the Cats
A stunning collection of folk tales and legends, one from each of the EU member states. Ranging from magical to farcical, tender to terrifying, this selection offers a wide variety of stories you won't have heard before. A fascinating insight into Europe's varied cultures and traditions, and a wonderful read. Delightfully illustrated in paper-cut style by Francesca Greenwood.
144 pages, Hardcover
Published October 29, 2013
86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 15, 2017
3.5★s for me.
”Since before time began, whiling away the hours between dinner and bedtime in the flickering candlelight, resting in the noonday heat, or tramping along some dusty lane, trying to find ways of making the long road seem shorter, people have always told one another stories.”
A whimsical selection of fables, from across Europe. I can’t say that I’ve read any of them before, or even heard of them, which was refreshing to read something new. Of course, stories (like recipes) can only have a certain amount of originality. The rest is sheer imagination, and the spin put on things.
The stories aren’t long, which makes this a snappy read. You can read as many or as few as you want. As is the case with fairy tales and fables, the idea of these stories is to contain a moral.
Unsurprisingly, the standout for me was the aptly named “The House Of The Cats”, which was a good tale of generosity, greed & just desserts. And yes, one of the cats did speak.
I also enjoyed “The Pope’s Mule” where a hard done by donkey gets his revenge on his antagonist, after five (long) years. This was quite an amusing tale. And you thought it was only elephants that never forget…
A lovely book to read over your favourite morning or evening brew ☕
”Since before time began, whiling away the hours between dinner and bedtime in the flickering candlelight, resting in the noonday heat, or tramping along some dusty lane, trying to find ways of making the long road seem shorter, people have always told one another stories.”
A whimsical selection of fables, from across Europe. I can’t say that I’ve read any of them before, or even heard of them, which was refreshing to read something new. Of course, stories (like recipes) can only have a certain amount of originality. The rest is sheer imagination, and the spin put on things.
The stories aren’t long, which makes this a snappy read. You can read as many or as few as you want. As is the case with fairy tales and fables, the idea of these stories is to contain a moral.
Unsurprisingly, the standout for me was the aptly named “The House Of The Cats”, which was a good tale of generosity, greed & just desserts. And yes, one of the cats did speak.
I also enjoyed “The Pope’s Mule” where a hard done by donkey gets his revenge on his antagonist, after five (long) years. This was quite an amusing tale. And you thought it was only elephants that never forget…
A lovely book to read over your favourite morning or evening brew ☕
October 26, 2022
Genul de poveşti cu învățăminte, unele comice, altele tragice, unele uşor înspăimântătoare, dar genul uşor de digerat. Am avut bineînțeles preferatele mele, printre ele chiar The house of cats, poveste din...Grecia. surpriză! Merită citită. Mi se pare că se potriveşte pentru toamnă, ploaie şi o cană de ceai.
May 9, 2017
[Counting for "A book for children or teens" in Challies 2017 Reading Challenge.]
June 29, 2016
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia for this review copy!
The title of this book was my favourite story in the lot, such an interesting tale that it outshone the others by far and sticks in my memory almost a year later- I do wish it had been longer, because the whole story only taking up a couple of pages is definitely not enough for me, especially when I enjoyed it and the ideas it gave me, the way it made me think. That’s what I found with a lot of the stories in this collection- they just aren’t long enough, not when you end up really, really enjoying one.
I’m not fond of the way the stories are bought into the modern era with the changed wording and such, because to me it feels forced and shutters the flow of everything, but this was still a really neat collection.
The title of this book was my favourite story in the lot, such an interesting tale that it outshone the others by far and sticks in my memory almost a year later- I do wish it had been longer, because the whole story only taking up a couple of pages is definitely not enough for me, especially when I enjoyed it and the ideas it gave me, the way it made me think. That’s what I found with a lot of the stories in this collection- they just aren’t long enough, not when you end up really, really enjoying one.
I’m not fond of the way the stories are bought into the modern era with the changed wording and such, because to me it feels forced and shutters the flow of everything, but this was still a really neat collection.
April 11, 2017
Folklore from every country in the EU. Loved it. Lots of new tales, but some that echo others you have read before. Pearson adds a modern conversational style to them, but keeps the more traditional elements, including people getting eaten, shapeshifters, bad elves, etc.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews