Waking the World

by Allan B. Chinen

Gathered from around the world and culled by the author from 7,000 folktales, these stories of a vigorous, potent femininity beyond that of the helpless princess focus on mature, capable women and set traditional plots on their ears. Here, the man sleeps while the woman breaks the spell and saves the king and his kingdom. These surprising tales are earthy, honest, and provocative .

Genres: Feminism

280 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 18, 1996

Reviews

[Monty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author of this book is a Jungian psychiatrist who has traveled around the world collecting fairy tales from around the world that are about midlife and older age issues rather than children's issues. In each chapter he tells a story from an international source and then analyzes it for it's meaning for personal growth. Unlike stories about girls, the women in these stories find their own salvation instead of being rescued. And the men in these stories also find their paths towards wholeness. Though written in 1996, this book has a contemporary feel to it and seems timely for 2017. I've read several of his other books, and recommend them highly. Here is a link to some of the books he has written. https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=ch...

[faith adams-michaels · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5.

too psychodynamic for me, which largely comes from how dated it is, but the tales are timeless and interesting and I enjoyed learning about them. I was also impressed by the author's feminist consciousness and I had to check my bias toward him in the beginning because he really worked hard to be aware of and thoughtful about everything that women face and how that impacts their stories and became his own great example of "the new male."

[Roxana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant writing. Loved all the explanations about the themes contained in the story and the powerful support of the feminine, but without dissing the masculine.
I recommend it!