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Virago Fairy Tales #1-2
Angela Carter's Book Of Fairy Tales
Once upon a time fairy tales weren't meant just for children, and neither is Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales. This stunning collection contains lyrical tales, bloody tales and hilariously funny and ripely bawdy stories from countries all around the world- from the Arctic to Asia - and no dippy princesses or soppy fairies. Instead, we have pretty maids and old crones; crafty women and bad girls; enchantresses and midwives; rascal aunts and odd sisters.
This fabulous celebration of strong minds, low cunning, black arts and dirty tricks could only have been collected by the unique and much-missed Angela Carter. Illustrated throughout with original woodcuts.
618 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1992
1091 people are currently reading
18916 people want to read
About the author
Angela Carter
212 books3,723 followersBorn Angela Olive Stalker in Eastbourne, in 1940, Carter was evacuated as a child to live in Yorkshire with her maternal grandmother. As a teenager she battled anorexia. She began work as a journalist on the Croydon Advertiser, following in the footsteps of her father. Carter attended the University of Bristol where she studied English literature.
She married twice, first in 1960 to Paul Carter. They divorced after twelve years. In 1969 Angela Carter used the proceeds of her Somerset Maugham Award to leave her husband and relocate for two years to Tokyo, Japan, where she claims in Nothing Sacred (1982) that she "learnt what it is to be a woman and became radicalised." She wrote about her experiences there in articles for New Society and a collection of short stories, Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces (1974), and evidence of her experiences in Japan can also be seen in The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman (1972). She was there at the same time as Roland Barthes, who published his experiences in Empire of Signs (1970).
She then explored the United States, Asia, and Europe, helped by her fluency in French and German. She spent much of the late 1970s and 1980s as a writer in residence at universities, including the University of Sheffield, Brown University, the University of Adelaide, and the University of East Anglia. In 1977 Carter married Mark Pearce, with whom she had one son.
As well as being a prolific writer of fiction, Carter contributed many articles to The Guardian, The Independent and New Statesman, collected in Shaking a Leg. She adapted a number of her short stories for radio and wrote two original radio dramas on Richard Dadd and Ronald Firbank. Two of her fictions have been adapted for the silver screen: The Company of Wolves (1984) and The Magic Toyshop (1987). She was actively involved in both film adaptations, her screenplays are published in the collected dramatic writings, The Curious Room, together with her radio scripts, a libretto for an opera of Virginia Wolf's Orlando, an unproduced screenplay entitled The Christchurch Murders (based on the same true story as Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures) and other works. These neglected works, as well as her controversial television documentary, The Holy Family Album, are discussed in Charlotte Crofts' book, Anagrams of Desire (2003).
At the time of her death, Carter was embarking on a sequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre based on the later life of Jane's stepdaughter, Adèle Varens. However, only a synopsis survives.
Her novel Nights at the Circus won the 1984 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for literature.
Angela Carter died aged 51 in 1992 at her home in London after developing lung cancer. Her obituary published in The Observer said, "She was the opposite of parochial. Nothing, for her, was outside the pale: she wanted to know about everything and everyone, and every place and every word. She relished life and language hugely, and reveled in the diverse."
She married twice, first in 1960 to Paul Carter. They divorced after twelve years. In 1969 Angela Carter used the proceeds of her Somerset Maugham Award to leave her husband and relocate for two years to Tokyo, Japan, where she claims in Nothing Sacred (1982) that she "learnt what it is to be a woman and became radicalised." She wrote about her experiences there in articles for New Society and a collection of short stories, Fireworks: Nine Profane Pieces (1974), and evidence of her experiences in Japan can also be seen in The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman (1972). She was there at the same time as Roland Barthes, who published his experiences in Empire of Signs (1970).
She then explored the United States, Asia, and Europe, helped by her fluency in French and German. She spent much of the late 1970s and 1980s as a writer in residence at universities, including the University of Sheffield, Brown University, the University of Adelaide, and the University of East Anglia. In 1977 Carter married Mark Pearce, with whom she had one son.
As well as being a prolific writer of fiction, Carter contributed many articles to The Guardian, The Independent and New Statesman, collected in Shaking a Leg. She adapted a number of her short stories for radio and wrote two original radio dramas on Richard Dadd and Ronald Firbank. Two of her fictions have been adapted for the silver screen: The Company of Wolves (1984) and The Magic Toyshop (1987). She was actively involved in both film adaptations, her screenplays are published in the collected dramatic writings, The Curious Room, together with her radio scripts, a libretto for an opera of Virginia Wolf's Orlando, an unproduced screenplay entitled The Christchurch Murders (based on the same true story as Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures) and other works. These neglected works, as well as her controversial television documentary, The Holy Family Album, are discussed in Charlotte Crofts' book, Anagrams of Desire (2003).
At the time of her death, Carter was embarking on a sequel to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre based on the later life of Jane's stepdaughter, Adèle Varens. However, only a synopsis survives.
Her novel Nights at the Circus won the 1984 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for literature.
Angela Carter died aged 51 in 1992 at her home in London after developing lung cancer. Her obituary published in The Observer said, "She was the opposite of parochial. Nothing, for her, was outside the pale: she wanted to know about everything and everyone, and every place and every word. She relished life and language hugely, and reveled in the diverse."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 294 reviews
June 26, 2014
"There was woman who was old, blind and likewise unable to walk. Once she asked her daughter for a drink of water. The daughter was so bored with her old mother that she gave her a bowl of her own piss. The old woman drank it all up, then said: 'You're a nice one, daughter. Tell me - which would you prefer as a lover, a louse or a sea scorpion?'
'Oh, a sea scorpion,' laughed the daughter, 'because he would not be crushed so easily when I slept with him.'
Whereupon the old woman proceeded to pull sea scorpions out of her vagina, one after another, until she fell over dead."
-"Old Age", Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales, p.212
I'm not even going to write a further review to this. I think that tale was all you needed to know what this book is like. (Also, please read this. At least some of it. Just the Innuit tales. They're the best.)
'Oh, a sea scorpion,' laughed the daughter, 'because he would not be crushed so easily when I slept with him.'
Whereupon the old woman proceeded to pull sea scorpions out of her vagina, one after another, until she fell over dead."
-"Old Age", Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales, p.212
I'm not even going to write a further review to this. I think that tale was all you needed to know what this book is like. (Also, please read this. At least some of it. Just the Innuit tales. They're the best.)
April 13, 2015
Read this one for the Cardiff SFF Book Club. I’m not the biggest fan of Angela Carter, having read a couple of her books back during my BA, but I do love fairy tales, so I was ready to give it a go anyway. Turns out, it isn’t a book of fairy tales by Angela Carter (which to be fair, having read The Bloody Chamber, wouldn’t be unexpected), but edited by her. She wrote a fairly scholarly introduction to it, acknowledging colonial bias, etc, etc, and commenting on the content. I’m… probably going to read that again before the book club meeting to see if I want to discuss anything from that angle.
Then comes the collection. The ordering is roughly thematic, although some stories would fit in multiple categories. Despite Carter’s acknowledgement of the limitations of her collection (due to her lack of linguistic skills), it is a pretty diverse collection, with fairy and folk tales from all kinds of cultures and time periods. It’s not just the traditional ones, but variations thereof and whole new stories that are more foreign to a Western audience in their preoccupations (I was a bit puzzled by the mothers turning into lionnesses and dogs forming from their saliva, for example). It can get a little repetitive — a Cinderella story is, ultimately, a Cinderella story: many cultures have it, and we know how it typically goes — but it probably didn’t help that I read this in the space of two days. The tellings chosen are usually fairly clear, and Carter avoided editorialising them too much, so it’s not a chore to read at all. My version does have some proofing errors like missing quotation marks, which was kind of irritating, especially when you’re trying to figure out which character is saying what in some of the more dialogue-heavy sections.
Overall, though, it’s an enjoyable read, and one I’ll keep around. Fairy tales are such a fun way to tell a story: they’ve been evolving so long, so they’re flexible, and they’re so familiar that when you make a change, it’s obvious what that change was and what you want to highlight. It can be a way to write marginalised people back into society, etc… They’re so rich and full of possibility.
Originally posted here.
Then comes the collection. The ordering is roughly thematic, although some stories would fit in multiple categories. Despite Carter’s acknowledgement of the limitations of her collection (due to her lack of linguistic skills), it is a pretty diverse collection, with fairy and folk tales from all kinds of cultures and time periods. It’s not just the traditional ones, but variations thereof and whole new stories that are more foreign to a Western audience in their preoccupations (I was a bit puzzled by the mothers turning into lionnesses and dogs forming from their saliva, for example). It can get a little repetitive — a Cinderella story is, ultimately, a Cinderella story: many cultures have it, and we know how it typically goes — but it probably didn’t help that I read this in the space of two days. The tellings chosen are usually fairly clear, and Carter avoided editorialising them too much, so it’s not a chore to read at all. My version does have some proofing errors like missing quotation marks, which was kind of irritating, especially when you’re trying to figure out which character is saying what in some of the more dialogue-heavy sections.
Overall, though, it’s an enjoyable read, and one I’ll keep around. Fairy tales are such a fun way to tell a story: they’ve been evolving so long, so they’re flexible, and they’re so familiar that when you make a change, it’s obvious what that change was and what you want to highlight. It can be a way to write marginalised people back into society, etc… They’re so rich and full of possibility.
Originally posted here.
May 10, 2024
Había querido leer este libro desde que supe que lo habían traducido porque junta dos cosas de las cuales soy fan: los cuentos de hadas y Angela Carter (desde que cayó a mis manos todo lo que publicó Editorial Minotauro de Francisco Porrúa (hasta 2001), en especial La cámara sangrienta y Noches En El Circo) y no me decepcionó, la recopilación es una maravilla. Cuentos de hadas protagonizados por mujeres (tontas, listas, sagaces, niñas, jóvenes, viejas, reinas, princesas, sirvientas y muchas más) y divididos por tema, de todas partes del mundo (ojo en particular con los cuentos inuit, muy rupturistas en cuanto a temas de género). Es para leer cada cuento con detención y tiempo. El libro además incluye las ilustraciones originales de Corina Sargood, que parecen sombras chinescas y son muy adecuadas a la narración, porque no fijan los personajes a un modelo particular. Cómprenlo sin dudar si les gustan los cuentos de hadas, como a mí.
Escribí sobre ella acá: https://malditaberna.wordpress.com/20...
Escribí sobre ella acá: https://malditaberna.wordpress.com/20...
November 8, 2021
Recopilación de cuentos de todas las culturas - intentando respetar al máximo su tradición oral -, con la particularidad de estar protagonizados por mujeres.
Muy interesante.
Muy interesante.
February 21, 2018
Cuando vi que Impedimenta había publicado este libro poco antes de las pasadas navidades me entró por los ojos en seguida. Su portada, la edición, el hecho de que este recopilatorio viniera de manos de Angela Carter... Lo tenía todo para gustarme, así que tardé poco en hacerme con él y por fin le he hecho hueco para leerlo.
Bien, ocurre como siempre en los libros de relatos: unos gustan mucho, otros un poco menos y alguno nada de nada. Por eso no es un género que se encuentre entre mis predilectos, porque cada relato es una caja de sorpresas con una balanza en su interior. Y esa es la sensación que me queda. Son historias cortas, de entre una y quince páginas, y es verdad que algunas no me han dicho gran cosa, pero en general me ha parecido un libro entretenido e interesante para conocer los cuentos populares de otras culturas. No obstante, me gustó más otro libro que leí de la autora el año pasado, La cámara sangrienta, que sí tenía relatos originales escritos por ella, retellings siniestros. En este volumen del que os hablo hoy ella recopila, pero no modifica prácticamente nada.
Una de las lástimas de este libro es que son tantas y tantas historias (no las he contado, pero habrá 300 o más), que no se pueden asimilar todas y la mayoría acaban siendo olvidadas. Es cierto, ya he olvidado algunas o cómo acababan.
La edición es preciosa, con esas ilustraciones tan originales que tiene, además de los extras (apéndices donde se cuenta el origen de cada cuento, un prólogo maravilloso que nos habla de los cuentos de hadas en general y el papel de la mujer en ellos...). Pero tengo que decir algo negativo, muy negativo: he encontrado faltas de ortografía en casi todas las páginas. Y estamos hablando de un libro de casi 30 euros. Hay para todos los gustos: tildes que faltan, cambio de género de personajes de un párrafo a otro, palabras omitidas (ejemplo: "cogió la y se la dio a su hermano"). En fin, que no esperaba algo así por parte de esta editorial, que suele cuidar tanto sus ediciones, y me encuentro sorprendida para mal y algo decepcionada en este sentido. Tenía que decirlo.
Bueno, un libro interesante pero con sus puntos turbios.
Bien, ocurre como siempre en los libros de relatos: unos gustan mucho, otros un poco menos y alguno nada de nada. Por eso no es un género que se encuentre entre mis predilectos, porque cada relato es una caja de sorpresas con una balanza en su interior. Y esa es la sensación que me queda. Son historias cortas, de entre una y quince páginas, y es verdad que algunas no me han dicho gran cosa, pero en general me ha parecido un libro entretenido e interesante para conocer los cuentos populares de otras culturas. No obstante, me gustó más otro libro que leí de la autora el año pasado, La cámara sangrienta, que sí tenía relatos originales escritos por ella, retellings siniestros. En este volumen del que os hablo hoy ella recopila, pero no modifica prácticamente nada.
Una de las lástimas de este libro es que son tantas y tantas historias (no las he contado, pero habrá 300 o más), que no se pueden asimilar todas y la mayoría acaban siendo olvidadas. Es cierto, ya he olvidado algunas o cómo acababan.
La edición es preciosa, con esas ilustraciones tan originales que tiene, además de los extras (apéndices donde se cuenta el origen de cada cuento, un prólogo maravilloso que nos habla de los cuentos de hadas en general y el papel de la mujer en ellos...). Pero tengo que decir algo negativo, muy negativo: he encontrado faltas de ortografía en casi todas las páginas. Y estamos hablando de un libro de casi 30 euros. Hay para todos los gustos: tildes que faltan, cambio de género de personajes de un párrafo a otro, palabras omitidas (ejemplo: "cogió la y se la dio a su hermano"). En fin, que no esperaba algo así por parte de esta editorial, que suele cuidar tanto sus ediciones, y me encuentro sorprendida para mal y algo decepcionada en este sentido. Tenía que decirlo.
Bueno, un libro interesante pero con sus puntos turbios.
October 26, 2015
I read this book years back, before the recent craze for fairy tales began, and remember thinking that it was true to the original form, fairy tales were never intended to be a bedtime story, unless we parents meant our children to have horrible nightmares. At that time, Angela Carter and Tanith Lee were pioneering this reimagining which both harkened back to the originals and brought them into the modern age. Then Terry Windling & Ellen Datlow brought out their wonderful anthologies, and Charles deLint found Newford, and so many authors began to find inspiration that it was hard to keep up with it all. But I loved this book first for its distinctive voice. Thank you, Angela Carter, for lighting the fire.
April 27, 2024
Una abrumadora cantidad de relatos, la gran mayoría de tramas similares de principio a fin, pero de procedencias culturales completamente opuestas, otorgando un adorno distinto a un modelo de cuento, que parece enquistado en nuestra memoria racial. La verdadera gracia del libro es apreciar esos detalles, sabores diferentes en fantasías diversas, algunas bellas, otras horrendas, varias versiones diferentes de cuentos famosos (la Cenicienta, Blanca Nieves, etc..) y otras historias tan originales que sorprenden. Este último caso aplica en especial para los cuentos inuit y para los de África Occidental, ya que la diferencia cultural se hace tan insalvable que la extravagancia se transforma en regla.
Está claro el papel predominante de las mujeres en todas las historias. Abundan heroínas muy hermosas, sufridas la mayoría, pícaras otras, junto a una multitud de viejecillas, todas brujas o de aspecto brujeril que juegan papeles fundamentales en el desarrollo de las tramas, más nadie me dio más miedo e impresión, ni hubo ser más infame, peor incluso que la misma Baba Yaga, que la temible Madrastra, de crueldad infinita hace palidecer al mismísimo demonio.
Mis relatos favoritos del volumen, sobre más de cien que lo componen,: "Kakuarshuk", "Una ración de sesos", "La señora Número Tres", "El mercado de los muertos", "La mujer que se casó con la esposa de su hijo", "Tuglik y su nieta", "El enebro", "Nourie Hadig", "La anciana contracorriente", "La bella doncella Ibronka", "El hechicero y la hechicera", "La partera y la rana" y "Tunjur, Tunjur".
Mención aparte para los dibujos, una gozada, en especial los comienzos de cada capítulo.
Está claro el papel predominante de las mujeres en todas las historias. Abundan heroínas muy hermosas, sufridas la mayoría, pícaras otras, junto a una multitud de viejecillas, todas brujas o de aspecto brujeril que juegan papeles fundamentales en el desarrollo de las tramas, más nadie me dio más miedo e impresión, ni hubo ser más infame, peor incluso que la misma Baba Yaga, que la temible Madrastra, de crueldad infinita hace palidecer al mismísimo demonio.
Mis relatos favoritos del volumen, sobre más de cien que lo componen,: "Kakuarshuk", "Una ración de sesos", "La señora Número Tres", "El mercado de los muertos", "La mujer que se casó con la esposa de su hijo", "Tuglik y su nieta", "El enebro", "Nourie Hadig", "La anciana contracorriente", "La bella doncella Ibronka", "El hechicero y la hechicera", "La partera y la rana" y "Tunjur, Tunjur".
Mención aparte para los dibujos, una gozada, en especial los comienzos de cada capítulo.
January 26, 2018
Este libro es tan raro y sorprendente que me encantó. Es una recopilación de cuentos populares de diversas partes del mundo, principalmente de fuera de Europa, porque los de aquí ya nos los conocemos de sobra.
Así que hay historias de África, de Asia, de América... Y son absurdos, como suelen ser los cuentos, en el sentido de que a un personaje le dicen X y, por extraño que suene, el personaje se lo cree a pies juntillas. No sé, le dicen que su casa está hechizada y que tiene que desollar a su gato y comerse la piel para desencantarla, y se lo cree. Y lo hace. Y sí, hay sangre en varios de los cuentos, y también sexo a veces. La apología de la violencia y del maltrato aquí es bestial, pero está tan normalizada y queda tan WTF que hasta te ríes.
Y con ello aprendes que nunca debes actuar de esa forma en la vida real.
Lo que me ha resultado curioso es que hay muchos cuentos que se parecen. Por ejemplo, varios de ellos recuerdan tanto a Piel de asno como a La Cenicienta, hay una especie de versión del cuento de los cisnes que eran príncipes hechizados a los que su hermana tenía que desencantar, y hay uno sobre una leona del que aparecen tres o cuatro versiones diferentes en este libro. Si bien los detalles varían, la trama es la misma: una mujer que se transforma en leona pero que acude a ver a su hija, que sigue siendo humana.
Y quiero mencionar que hay un cuento muy feminista que me ha encantado, en el que un grupo de chicas deciden huir y establecerse todas juntas a raíz del acoso que sufre una de ellas. La base me encanta, pero no me llegó a gustar del todo el final, las cosas como son. Aun así, disfruté bastante de gran parte de este relato, así que quería mencionarlo.
Y las madrastras de todas estas historias siguen siendo malísimas.
Una compilación de cuentos diferentes a lo que estamos acostumbrados y, a la vez, similar. Muy recomendado.
Así que hay historias de África, de Asia, de América... Y son absurdos, como suelen ser los cuentos, en el sentido de que a un personaje le dicen X y, por extraño que suene, el personaje se lo cree a pies juntillas. No sé, le dicen que su casa está hechizada y que tiene que desollar a su gato y comerse la piel para desencantarla, y se lo cree. Y lo hace. Y sí, hay sangre en varios de los cuentos, y también sexo a veces. La apología de la violencia y del maltrato aquí es bestial, pero está tan normalizada y queda tan WTF que hasta te ríes.
Y con ello aprendes que nunca debes actuar de esa forma en la vida real.
Lo que me ha resultado curioso es que hay muchos cuentos que se parecen. Por ejemplo, varios de ellos recuerdan tanto a Piel de asno como a La Cenicienta, hay una especie de versión del cuento de los cisnes que eran príncipes hechizados a los que su hermana tenía que desencantar, y hay uno sobre una leona del que aparecen tres o cuatro versiones diferentes en este libro. Si bien los detalles varían, la trama es la misma: una mujer que se transforma en leona pero que acude a ver a su hija, que sigue siendo humana.
Y quiero mencionar que hay un cuento muy feminista que me ha encantado, en el que un grupo de chicas deciden huir y establecerse todas juntas a raíz del acoso que sufre una de ellas. La base me encanta, pero no me llegó a gustar del todo el final, las cosas como son. Aun así, disfruté bastante de gran parte de este relato, así que quería mencionarlo.
Y las madrastras de todas estas historias siguen siendo malísimas.
Una compilación de cuentos diferentes a lo que estamos acostumbrados y, a la vez, similar. Muy recomendado.
January 20, 2022
i feel like an important thing to know about me is that my parents' copy of this book introduced me to sex at seven-ish years old, by way of stories abt a woman bringing carved blubber to life by rubbing it on her genitals and a mother-in-law seducing her daughter-in-law with her seal bone strap-on ? make of that what you will.
that aside, has been really Nice to sit down every few days & read a handful of fairy-tales i remember, or don't, and go over the weird, joyful, bawdy, grotesque illustrations, and feel a whisper of angela carter, one of my Lifelong Loves so far, over my shoulder.
that aside, has been really Nice to sit down every few days & read a handful of fairy-tales i remember, or don't, and go over the weird, joyful, bawdy, grotesque illustrations, and feel a whisper of angela carter, one of my Lifelong Loves so far, over my shoulder.
November 28, 2021
Assim como muitas coletâneas de contos, alguns são ótimos, outros bem meh
November 27, 2018
«Que yo y otras muchas mujeres vayamos buscando heroínas de cuentos de hadas en los libros es otra versión del mismo proceso: deseo validar mi reivindicación a poseer una parte equitativa del futuro, y expreso para ello la exigencia de que me concedan la parte del pasado que me corresponde».
Angela Carter. Introducción a la edición.
🥀
Angela reivindica, Angela exige con la misma fuerza y determinación con la que trabajó en esta recopilación hasta los últimos días de su vida, ingresada en el hospital. En estos cuentos aparecen pocas hadas pero sí hay mujeres fuertes, inteligentes, pícaras, habilidosas que nos permiten respirar tranquilas mientras los leemos pues sabemos que lograrán salir adelante. Mujeres que se tienen a sí mismas y que no necesitan príncipes azules que las rescaten aunque a veces sí aparezcan «comadres» o animales mágicos que les echan una mano. Mujeres que se ayudan unas a otras, aunque a veces también se enfrentan entre ellas (madrastras sí hay, y muchas, como en esas versiones de distintos países de Blancanieves, Cenicienta, Bella Durmiente). Cuentos que nos invitan a viajar, a soñar, a reír y también a extraer nuestras moralejas.
🥀
Angela se apodera de la voz masculina de los cuentos y los arranca de la misoginia misma para retrotraerlos a sus orígenes, a aquellas épocas en las que los contaban «Mamá ganso» o la abuela de nuestra bisabuela mientras hilaba por la noche al lado del fuego. Historias útiles para nosotras en las que somos las protagonistas, a veces virtuosas, a veces malvadas, a veces picaronas, a veces brujas, a veces mujeres-leona, a veces mujeres-mortero. Todo un imaginario que Angela rescata desde los inuit hasta Japón pasando por Inglaterra, Birmania o Sudán.
🥀
Cuentos para mujeres que fuimos niñas que nos hacen volver a ser niñas y convertirnos en mujer. Muchos se los he narrado a mi hijo, adaptándolos un poco a su edad sobre todo por el lenguaje, y me pide «otro» y «otro» mientras me pregunta «y qué pasó» «y qué pasó». Una delicia. La excelente edición también ayuda 💕
#AngelaCarter #CuentosdeHadas #leoautorastodoelaño #librosatemporales #mujereslistas
Angela Carter. Introducción a la edición.
🥀
Angela reivindica, Angela exige con la misma fuerza y determinación con la que trabajó en esta recopilación hasta los últimos días de su vida, ingresada en el hospital. En estos cuentos aparecen pocas hadas pero sí hay mujeres fuertes, inteligentes, pícaras, habilidosas que nos permiten respirar tranquilas mientras los leemos pues sabemos que lograrán salir adelante. Mujeres que se tienen a sí mismas y que no necesitan príncipes azules que las rescaten aunque a veces sí aparezcan «comadres» o animales mágicos que les echan una mano. Mujeres que se ayudan unas a otras, aunque a veces también se enfrentan entre ellas (madrastras sí hay, y muchas, como en esas versiones de distintos países de Blancanieves, Cenicienta, Bella Durmiente). Cuentos que nos invitan a viajar, a soñar, a reír y también a extraer nuestras moralejas.
🥀
Angela se apodera de la voz masculina de los cuentos y los arranca de la misoginia misma para retrotraerlos a sus orígenes, a aquellas épocas en las que los contaban «Mamá ganso» o la abuela de nuestra bisabuela mientras hilaba por la noche al lado del fuego. Historias útiles para nosotras en las que somos las protagonistas, a veces virtuosas, a veces malvadas, a veces picaronas, a veces brujas, a veces mujeres-leona, a veces mujeres-mortero. Todo un imaginario que Angela rescata desde los inuit hasta Japón pasando por Inglaterra, Birmania o Sudán.
🥀
Cuentos para mujeres que fuimos niñas que nos hacen volver a ser niñas y convertirnos en mujer. Muchos se los he narrado a mi hijo, adaptándolos un poco a su edad sobre todo por el lenguaje, y me pide «otro» y «otro» mientras me pregunta «y qué pasó» «y qué pasó». Una delicia. La excelente edición también ayuda 💕
#AngelaCarter #CuentosdeHadas #leoautorastodoelaño #librosatemporales #mujereslistas
January 30, 2014
This was bizarre. Grotesque, even. But it was also extremely interesting and captivating. With her carefully selected tales, Carter took me on a journey all over the world. I journeyed from Iceland to Egypt, from Norway to Peru within a few pages. So many cultures are represented and united in this gorgeous book - and only a few tales were known to me beforehand.
All of the tales center around women, and the stories are organized into little sections, such as 'Clever Women', 'Mothers and Daughters' and of course 'Witches'. Carter manages to show the way females has been traditionally portrayed in folklore, and to document the roles women have played in various cultures and time-periods. It is extremely interesting.
Some of these tales were unfamiliar but vaguely familiar at the same time. Quite a few young ladies forget their shoes nearby a handsome prince, many girls find themselves forced to spin straw into gold (and therefore require some help from a little imp or an old hag), and evil stepmothers are to find everywhere. I found it fascinating to trace the origin and different versions of well-known tales, such as Cinderella.
While a large portion of these fairy-tales are extremely funny and silly, there's also a lingering sense of the macabre hiding between these pages. A few mothers turn into lions and want to eat their children, brothers try to rape their sisters, and jealous stepmothers put their children into the oven and serve them as dinner to their fathers. Cannibalism, incest, murder and torture leaves bloody traces all over this book. Along with the lovely, funny and silly tales, you will find gruesome and disturbing ones as well. But that is always the case with traditional folklore.
The illustrations in this book are beautiful and sinister as well; and this is, overall, a stunning and remarkable collection of fairy-tales.
All of the tales center around women, and the stories are organized into little sections, such as 'Clever Women', 'Mothers and Daughters' and of course 'Witches'. Carter manages to show the way females has been traditionally portrayed in folklore, and to document the roles women have played in various cultures and time-periods. It is extremely interesting.
Some of these tales were unfamiliar but vaguely familiar at the same time. Quite a few young ladies forget their shoes nearby a handsome prince, many girls find themselves forced to spin straw into gold (and therefore require some help from a little imp or an old hag), and evil stepmothers are to find everywhere. I found it fascinating to trace the origin and different versions of well-known tales, such as Cinderella.
While a large portion of these fairy-tales are extremely funny and silly, there's also a lingering sense of the macabre hiding between these pages. A few mothers turn into lions and want to eat their children, brothers try to rape their sisters, and jealous stepmothers put their children into the oven and serve them as dinner to their fathers. Cannibalism, incest, murder and torture leaves bloody traces all over this book. Along with the lovely, funny and silly tales, you will find gruesome and disturbing ones as well. But that is always the case with traditional folklore.
The illustrations in this book are beautiful and sinister as well; and this is, overall, a stunning and remarkable collection of fairy-tales.
January 25, 2011
A collection of folklore from around the world, tales of wise women, crafty witches and resourceful maidens… the woman-centric theme doesn’t intrude, just makes it a more cohesive collection than most fable anthologies. There’s an all-too-short yet interesting forward by Carter, and the woodcut illustrations are a lovely accompaniment.
Considering that I’ve been meaning to read something of the work of Angela Carter for a long time, I’m a bit nonplussed to find myself starting with a book she compiled and edited rather than wrote, but I’m not sorry I bought this volume, because it’s a beautiful book full of gems, that brings a bit of girly sass to my otherwise male-dominated fable/folklore shelf.
Considering that I’ve been meaning to read something of the work of Angela Carter for a long time, I’m a bit nonplussed to find myself starting with a book she compiled and edited rather than wrote, but I’m not sorry I bought this volume, because it’s a beautiful book full of gems, that brings a bit of girly sass to my otherwise male-dominated fable/folklore shelf.
December 22, 2018
Short stories really aren't my thing. I find it really hard to repeatedly get invested in stories and I can't hold my focus. That is probably why it has taken me 2 months to read this!
July 29, 2007
First of all, I am not sure what's the genre of this book. Fiction? The tales may be true to some people. Horror? I certainly think so given that some of the fairy tales are horrifying. Fantasy? Perhaps.
The book is edited by Angela Carter and illustrated, darkly, by Corinna Sargood. But it is the beautiful cover and the classic bound that attracted me to it at Kinokuniya Jakarta. This is one of the rare hardcovers that I buy willingly because of its looks.
This edition is a compilation of two of Angela Carter's work: The Virago Book of Fairy Tales Collection published in 1990 and The Second Virago Book of Fairy Tales Collection published in 1992. The latter was published shortly after she died.
Story-wise, it is not the typical fairy tales. They are gruesome, dark, and sometimes disturbing. Children are roasted in oven and fed into their own unsuspecting fathers by, normally, their stepmothers. Mothers get jealous of their own daughters and send the girls to their doom. There are even a few incestuous stories. The stories, collected from all over the world, happen in times where monsters, ghouls, and fairies rule the world; animals talk; and every beautiful girl marries a prince.
The chapters are made of headings in which similar stories are grouped. For example, chapter one titled Brave, Bold and Wilful talks about people who are like that. Chapter 11, titled Mothers and Daughters, explores their relationships.
Do I like the book? I have a mixed feeling. Some of the stories are pointless in their cruelties. Some are the typical fairy tales with moral messages. Even the happy ending ones give me chill. There is little clue, in the stories, about the country where the tale originates from.
The stories are selected with care. There are lengthy introductions, afterwords, and notes explaining why the stories are selected and where they are obtained from. To be honest, these parts are too English 101 for me so I didn't really pay attention.
In conclusion, if you like fairy tales, get this. If you like to adorn your bookshelf with great looking books, get this. If you are easily disgusted or have a somewhat black and white view, this book is perhaps not for you.
The book is edited by Angela Carter and illustrated, darkly, by Corinna Sargood. But it is the beautiful cover and the classic bound that attracted me to it at Kinokuniya Jakarta. This is one of the rare hardcovers that I buy willingly because of its looks.
This edition is a compilation of two of Angela Carter's work: The Virago Book of Fairy Tales Collection published in 1990 and The Second Virago Book of Fairy Tales Collection published in 1992. The latter was published shortly after she died.
Story-wise, it is not the typical fairy tales. They are gruesome, dark, and sometimes disturbing. Children are roasted in oven and fed into their own unsuspecting fathers by, normally, their stepmothers. Mothers get jealous of their own daughters and send the girls to their doom. There are even a few incestuous stories. The stories, collected from all over the world, happen in times where monsters, ghouls, and fairies rule the world; animals talk; and every beautiful girl marries a prince.
The chapters are made of headings in which similar stories are grouped. For example, chapter one titled Brave, Bold and Wilful talks about people who are like that. Chapter 11, titled Mothers and Daughters, explores their relationships.
Do I like the book? I have a mixed feeling. Some of the stories are pointless in their cruelties. Some are the typical fairy tales with moral messages. Even the happy ending ones give me chill. There is little clue, in the stories, about the country where the tale originates from.
The stories are selected with care. There are lengthy introductions, afterwords, and notes explaining why the stories are selected and where they are obtained from. To be honest, these parts are too English 101 for me so I didn't really pay attention.
In conclusion, if you like fairy tales, get this. If you like to adorn your bookshelf with great looking books, get this. If you are easily disgusted or have a somewhat black and white view, this book is perhaps not for you.
August 14, 2009
I read the first half of this book prior to buying this edition. This is actually Volumne 1 and Volumne 2 of Carter's Virago Fairy Tales.
What makes the collection good is that the fairy tales, or folk tales, range widely. Carter does have some well known tales here, such as "Little Red Riding Hood" but she collections lesser well known ones, including a heavy does of tales from non-European countries.
While I am not sure if I would use the word feminist to describe the collection, the tales are mostly woman centered, with women as heroines or as a major role. The collection is divided into chapters based on the plot or point of the tales. Sections include "Mothers and Daughters", "Witches", "Married Women" and "Useful Stories". A good portion of the stories are strongly sexual in nature. A fair amount of the stories are also funny.
Stand out stories in the collection include the following:
"Princess in a Suit of Leather" an egyptian Cinderella tale.
"The Enchanter and Enchantress" - a story that makes an interesting comment about marriage. Really a rather nice tale.
"Reason to Beat Your Wife" - despite the title, a story that most women should enjoy.
"Father and Mother Both Fast" - pretty much what the title says.
"Blubber Boy" a rather sad story about how not to deal with loss.
"Kate Crackernuts" a story that has one sister helping the other.
What makes the collection good is that the fairy tales, or folk tales, range widely. Carter does have some well known tales here, such as "Little Red Riding Hood" but she collections lesser well known ones, including a heavy does of tales from non-European countries.
While I am not sure if I would use the word feminist to describe the collection, the tales are mostly woman centered, with women as heroines or as a major role. The collection is divided into chapters based on the plot or point of the tales. Sections include "Mothers and Daughters", "Witches", "Married Women" and "Useful Stories". A good portion of the stories are strongly sexual in nature. A fair amount of the stories are also funny.
Stand out stories in the collection include the following:
"Princess in a Suit of Leather" an egyptian Cinderella tale.
"The Enchanter and Enchantress" - a story that makes an interesting comment about marriage. Really a rather nice tale.
"Reason to Beat Your Wife" - despite the title, a story that most women should enjoy.
"Father and Mother Both Fast" - pretty much what the title says.
"Blubber Boy" a rather sad story about how not to deal with loss.
"Kate Crackernuts" a story that has one sister helping the other.
September 26, 2021
Una compilación de relatos de todas las culturas que me ha encantado descubrir, además de estar todas protagonizados por mujeres de lo más peculiares.
Son muchos relatos y sin duda se pasa un muy buen rato, aunque a veces la pluma sea un poco compleja y emplee, de vez en cuando, lenguaje soez.
Las ilustraciones son muy bonitas, originales, y además le dan un toque especial al libro en su conjunto.
¡Muy recomendado, por supuesto!
Son muchos relatos y sin duda se pasa un muy buen rato, aunque a veces la pluma sea un poco compleja y emplee, de vez en cuando, lenguaje soez.
Las ilustraciones son muy bonitas, originales, y además le dan un toque especial al libro en su conjunto.
¡Muy recomendado, por supuesto!
Read
July 3, 2022Казки странні - все, що я можу сказати про цю збірку))
Ну тобто або ви читали Леві-Строса і Проппа, прости господи, і намагаєте виколупати з цих текстів якийсь антропологічний смисл, або стаєте на позицію наївного читача, і тоді див. тезу 1)))
Ну тобто або ви читали Леві-Строса і Проппа, прости господи, і намагаєте виколупати з цих текстів якийсь антропологічний смисл, або стаєте на позицію наївного читача, і тоді див. тезу 1)))
May 9, 2011
I normally love short stories, and fairy tales, but I struggled a little with this one. The book is a collection of stories from all over the world, all of which based around a female character. The stories are grouped into the following:
Brave, Bold and Wilful
Clever Women, Resourceful Girls and Desperate Stratagems
Sillies
Good Girls and Where it Gets Them
Witches
Unhappy Families
Moral Tales
Strong Minds and Low Cunning
Up to Something – Black Arts and Dirty Tricks
Beautiful People
Mothers and Daughters
Married Women
Useful Stories
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed most of the stories – they were interesting, funny and weird, so far so good. The Icelandic stories tended to involve the women making themselves appear as men with penises made out of bits of seal, and there were quite a few stories involving jealous step mothers and step fathers, and cannibalism… These are proper folk fairy stories that have been handed down from generation to generation.
I could see the roots of Grimm’s Fairytales and Mother Goose in these stories, and there were several stories based around the Cinderella theme, Rumpelstiltskin and elements of Snow White. My only issue was that there were many stories that I felt like I had read over and over again by the time I had finished the book. Some were written in slang and in dialect, which made them a little harder to get through (although this wasn’t a problem).
The book left me wanting more… I wanted to read about the origins of these stories and why the details changed form region to region. These are most definitely not children’s stories, there are blatant sexual themes in some of them. I have picked up another Angela Carter book to add to the pile as I want to see how these stories affected her writing… watch this space!
Brave, Bold and Wilful
Clever Women, Resourceful Girls and Desperate Stratagems
Sillies
Good Girls and Where it Gets Them
Witches
Unhappy Families
Moral Tales
Strong Minds and Low Cunning
Up to Something – Black Arts and Dirty Tricks
Beautiful People
Mothers and Daughters
Married Women
Useful Stories
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed most of the stories – they were interesting, funny and weird, so far so good. The Icelandic stories tended to involve the women making themselves appear as men with penises made out of bits of seal, and there were quite a few stories involving jealous step mothers and step fathers, and cannibalism… These are proper folk fairy stories that have been handed down from generation to generation.
I could see the roots of Grimm’s Fairytales and Mother Goose in these stories, and there were several stories based around the Cinderella theme, Rumpelstiltskin and elements of Snow White. My only issue was that there were many stories that I felt like I had read over and over again by the time I had finished the book. Some were written in slang and in dialect, which made them a little harder to get through (although this wasn’t a problem).
The book left me wanting more… I wanted to read about the origins of these stories and why the details changed form region to region. These are most definitely not children’s stories, there are blatant sexual themes in some of them. I have picked up another Angela Carter book to add to the pile as I want to see how these stories affected her writing… watch this space!
August 3, 2013
In her Book of Fairy Tales, Carter has attempted what the Bro's Grimm did many a generation ago, and compile a compendium of folk and fairy tales from across a variety of cultures and countries. Ranging from Inuit to Hillbilly Carter doesn't edit, tone-down or Hollywoodise anything (the Inuit tales stand out as the most strange)
In confession I must disclose that for me the tales ranged from, 'I can't follow this' to 'I'm following this but WTF?' to 'GREAT'
Essentially this is an awesome book, but I would struggle to sell it as a straight read. Probably best as a coffee table book for the occasional pickup and journey into the land of the strange...
In confession I must disclose that for me the tales ranged from, 'I can't follow this' to 'I'm following this but WTF?' to 'GREAT'
Essentially this is an awesome book, but I would struggle to sell it as a straight read. Probably best as a coffee table book for the occasional pickup and journey into the land of the strange...
September 29, 2024
Beautifully published, this is a collection of fairytales from various parts of the world from Africa to Siberia, many of which feel familiar (as they had made their way into other cultures), some are laugh-out-loud funny (the Palestinian one about a girl born as a pot, I´m looking at you), some with a lesson to be learned.
And then there are the Innuit ones. Those are just weird, man. :D
And then there are the Innuit ones. Those are just weird, man. :D
June 14, 2018
It's hard to know how to review collections like this because in my mind they are as much data as they are entertainment. Every time I read one I get wistful for the day when we will have proper phylogenetic trees to give these stories context. You would expect a collection like this to have a certain amount of filtering or bias, and they definitely do. The premise of this one is that all these random folk stories are in some way about girls. But that still leaves a pretty huge selection, and you would think, for instance, that a curator might include a few examples of the Cinderella story and leave out the rest. Apparently not; there must be a dozen versions of Cinderella, and a fair number of the other tales are also variants of each other.
This book is a collection of two shorter volumes, and the first one is strongly biased in favor of European and Western Asian cultures. The only exception is the set of short Inuit stories scattered throughout, which have such a distinct and unique voice that their independent heritage is quite obvious. They are universally quite fixated on anatomy and sexuality, and integrate them with a very cool ecological magic vocabulary. The second half makes a much better effort at global inclusiveness, though it still leaves a lot to be desired as a survey. Many of the best stories in the collection appear here, stories I enjoyed for their kind of unexpected combination of several story ideas that might otherwise be treated separately (the Dinka stories stand out).
In general, as entertainment, the stories have that same issue that fairytales always have. A lot of them are a bit nursery rhyme-ish (especially true of the humorous ones, which often seem to get left out of other such collections), in so far as they tend to reach fairly neat endings that are often pretty close to "happily ever after," and their general logic is pretty . . . convenient? Not to mention that so many of them are so familiar. The most interesting ones are those that make some bold, baffling, and just weird aesthetic turn, like having Cinderella conceal her beauty under a head of mangy skins, or when a cursed wife gives birth to a hideous baby riding a goat and waving a wooden spoon. It is definitely a "that's so random" quality that I like about them, the sense that the palette of things that can happen is so much wider relative to the familiar tropes of the form than in other genres. The trade-off for that of course is that few of the stories can amount to more than that weirdness, but given their length that's probably fine.
One other thing I noted is that, unlike the Native American folk stories book I read last year, practically none of the stories contain what I would think of as fragments of useful foraging information. Instead, their information seems geared toward teaching social norms. Some of these are extremely obvious, like the cautionary tale about incest, but because so many of the lessons applied to the villain and not the hero, it took me a little bit to notice how resoundingly this body of culture condemns the abuse of stepchildren. It suggests that a theory of storytelling focused on protagonists solving problems might be missing the possibility that villains are often the central figure of interest in the stories. After all, one of the most common tropes in this collection is the protagonists solving a problem by asking someone for help, whether that's a family member or a random stranger, and receiving an absurd set of magical instructions to follow. I think it's a stretch to imagine that trope is about teaching children to ask for help when the lesson that you shouldn't abuse your children, even if you are not their biological parent, is so much more obvious. Could be both, though.
Another interesting observation is that, unlike most folktale collections I've read, these stories differ substantially in dialect. Thus while a story in Russian or Hungarian might be translated into English in a relatively plain contemporary style, any entry from an English-speaking ethnic group is presented in their dialect. That makes you wonder how much personality we're losing from the others in translation.
This book is a collection of two shorter volumes, and the first one is strongly biased in favor of European and Western Asian cultures. The only exception is the set of short Inuit stories scattered throughout, which have such a distinct and unique voice that their independent heritage is quite obvious. They are universally quite fixated on anatomy and sexuality, and integrate them with a very cool ecological magic vocabulary. The second half makes a much better effort at global inclusiveness, though it still leaves a lot to be desired as a survey. Many of the best stories in the collection appear here, stories I enjoyed for their kind of unexpected combination of several story ideas that might otherwise be treated separately (the Dinka stories stand out).
In general, as entertainment, the stories have that same issue that fairytales always have. A lot of them are a bit nursery rhyme-ish (especially true of the humorous ones, which often seem to get left out of other such collections), in so far as they tend to reach fairly neat endings that are often pretty close to "happily ever after," and their general logic is pretty . . . convenient? Not to mention that so many of them are so familiar. The most interesting ones are those that make some bold, baffling, and just weird aesthetic turn, like having Cinderella conceal her beauty under a head of mangy skins, or when a cursed wife gives birth to a hideous baby riding a goat and waving a wooden spoon. It is definitely a "that's so random" quality that I like about them, the sense that the palette of things that can happen is so much wider relative to the familiar tropes of the form than in other genres. The trade-off for that of course is that few of the stories can amount to more than that weirdness, but given their length that's probably fine.
One other thing I noted is that, unlike the Native American folk stories book I read last year, practically none of the stories contain what I would think of as fragments of useful foraging information. Instead, their information seems geared toward teaching social norms. Some of these are extremely obvious, like the cautionary tale about incest, but because so many of the lessons applied to the villain and not the hero, it took me a little bit to notice how resoundingly this body of culture condemns the abuse of stepchildren. It suggests that a theory of storytelling focused on protagonists solving problems might be missing the possibility that villains are often the central figure of interest in the stories. After all, one of the most common tropes in this collection is the protagonists solving a problem by asking someone for help, whether that's a family member or a random stranger, and receiving an absurd set of magical instructions to follow. I think it's a stretch to imagine that trope is about teaching children to ask for help when the lesson that you shouldn't abuse your children, even if you are not their biological parent, is so much more obvious. Could be both, though.
Another interesting observation is that, unlike most folktale collections I've read, these stories differ substantially in dialect. Thus while a story in Russian or Hungarian might be translated into English in a relatively plain contemporary style, any entry from an English-speaking ethnic group is presented in their dialect. That makes you wonder how much personality we're losing from the others in translation.
December 14, 2024
you’ll enjoy this if you like dark, weird retellings of traditional stories. carter takes the very familiar structure of fairy tales and twists it into a funhouse mirror of sorts. one story ‘the girl who trod on a loaf’ is about a girl who’s so vain that she uses a literal loaf of bread as a stepping stone to avoid getting her shoes dirty (girl I get it). and ofc, she sinks straight into a swamp for it.
but what stayed with me was how petty her downfall is. like how many little choices do we make every day that say way more about us than we’d like to admit?? and what if those choices actually define us?? it’s such a small, ridiculous moment, but it actually spirals into a defining moment for her.
I only really read this collection one or two stories at a time before bed (which is prob why my dreams have been off). it’s a little too intense to read all at once, but perfect in small doses.
but what stayed with me was how petty her downfall is. like how many little choices do we make every day that say way more about us than we’d like to admit?? and what if those choices actually define us?? it’s such a small, ridiculous moment, but it actually spirals into a defining moment for her.
I only really read this collection one or two stories at a time before bed (which is prob why my dreams have been off). it’s a little too intense to read all at once, but perfect in small doses.
January 9, 2019
When starting this book, I thought these were fairy tales written by Angela Carter but it turns out that Angela Carter is the collector and the editor of the book. It is a treasure, to keep in your nightstand when the sleep escapes you and you want to try to fall asleep. They are far from the Disney-like stories I grew up reading. They are wacky, gruesome stories that make you disgusted and laugh aloud. The stories are from all around the world which makes it even greater. True, reading this back to back can be a bit tiresome and boring since there are stories with pretty much the same elements, just from another part of the world, but I think this is definitely a good one who loves fairy tales but hasn't read a lot of them besides from Grimm's or European fairy tales in general.
April 24, 2020
Una recopilación exquisita de relatos protagonizados por mujeres procedentes del folclore de todo el mundo que Angela Carter utiliza para demostrar que no todos los cuentos tradicionales van de princesitas indefensas. Un libro que recomiendo especialmente en físico, porque la edición de Impedimenta es una gozada.
December 22, 2019
It must be... maybe 10 years since I last read any of these? My old copies are long gone. But what a contribution, what a point to make when you know - as Carter did - that she had not long left: the greatest contribution to literature has always been made by the illiterate, oral storytelling will outlast everything else, and imagination trumps reality every time.
December 21, 2024
Wide and varied collection with beautiful illustrations. It's nice to have a collection that is truly global, Angela Carter had a passion. By reading stories from all over, it's cool to see how motifs and tales were reimagined between completely different cultures. I feel like I should read more Inuit tales, because magical genitals are always a laugh.
July 21, 2021
DNF, too boring
June 27, 2018
Ce recueil de contes n’est malheureusement pas traduit en français et le niveau d’anglais est élevé.
C’est d’ailleurs pour cela que j’ai eu autant de mal à le lire à mon arrivée en Angleterre. Il me fallait un dictionnaire à proximité pour comprendre la moitié des histoires. Autant dire que je n’avais aucun plaisir de lecture !
Pour ceux qui se sentent capable de lire ce livre, je ne peux que vous le recommander. Ces contes de fées recueillis tout autour du monde n’ont de rapport avec les fées que le nom. Oubliez les gentilles versions de Disney, ici les fées sont plutôt des démons, les morales sont parfois (souvent) douteuses, les contes très intriguant voire, même parfois incompréhensibles et, les personnages tous plus bizarres les uns que les autres.
Plus d’une histoire m’a fait sourire ou rire et, plus d’une m’a fait hausser les sourcils (en particulier les contes inuits qui valent le détour !). Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales présente un beau tour du monde des différentes cultures et met en valeur ce qui nous rapproche : l’amour des histoires.
C’est d’ailleurs pour cela que j’ai eu autant de mal à le lire à mon arrivée en Angleterre. Il me fallait un dictionnaire à proximité pour comprendre la moitié des histoires. Autant dire que je n’avais aucun plaisir de lecture !
Pour ceux qui se sentent capable de lire ce livre, je ne peux que vous le recommander. Ces contes de fées recueillis tout autour du monde n’ont de rapport avec les fées que le nom. Oubliez les gentilles versions de Disney, ici les fées sont plutôt des démons, les morales sont parfois (souvent) douteuses, les contes très intriguant voire, même parfois incompréhensibles et, les personnages tous plus bizarres les uns que les autres.
Plus d’une histoire m’a fait sourire ou rire et, plus d’une m’a fait hausser les sourcils (en particulier les contes inuits qui valent le détour !). Angela Carter’s Book of Fairy Tales présente un beau tour du monde des différentes cultures et met en valeur ce qui nous rapproche : l’amour des histoires.
March 31, 2022
A magnificent collection, which manages to effectively capture the 'voice' of the various places the tales are gathered from. The crucial patterns and repetitions within the tales tend to be preserved. As such, it's a valuable book for those who treasure folk wisdom and thought and their roots.
A few of the stories are incredibly short, as in a mere few lines, but the preservation of any traditional tale, no matter how brief, is a thing to be celebrated.
Just as importantly, the book is a very entertaining - and occasionally very funny - read.
A few of the stories are incredibly short, as in a mere few lines, but the preservation of any traditional tale, no matter how brief, is a thing to be celebrated.
Just as importantly, the book is a very entertaining - and occasionally very funny - read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 294 reviews