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Grimm's Grimmest
A scholar of fairy tales, Maria Tatar, provides a fascinating introduction about the history and meaning of the stories assembled by the Brothers Grimm. She writes, for example, "We now know that the stories collected in the nineteenth-century folktale anthologies ...had their origins in an irreverent peasant culture that arose in conscious opposition to the feudal state's ruling class. By overdoing it in the realm of storytelling, these narrators were able to alleviate--if only temporarily--some of the tedium that marked the daily life of their audience ... [These tales] can be seen as the ancestors of our urban legends about vanishing hitchhikers and cats accidentally caught in the dryer or as the preliterate equivalents of tabloid tales describing headless bodies found in topless bars. But in many ways, it is the horror film to which the matter and manner of these folktales has most conspicuously migrated. Like horror films, folktales trade in the sensational--breaking taboos and enacting the forbidden with uninhibited energy."
The text of the 19 tales in this collection is based on the 1822 edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Nursery and Household Tales) by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm--before the tales were expurgated and rewritten to make them more "suitable" for children. It's bound in a handsome faux-antique format, and lavishly illustrated by Tracy Arah Dockray (15 full-page color paintings, and a black-and-white drawing on nearly every page). Most of the tales will be unfamiliar to American and English readers, who may be surprised by the graphic descriptions of incest, murder, mutilation, and cannibalism. Chronicle Books has done us a service in helping restore to our adult culture these vivid, evocative folktales. --Fiona Webster
Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Jacob Grimm
5,751 books2,260 followersGerman philologist and folklorist Jakob Ludwig Karl Grimm in 1822 formulated Grimm's Law, the basis for much of modern comparative linguistics. With his brother Wilhelm Karl Grimm (1786-1859), he collected Germanic folk tales and published them as
Grimm's Fairy Tales
(1812-1815).
Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.
This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .
Adapted from Wikipedia.
Indo-European stop consonants, represented in Germanic, underwent the regular changes that Grimm's Law describes; this law essentially states that Indo-European p shifted to Germanic f, t shifted to th, and k shifted to h. Indo-European b shifted to Germanic p, d shifted to t, and g shifted to k. Indo-European bh shifted to Germanic b, dh shifted to d, and gh shifted to g.
This jurist and mythologist also authored the monumental German Dictionary and his Deutsche Mythologie .
Adapted from Wikipedia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
October 18, 2015
I remember buying this book at the library sale a year or so ago, and for some reason, I thought it was a midgrade adaptation. I don't know why. I just think things sometimes, okay? I generally don't read descriptions so it's my own fault, but sometimes it's kind of amusing the shit I come up with in their place.
So... Now I've read this little book, and... Yeah. Probably not for little kids. That being said, I don't know if pre-teens or teens would be all that bothered by this book these days. We're so desensitized to violence and gore that it would probably be read and then they'd wonder what the big deal is.
I took a few things away from this book.
- Step-parents are evil. Always. No exceptions.
- Real parents turn into shitty ones after a step-parent enters the picture.
- Royalty - if female - is always good and pure and beautiful, and has healing tears, and is worth more than ordinary people, even if one doesn't KNOW that she is royalty, but finds out later.
- Royalty - if male - will marry the first pretty thing that they see, and cannot recognize their own wives or children.
I will say that the artwork in this was pretty decent... but otherwise, this collection was pretty unimpressive, since it was supposed to be THE grimmest of the Grimms' work, right? And it was so repetitive! The stories all felt pretty much the same, only with some details changed here an there, and within the stories, the flow was extremely repetitive, especially the last story about the stupid boy who wanted to learn how to shudder. (I don't get why nobody just told the fool what it meant, and instead just let him keep on making an ass out of himself while trying to learn what it is and how to do it. Over and over again.)
Still, it was interesting to see how sanitized some of these stories have become over the years. Rapunzel involves PRE-MARITAL SEX! Bow chicka wow wow! I mean, it's off camera and only mentioned in passing, but it's there. Cinderella/Aschenputtel involves foot mutilation in order to get the prince (and wouldn't you know it, he doesn't even notice until TOLD by a dove, that the woman he's carting off to marry isn't the same one he has danced with all night long for three consecutive nights.) There's a relationship built to last, folks!
I can see it now... There's the king, plowing away at someone, when his wife walks in: "What, what do you mean 'Why am I screwing your sister??' THIS ISN'T YOU??"
Epic.
So... Now I've read this little book, and... Yeah. Probably not for little kids. That being said, I don't know if pre-teens or teens would be all that bothered by this book these days. We're so desensitized to violence and gore that it would probably be read and then they'd wonder what the big deal is.
I took a few things away from this book.
- Step-parents are evil. Always. No exceptions.
- Real parents turn into shitty ones after a step-parent enters the picture.
- Royalty - if female - is always good and pure and beautiful, and has healing tears, and is worth more than ordinary people, even if one doesn't KNOW that she is royalty, but finds out later.
- Royalty - if male - will marry the first pretty thing that they see, and cannot recognize their own wives or children.
I will say that the artwork in this was pretty decent... but otherwise, this collection was pretty unimpressive, since it was supposed to be THE grimmest of the Grimms' work, right? And it was so repetitive! The stories all felt pretty much the same, only with some details changed here an there, and within the stories, the flow was extremely repetitive, especially the last story about the stupid boy who wanted to learn how to shudder. (I don't get why nobody just told the fool what it meant, and instead just let him keep on making an ass out of himself while trying to learn what it is and how to do it. Over and over again.)
Still, it was interesting to see how sanitized some of these stories have become over the years. Rapunzel involves PRE-MARITAL SEX! Bow chicka wow wow! I mean, it's off camera and only mentioned in passing, but it's there. Cinderella/Aschenputtel involves foot mutilation in order to get the prince (and wouldn't you know it, he doesn't even notice until TOLD by a dove, that the woman he's carting off to marry isn't the same one he has danced with all night long for three consecutive nights.) There's a relationship built to last, folks!
I can see it now... There's the king, plowing away at someone, when his wife walks in: "What, what do you mean 'Why am I screwing your sister??' THIS ISN'T YOU??"
Epic.
December 18, 2018
The 1823 English translation of the Grimm's brothers Nursery and Household Tales includes 210 stories, only 19 of which were selected for inclusion in this book.
Of the nineteen tales, only one of them is familiar (Rapunzel). Aschenputtel (i.e., Cinderella) is also included, but it is not the Disney version. The others were new to me. I was tempted to sit down and look for patterns -- how many of them included an evil step-parent? How many centered around an evil person? a silly soul? How often was the issue resolved satisfactorily? How did the fate of the females compare with that of the males? What lesson(s) might young listeners learn from these tales? ... Yep, these stories aroused my curiosity, but I don't have time to pursue that train of thought.
My favorite is probably the Juniper Tree -- it made me gasp in horror, reflect on connections to other stories, admire the ingenuity, and sigh with relief when all ended well.
Of the nineteen tales, only one of them is familiar (Rapunzel). Aschenputtel (i.e., Cinderella) is also included, but it is not the Disney version. The others were new to me. I was tempted to sit down and look for patterns -- how many of them included an evil step-parent? How many centered around an evil person? a silly soul? How often was the issue resolved satisfactorily? How did the fate of the females compare with that of the males? What lesson(s) might young listeners learn from these tales? ... Yep, these stories aroused my curiosity, but I don't have time to pursue that train of thought.
My favorite is probably the Juniper Tree -- it made me gasp in horror, reflect on connections to other stories, admire the ingenuity, and sigh with relief when all ended well.
July 29, 2016
This volume collects a number of fairy tales recorded by the brothers Grimm, translated and illustrated to preserve all of the macabre aspects. Murder and mutilation to incest and cannibalism, there is a little bit of everything grotesque in these stories, which range from well-known tales such as Cinderella to lesser known stories such as Hans My Hedgehog. Tatar's short introduction makes up the sole elaboration and explanation of the texts--there is little commentary, little history, and little to put the grotesque elements in perspective. As such, this is a fine introductory text to the Grimm's stories as they originally appeared--the collection isn't huge, but it's large enough for the casual reader, and the illustrations pick out some of the best moments. However, this is not a complete collection and contains no history or commentary, so it may disappoint the reader that is already familiar with the grotesque aspects and/or is looking for a more detailed or more useful text.
Stepping far away from the singing mice and innocent maidens that fill modern conceptions of traditional fairy tales, Grimm's Grimmest presents original Grimm stories, translated into English, presented with illustrated plates (color and black and white), which preserve and even flaunt their more gruesome aspects. A stepmother feeds a murdered child to his father; Cinderella's step sisters cut off their toes to try and fit their feet in the glass slipper; a father cuts off his daughters hands so that she cannot sin. The storytelling is simple and repetitive, the plots and premises are at the same time macabre and magical, and the stories resolve to conclusions that are logical, often vengeful, and not quite happy every after. The story selection is fairly wide, including both famous and lesser known tales, the illustrations are simple and grotesque much in the same way as the stories, and the book certainly delivers the gruesome aspects that it promises.
For the price and the claim, however, this book is little more than a brief introduction to the original Grimm stories. To be fair, there are a decent number of stories in this collection (19, to be precise), but this is a small fraction of the 200-some Grimm fairy tales that the brothers published during their lifetimes. And, although the eight-page introduction is interesting enough, it is limited in scope and depth; without footnotes, individual introductions, or commentary, there is no detailed information on the stories themselves or the Grimm brothers, their collecting and writing process, or the impact of the books or their grotesque elements. It should also go without saying that the stories are translations, not retellings, and so they are short, have repetitive narratives, and forgo characterization and description in favor of the plot. In short, while this is an adequate and brief introduction to the Grimm stories in their original form, but it is not complete, complex, or particularly informational, and readers who are already familiar with the original Grimm stories or who are looking for more detailed information will probably find this collection to be disappointing.
Personally, I appreciate this book for what it is: a short, simple, but entertaining collection of dark and twisted stories. It is a fast, approachable read, the illustrations encourage a bit of lingering on the "best" parts, and both the magical and gruesome aspects make for a good read. But on the whole, what the reader gets from this book will depend on what he wants from it--those looking for a short and simple set of original grim Grimm's stories will enjoy it; those looking for a broader collection, more detail, or an updated storytelling style will probably be disappointed.
Stepping far away from the singing mice and innocent maidens that fill modern conceptions of traditional fairy tales, Grimm's Grimmest presents original Grimm stories, translated into English, presented with illustrated plates (color and black and white), which preserve and even flaunt their more gruesome aspects. A stepmother feeds a murdered child to his father; Cinderella's step sisters cut off their toes to try and fit their feet in the glass slipper; a father cuts off his daughters hands so that she cannot sin. The storytelling is simple and repetitive, the plots and premises are at the same time macabre and magical, and the stories resolve to conclusions that are logical, often vengeful, and not quite happy every after. The story selection is fairly wide, including both famous and lesser known tales, the illustrations are simple and grotesque much in the same way as the stories, and the book certainly delivers the gruesome aspects that it promises.
For the price and the claim, however, this book is little more than a brief introduction to the original Grimm stories. To be fair, there are a decent number of stories in this collection (19, to be precise), but this is a small fraction of the 200-some Grimm fairy tales that the brothers published during their lifetimes. And, although the eight-page introduction is interesting enough, it is limited in scope and depth; without footnotes, individual introductions, or commentary, there is no detailed information on the stories themselves or the Grimm brothers, their collecting and writing process, or the impact of the books or their grotesque elements. It should also go without saying that the stories are translations, not retellings, and so they are short, have repetitive narratives, and forgo characterization and description in favor of the plot. In short, while this is an adequate and brief introduction to the Grimm stories in their original form, but it is not complete, complex, or particularly informational, and readers who are already familiar with the original Grimm stories or who are looking for more detailed information will probably find this collection to be disappointing.
Personally, I appreciate this book for what it is: a short, simple, but entertaining collection of dark and twisted stories. It is a fast, approachable read, the illustrations encourage a bit of lingering on the "best" parts, and both the magical and gruesome aspects make for a good read. But on the whole, what the reader gets from this book will depend on what he wants from it--those looking for a short and simple set of original grim Grimm's stories will enjoy it; those looking for a broader collection, more detail, or an updated storytelling style will probably be disappointed.
October 8, 2008
I purchased this book to get an understanding of where some of our fairy tales came from and the lessons and morals that were told long before my time. The Grimm’s Grimmest is an exact translation of the original short stories published in German.
They are gruesome and living in the world we live in today I cannot imagine how these stories did not give little children nightmares. Were they really written for adolescent adults filled with such idiosyncrasies? Or were they, as you will understand when you read them, actually meant to scare little girls? Did they portray these stories as to have actually happened to dissuade young woman from wrongdoing?
These stories are graphic and hard to read. They feel more like a play by play rather than an actual story (and then she did this and then he did that and then she said this and then it was over...) Yet to that effect, I still find them very interesting and intriguing. I am trying hard to figure out the moral of some of the stories, as in the three surgeons. What is the point or purpose and who is supposed to learn the lesson? The maid at the inn, the 3 men who remove their limbs or the inn keeper who loses all his money in the end in order to keep the 3 surgeons from burning down his roof. This story's plan eludes me.
And as I read the book, I realize increasingly that these stories were created about evil woman. They all center on a woman or a little girl who has been evil or committed some sort of malevolence and ultimately meets a sorted and twisted fate because of this iniquity. I have yet to read a story that is meant to teach a man a lesson and it actually seems as though the men in the story who do wrong are not punished at all.
In the Juniper Tree and Ashenputtel, for reference, each father ignores the ill treatment their children receive from their stepmothers. They turn their heads; do nothing to protect their children; allow it to continue with their knowledge and in the end are nearly forgiven for such ignorance and permitted to continue through life as if nothing ever happened. The stepmothers (or in Ashentputtel; the Step sisters) meet whatever sorted and twisted fate the brothers had in store for them. These stories go to show how the world, in general, treated woman in those times.
Ultimately, I like the stories. I wouldn’t, however, read them to my son at bed time and will probably put this book away until he is 18.
They are gruesome and living in the world we live in today I cannot imagine how these stories did not give little children nightmares. Were they really written for adolescent adults filled with such idiosyncrasies? Or were they, as you will understand when you read them, actually meant to scare little girls? Did they portray these stories as to have actually happened to dissuade young woman from wrongdoing?
These stories are graphic and hard to read. They feel more like a play by play rather than an actual story (and then she did this and then he did that and then she said this and then it was over...) Yet to that effect, I still find them very interesting and intriguing. I am trying hard to figure out the moral of some of the stories, as in the three surgeons. What is the point or purpose and who is supposed to learn the lesson? The maid at the inn, the 3 men who remove their limbs or the inn keeper who loses all his money in the end in order to keep the 3 surgeons from burning down his roof. This story's plan eludes me.
And as I read the book, I realize increasingly that these stories were created about evil woman. They all center on a woman or a little girl who has been evil or committed some sort of malevolence and ultimately meets a sorted and twisted fate because of this iniquity. I have yet to read a story that is meant to teach a man a lesson and it actually seems as though the men in the story who do wrong are not punished at all.
In the Juniper Tree and Ashenputtel, for reference, each father ignores the ill treatment their children receive from their stepmothers. They turn their heads; do nothing to protect their children; allow it to continue with their knowledge and in the end are nearly forgiven for such ignorance and permitted to continue through life as if nothing ever happened. The stepmothers (or in Ashentputtel; the Step sisters) meet whatever sorted and twisted fate the brothers had in store for them. These stories go to show how the world, in general, treated woman in those times.
Ultimately, I like the stories. I wouldn’t, however, read them to my son at bed time and will probably put this book away until he is 18.
December 14, 2007
The Brothers Grimm are way beyond good and evil. They satisfy in the way the best poetry does, and the images swirl up and dance with the amoral force and beauty of tornados on the open plains. About as fanciful (and as full of metamorphoses) as Ovid. This edition compiles the darker stories, the ones often Bowdlerized for children's books. Here they are presented as they were originally written and published. The introductory essay is brief, but presents a lot of interesting facts about the different presentation and reception of the Brothers Grimm in Europe as opposed to in America. The artwork is inspired and each story has one plate of color art. The artist seems to work best in black ink but as you move forward through the book the plate art gets increasingly better. There doesn't seem to be a logical reason for that, but it's a quite noticeable trend.
June 28, 2011
I loved this particular collection of Grimm tales and the illustraitions as well. Short descriptions or summaries or whatever I felt like writing for each of the stories below.
----------------there may be spoilers-------------
The Juniper Tree: This particular story I had actually read before, but I liked this version better.
The Three Army Surgeons: Sortof funny, sortof creepy. I think that the moral was 'Don't do stupid things to impress people, especially if they involve maiming yourself'.
The Robber Bridegroom: Digustingly bloody, but in the end the murderer gets his commupence in a very satisfying way.
Hans My Hedgehog: This is one of those stories that while you're reading it, you're like 'what the heck?' and when it's over you're like, 'okay, it makes a little bit more sense...I think'
The Willful Child: A morbid way to tell children to obey their parents and to tell parents to dicipline their children.
The Death of the Little Hen: More aptly named, The Death of Almost Every Character in the Story. Seriously.
The Goose Maid: I had read this before in the form of Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl (very good book, I highly reccomend it) it was interesting to read the original.
The Three Snake Leaves: I really liked this one, it has a happily ever after (except for the bad guys) and the elements of devoted love and magical leaves.
Aschenputtel: better known as Cinderella. If you know the original tale, this is it. Complete with the sisters mutilating their feet and getting their eyes pecked out.
The Crows: Nice young soldier gets attacked by his wealthy friends and blinded, hears some crows talking about how to do some very specifc things (including healing his blindness), marries a princess, forgives his 'friends', friends get killed by the crows.
Prudent Hans: This story made no sense at all to me, and it seem gory either. Hans is an idiot.
Fowler's Fowl: A slightly differant version of Bluebeard.
The Girl Without Hands: A story of a pious girl, and all the terrible things that happen to her because the devil hates her. She does have a nice ending though.
Allerleirauh: This one is creepy in that the King's wife on her deathbed made the King promise to never remarry unless he finds a woman with hair as gold as hers. The King is unsuccesful until he notices that his daughter (Allerleirauh) looks exactly like his dead wife. So he decides to marry her. Allerleirauh stalls by asking for three special dresses and a coat made of fur from every kind of creature in the kingdom. When she gets them she runs away, but the King's hunters find her, take her back to the palace (not knowing it's her) and she works in the kitchen, theres a ball and in the end she marries the King, her father. That is so creepy.
The Mother-In-Law: Cannibilism! Yay!
The Dog and the Sparrow: Sparrow befriends dog, dog dies because of mean peasant. Sparrow destroys all of the peasants stuff, and in the end, the peasant himself.
Rapunzel: If you've heard the original banished-to-dessert blinded-by-thorns version, this is it.
Little Brother and Little Sister: I really liked this one. In a nutshell, stepmother whos a witch banishes stepchildren, they do fine, King marries the girl, stepmother messes them up again, but in the end all is well and the witch is dead.
The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn How to Shudder: An idiotic young man is worthless, goes to a haunted castle which is extremely creepy and scary, isn't scared at all. The reward for staying in the castle for 3 nights (which he does) is the King's daughter, who in the end, teaches him to shudder.
A great collection of Grimm stories, many of which I had never read before (and I've read a lot). You may not want to read it if you have any aversion to blood or murder or the eating of people.
----------------there may be spoilers-------------
The Juniper Tree: This particular story I had actually read before, but I liked this version better.
The Three Army Surgeons: Sortof funny, sortof creepy. I think that the moral was 'Don't do stupid things to impress people, especially if they involve maiming yourself'.
The Robber Bridegroom: Digustingly bloody, but in the end the murderer gets his commupence in a very satisfying way.
Hans My Hedgehog: This is one of those stories that while you're reading it, you're like 'what the heck?' and when it's over you're like, 'okay, it makes a little bit more sense...I think'
The Willful Child: A morbid way to tell children to obey their parents and to tell parents to dicipline their children.
The Death of the Little Hen: More aptly named, The Death of Almost Every Character in the Story. Seriously.
The Goose Maid: I had read this before in the form of Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl (very good book, I highly reccomend it) it was interesting to read the original.
The Three Snake Leaves: I really liked this one, it has a happily ever after (except for the bad guys) and the elements of devoted love and magical leaves.
Aschenputtel: better known as Cinderella. If you know the original tale, this is it. Complete with the sisters mutilating their feet and getting their eyes pecked out.
The Crows: Nice young soldier gets attacked by his wealthy friends and blinded, hears some crows talking about how to do some very specifc things (including healing his blindness), marries a princess, forgives his 'friends', friends get killed by the crows.
Prudent Hans: This story made no sense at all to me, and it seem gory either. Hans is an idiot.
Fowler's Fowl: A slightly differant version of Bluebeard.
The Girl Without Hands: A story of a pious girl, and all the terrible things that happen to her because the devil hates her. She does have a nice ending though.
Allerleirauh: This one is creepy in that the King's wife on her deathbed made the King promise to never remarry unless he finds a woman with hair as gold as hers. The King is unsuccesful until he notices that his daughter (Allerleirauh) looks exactly like his dead wife. So he decides to marry her. Allerleirauh stalls by asking for three special dresses and a coat made of fur from every kind of creature in the kingdom. When she gets them she runs away, but the King's hunters find her, take her back to the palace (not knowing it's her) and she works in the kitchen, theres a ball and in the end she marries the King, her father. That is so creepy.
The Mother-In-Law: Cannibilism! Yay!
The Dog and the Sparrow: Sparrow befriends dog, dog dies because of mean peasant. Sparrow destroys all of the peasants stuff, and in the end, the peasant himself.
Rapunzel: If you've heard the original banished-to-dessert blinded-by-thorns version, this is it.
Little Brother and Little Sister: I really liked this one. In a nutshell, stepmother whos a witch banishes stepchildren, they do fine, King marries the girl, stepmother messes them up again, but in the end all is well and the witch is dead.
The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn How to Shudder: An idiotic young man is worthless, goes to a haunted castle which is extremely creepy and scary, isn't scared at all. The reward for staying in the castle for 3 nights (which he does) is the King's daughter, who in the end, teaches him to shudder.
A great collection of Grimm stories, many of which I had never read before (and I've read a lot). You may not want to read it if you have any aversion to blood or murder or the eating of people.
May 29, 2011
Some of these excerpts from Grimm's fairy tales are stories familiar to English-speaking readers, though with all the crude and violent parts left in: Cinderella (Aschenputtel), Rapunzel, The Goose Girl, etc. There are also less-familiar fairy tales and other sorts of tales too. It's all good stuff! One or two stories read less smoothly than the rest, but most of them were fun and dramatic.
I noticed that they fell into a few categories with regard to their structure and their themes. Overwhelmingly the commonest was the one I call the "recognition of the bride" plot. In "The Goose Maid", "The Girl Without Hands", "Allerleirauh", "Aschenputtel", and "Little Brother and Little Sister", in the first part the heroine gets into a situation where she's in trouble, disguised, or hidden, and the bridegroom has to find and recognize her before they can get married; sometimes he has to distinguish her from a false bride. There are many possible variants on this: possibly the most complex here is "Little Brother and Little Sister", which has two recognition plots, the first one anticlimactic, and the role of the "bride" is doubled between the sister and the brother. "The Juniper Tree" has a captivity-release/recognition structure ending with the child being recognized by his father and the family being reunited. "Rapunzel" initially seems like it will follow this pattern, but it doesn't.
"The Three Snake Leaves" and "The Crows" are moral tales based on reversal: the contrasting fates of good and bad protagonists. "Fowler's Fowl" and "The Robber Bridegroom" are tales of a brave heroine who goes into a bad husband's house and draws him out of it to his doom. "The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn How to Shudder" and "Hans My Hedgehog" are stories of intrepid fools who seek their fortune and find it. "Prudent Hans" and "The Three Army Surgeons" are mocking jokes. And finally, perhaps most startling of all, we have "The Dog and the Sparrow" and "The Death of the Little Hen", in which an animal tale is an opportunity to let loose a sheer torrent of destruction.
I noticed that they fell into a few categories with regard to their structure and their themes. Overwhelmingly the commonest was the one I call the "recognition of the bride" plot. In "The Goose Maid", "The Girl Without Hands", "Allerleirauh", "Aschenputtel", and "Little Brother and Little Sister", in the first part the heroine gets into a situation where she's in trouble, disguised, or hidden, and the bridegroom has to find and recognize her before they can get married; sometimes he has to distinguish her from a false bride. There are many possible variants on this: possibly the most complex here is "Little Brother and Little Sister", which has two recognition plots, the first one anticlimactic, and the role of the "bride" is doubled between the sister and the brother. "The Juniper Tree" has a captivity-release/recognition structure ending with the child being recognized by his father and the family being reunited. "Rapunzel" initially seems like it will follow this pattern, but it doesn't.
"The Three Snake Leaves" and "The Crows" are moral tales based on reversal: the contrasting fates of good and bad protagonists. "Fowler's Fowl" and "The Robber Bridegroom" are tales of a brave heroine who goes into a bad husband's house and draws him out of it to his doom. "The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn How to Shudder" and "Hans My Hedgehog" are stories of intrepid fools who seek their fortune and find it. "Prudent Hans" and "The Three Army Surgeons" are mocking jokes. And finally, perhaps most startling of all, we have "The Dog and the Sparrow" and "The Death of the Little Hen", in which an animal tale is an opportunity to let loose a sheer torrent of destruction.
August 17, 2009
The brothers Grimm collected and published over two hundred fairy tales. Grimm's Grimmest has nineteen of the most bloody of them with gory illustrations by Tracy Arah Dockray.
My two favorites were "Hans my Hedgehog" and "Rapunzel". "Hans My Hedgehog" has made me rethink Sonic the Hedgehog. The illustration on page 39 really looks like him except with less sexy shoes.
"Rapunzel" caught my attention because the first two pages are recreated so closely and so well at the start of Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale, Nathan Hale and Dean Hale. I actually read this collection for this one story because I couldn't remember the original very well.
The rest of the stories are bloody, violent and often times nonsensical. The high amount of nonsense bothers me more than the grim nature of the stories.
My two favorites were "Hans my Hedgehog" and "Rapunzel". "Hans My Hedgehog" has made me rethink Sonic the Hedgehog. The illustration on page 39 really looks like him except with less sexy shoes.
"Rapunzel" caught my attention because the first two pages are recreated so closely and so well at the start of Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale, Nathan Hale and Dean Hale. I actually read this collection for this one story because I couldn't remember the original very well.
The rest of the stories are bloody, violent and often times nonsensical. The high amount of nonsense bothers me more than the grim nature of the stories.
Read
December 9, 2008Funny, but my mother told me all the gory bits when she told me these stories as a child. I was expecting something even darker, but it's a great read.
May 28, 2021
A collection of the original Grimms fairy-tales, the un-Disneyfied versions. They're pretty grim, but an interesting read, mostly to see how things were... prettified... for modern sensibilities.
June 4, 2015
The seemingly illogical sense of these tales is the real star. I say "seemingly", as it becomes more and more clear when reading (keeping in mind that they were rescued for posterity by the Grimm's from the vicissitudes of oral tradition) that they are documents which could only have sprung from a specific time and culture--they are often a response to religion (though interestingly this subject is seldom evoked in a directly Christian manner) and always to cruelty. They are dream-like, some of them almost move one to all forms of tears---The Sparrow and Dog tale I'm thinking of here especially; the sparrow being the dog's "guardian angel" and, finally, his "avenging angel" or "the angel of death"--it's rather sentimental but also cathartic.
Some of the illustrations are nice, especially the painted ones.
Some of the illustrations are nice, especially the painted ones.
March 11, 2008
this is a rollicking romp through the worlds of the Grimm fairy tales. this collection features only those tales that support noble family values, such as murder, incest, cannibalism, mutilation, torture, and teenage pregnancy. in other words, it features the original non-sanitized versions of the tales in all their gory glory. along with pious maids waiting for their due, there are some wickedly feisty heroines who solve their problems themselves - often with gruesome outcomes for their adversaries. the illustrations are by turns humorous and morbid. one of the many reasons that i am a macabre person today is, no doubt, because of my voracious reading of Grimm's tales as a youth. definitely worth revisiting.
December 9, 2010
So.
This is a small collection of some of the Grimm Brothers' more bloody and vile tales. Some of them are a bit hard to read and it's definitely hard to see the value in such tales.
The introduction was somewhat interesting, containing thoughts on the fine line these tales walked between adult entertainment and children's tales.
Since these tales have been told over and again, I expected the illustrations to hold some good merit, but they were as crude in one sense of the word and some of the actions of the stories' characters are crude in the other sense.
This is a small collection of some of the Grimm Brothers' more bloody and vile tales. Some of them are a bit hard to read and it's definitely hard to see the value in such tales.
The introduction was somewhat interesting, containing thoughts on the fine line these tales walked between adult entertainment and children's tales.
Since these tales have been told over and again, I expected the illustrations to hold some good merit, but they were as crude in one sense of the word and some of the actions of the stories' characters are crude in the other sense.
February 28, 2011
If there is one thing I love in my stories, its darkness. screw the happy, cheerful tales that give you a feeling of hope anf joy. I want tales about murder, canibalism, and giving birth to a hedgehog. Yeah, you heard right, a hedgehog. This book has a lot of that which makes it a great read (at least for me). The colored picture were good and the black and white pictures were ehhh. Overall i liked it.
February 23, 2009
This book is bizarre, but a good read! I was shocked at the stories, which include murder, incest, and cannibalism, not at all what you'd expect from the Grimm brothers! Still, it was extremely interesting to read the original stories. I had no idea that what I read as a child were not the authenic tales.
June 25, 2024
Extremely weird variations of well known fairy tales but also a lot of stories with which I was unfamiliar. All of the stories were dark and there was quite a lot of death and dismemberment but some of the tales made absolutely no sense. The story, "Allerleirauh," for example, was about a king whose wife had died and he tried in vain to find someone just like her to replace her. Well, their daughter, don't you know, was the spittin' image of her mother and so he decided he would marry her, his own daughter. She was quite naturally repulsed by the idea and ran away. After extraordinary measures to try to evade him, he caught up with her and married her anyway. Spoiler alert: "After which, their marriage was solemnized and they lived happily togther until their death." What??? Reading these tales, you get a real picture of how little control and agency women had over their own lives as they were always being used as prizes and rewards for men. No wonder they became wicked and evil in old age. Witchcraft makes a nice revenge strategy.
February 6, 2025
My favorite stories were:
-The Juniper Tree
-The Three Army Surgeons
-The Robber Bridegroom
-Hans My Hedgehog
-Aschenputtel
-Prudent Hans
-Fowler's Fowl
-The Girl with No Hands
-Allerleirauh
-The Story of a Youth
I enjoyed this macabre collection, especially since there were so many illustrations in it. The art quality varies a bit, with some figures seeming clunky, but most of the art fits the tone well even if it isn't as polished as it could be. I do have a gripe with the text, in the story "Allerleirauh". On my first reading, this one was very confusing because it made it sound like The text here doesn't make this clear at all, whether due to a translation error or a simple proofreading oversight, I don't know.
-The Juniper Tree
-The Three Army Surgeons
-The Robber Bridegroom
-Hans My Hedgehog
-Aschenputtel
-Prudent Hans
-Fowler's Fowl
-The Girl with No Hands
-Allerleirauh
-The Story of a Youth
I enjoyed this macabre collection, especially since there were so many illustrations in it. The art quality varies a bit, with some figures seeming clunky, but most of the art fits the tone well even if it isn't as polished as it could be. I do have a gripe with the text, in the story "Allerleirauh". On my first reading, this one was very confusing because it made it sound like The text here doesn't make this clear at all, whether due to a translation error or a simple proofreading oversight, I don't know.
October 11, 2018
Five stars for the art. Without the art, this collection of bizarre fairy tales would rate a 4, as long as you don't take them too seriously.
The stories themselves are absurd but morbidly entertaining.
Satisfying if you are in the mood for some old timey gore.
The stories themselves are absurd but morbidly entertaining.
Satisfying if you are in the mood for some old timey gore.
May 6, 2019
I love that this book restores the true nature of Grimm's fairytales. My mom and I went over this book together because she used to have a book of original stories from Germany and this way, I could experience what she had but in English.
August 2, 2020
I’m not quite sure how any of these became Disney films, but it was entertaining if not altogether predictable. How do all of these young maidens know how to disguise themselves so well? It’s so strange.
February 25, 2021
Never trust your step mother. These were great stories, I expected blood and guts, but a lot of these were more psychologically disturbing than expected. Not a bad quick read and 180 flip from some of the Disney and nursery rhymes you grow up with.
February 12, 2025
Grimmest is right! Nothing I'd want children to hear. Somehow though there always seemed to be a happy ending. Surprised it didn't give me nightmares. The illustrations were difficult to comprehend. A book I only need to read once.
October 11, 2018
Fantastic translations by Maria Tatar, and amazing illustrations by Tracy Arah Dockray make this a fabulous edition of Grimm's most horrifying tales!
April 10, 2019
Read my review here:
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/1730905
I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/1730905
November 5, 2019
Loved this book! It keeps the original tales as they were, with the diabolical endings and tragedies.
April 19, 2021
At times poorly written, but yes this is the grimmest Grimm
September 22, 2021
Grim it is!
June 3, 2023
Meh. Not impressed. I had heat so many great things and was not impressed. Nice stories, but not what I was expecting
July 21, 2024
These tales are well worth examining and sifting through the blood.
January 2, 2025
Some of these stories make no sense! 😝 But interesting.
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