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Smack-Bam, or the Art of Governing Men: Political Fairy Tales of Édouard Laboulaye
Wry political fairy tales from a nineteenth-century politician that speak to our current times
Édouard Laboulaye (1811-1883), one of nineteenth-century France's most prominent politicians and an instrumental figure in establishing the Statue of Liberty, was also a prolific writer of fairy tales. Smack-Bam, or The Art of Governing Men brings together sixteen of Laboulaye's most artful stories in new translations. Filled with biting social commentary and strong notions of social justice, these rediscovered tales continue to impart lessons today.
Inspired by folktales from such places as Estonia, Germany, Iceland, and Italy, Laboulaye's deceptively entertaining stories explore the relationships between society and the ruling class. In "Briam the Fool," the hero refuses the queen's hand after he kills the king. In "Zerbino the Bumpkin," the king and prime minister are idiots, while the king's daughter runs away with a woodcutter to an enchanted island. And in the title story, "Smack-Bam, or The Art of Governing Men," a superficial prince is schooled by a middle-class woman who smacks him when he won't engage in his lessons and follows him across Europe until he falls in love with her. In these worlds, shallow aristocrats come to value liberty, women are as assertive and intelligent as men, and protagonists experience compassion as they learn of human suffering.
With an introduction by leading fairy-tale scholar Jack Zipes that places Laboulaye's writing in historical context, Smack-Bam, or The Art of Governing Men presents spirited tales from the past that speak to contemporary life.
Édouard Laboulaye (1811-1883), one of nineteenth-century France's most prominent politicians and an instrumental figure in establishing the Statue of Liberty, was also a prolific writer of fairy tales. Smack-Bam, or The Art of Governing Men brings together sixteen of Laboulaye's most artful stories in new translations. Filled with biting social commentary and strong notions of social justice, these rediscovered tales continue to impart lessons today.
Inspired by folktales from such places as Estonia, Germany, Iceland, and Italy, Laboulaye's deceptively entertaining stories explore the relationships between society and the ruling class. In "Briam the Fool," the hero refuses the queen's hand after he kills the king. In "Zerbino the Bumpkin," the king and prime minister are idiots, while the king's daughter runs away with a woodcutter to an enchanted island. And in the title story, "Smack-Bam, or The Art of Governing Men," a superficial prince is schooled by a middle-class woman who smacks him when he won't engage in his lessons and follows him across Europe until he falls in love with her. In these worlds, shallow aristocrats come to value liberty, women are as assertive and intelligent as men, and protagonists experience compassion as they learn of human suffering.
With an introduction by leading fairy-tale scholar Jack Zipes that places Laboulaye's writing in historical context, Smack-Bam, or The Art of Governing Men presents spirited tales from the past that speak to contemporary life.
288 pages, Paperback
Published November 13, 2018
6 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 14, 2019
I was pretty convinced I would love this.
(a) the title / subtitle is fantasic
(b) really pleasing cover art and tactile feel to the book (ok, I admit that probably isn't too much of a hint)
(c) featured in a very well curated local bookstore (192 Books in Chelsea)
(d) "deceptively entertaining stories explore the relationships between society and the ruling class... Filled with biting social commentary and strong notions of social justice, these rediscovered tales continue to impart lessons today"
Sadly, my algorithm failed. This was really probably closer to 2.5 stars and I only boosted it to 3 because the short story that gives the book its title was better than most.
But really, the biting social satire, *at its best*, in this book is "the only thing required of a prince was to learn how to take money from his subjects and fling a little of it to poets, writers, and artists. And he was to do this with a contemptuous hand."
And it's ridiculously sexist. I assume that is partly a function of its time but it seems beyond that to me. e.g. in one short story (The Language of Animals) the character gets a wish granted to understand the speech of animals, and the two things this results in are (a) he gets rich (this is pretty much the reward in all the stories), and (b) he learns from a rooster that he shouldn't take no guff from his wife so he beats her again and again with a stick, and after that she's not so impertinent with her questions, and he lives happily ever after. Truly, that isn't an exaggeration, that's the whole point of the story. I guess there are other stories in which the wife or daughter is the smart one, but it's hard to get past stories like the above.
(a) the title / subtitle is fantasic
(b) really pleasing cover art and tactile feel to the book (ok, I admit that probably isn't too much of a hint)
(c) featured in a very well curated local bookstore (192 Books in Chelsea)
(d) "deceptively entertaining stories explore the relationships between society and the ruling class... Filled with biting social commentary and strong notions of social justice, these rediscovered tales continue to impart lessons today"
Sadly, my algorithm failed. This was really probably closer to 2.5 stars and I only boosted it to 3 because the short story that gives the book its title was better than most.
But really, the biting social satire, *at its best*, in this book is "the only thing required of a prince was to learn how to take money from his subjects and fling a little of it to poets, writers, and artists. And he was to do this with a contemptuous hand."
And it's ridiculously sexist. I assume that is partly a function of its time but it seems beyond that to me. e.g. in one short story (The Language of Animals) the character gets a wish granted to understand the speech of animals, and the two things this results in are (a) he gets rich (this is pretty much the reward in all the stories), and (b) he learns from a rooster that he shouldn't take no guff from his wife so he beats her again and again with a stick, and after that she's not so impertinent with her questions, and he lives happily ever after. Truly, that isn't an exaggeration, that's the whole point of the story. I guess there are other stories in which the wife or daughter is the smart one, but it's hard to get past stories like the above.
October 26, 2021
Welp, I like fairy tales, so when I realized the Princeton University Press had a whole section on fairy tales, I had to grab one.
Laboulaye was a French legal and political thinker (and practitioner) who lived through the Revolution, Napoleon, and subsequent republics/empires. He saw a lot, to put it bluntly, and had much reason to muse on what might be the best form of government, the natural inclinations of man, and the arc of civilization. Within his fairy tales (some of which he wrote fresh, many of which he retold from their original Baltic, Russian, Italian, etc sources) he often explored and satirized the politics of the world he saw around him (or hoped for). The best innovations here come when the narrator pokes in on the fairy tales, giving them a modern feel ("and we cannot know what happened next because there is a blot of ink on those lines"), especially when sharing his less, erm, positive feelings on monarchs, ministers, and courtiers.
Nothing amazing here, but a neat little lesson in how modern fairy tales were still being written in the second half of the 1800s, who might do such a thing and why.
Laboulaye was a French legal and political thinker (and practitioner) who lived through the Revolution, Napoleon, and subsequent republics/empires. He saw a lot, to put it bluntly, and had much reason to muse on what might be the best form of government, the natural inclinations of man, and the arc of civilization. Within his fairy tales (some of which he wrote fresh, many of which he retold from their original Baltic, Russian, Italian, etc sources) he often explored and satirized the politics of the world he saw around him (or hoped for). The best innovations here come when the narrator pokes in on the fairy tales, giving them a modern feel ("and we cannot know what happened next because there is a blot of ink on those lines"), especially when sharing his less, erm, positive feelings on monarchs, ministers, and courtiers.
Nothing amazing here, but a neat little lesson in how modern fairy tales were still being written in the second half of the 1800s, who might do such a thing and why.
November 29, 2021
Super cute fairy tales with a (mostly) feminist and anti-hierarchical tendency. Recommend if you want something fun to read with some allegorical satire sprinkled in. I love the blend of the classic fairy tale elements with Laboulaye’s snark.
March 25, 2019
Brilliant satirical fairy tales that suit a modern audience so well!
May 10, 2019
it was fine - read it for school not super in love with it
March 29, 2021
The first two tales, „Smack-Bam“ and „Zerbino,“ are the best. They capture the wir and biting political satire that make Laboulaye interesting. The later tales are much more conventional.
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January 19, 2019You know, I may read more tales from this book but I find it horribly unfair to women. Every story I've read so far characterizes women not as individuals, but as a species with predicable traits and behaviors. If it didn't make me so mad, it would be boring.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews