Fairy Tales Of Hans Christian Andersen (1995) - Plot & Excerpts
I read Hans Christian Andersen on my iPad, Macsimus Tango. That means that the book listed here isn't the exact book that I read since I read Gutenberg's version, which is a collection of only a few dozen of the fairy tales. I put this book on my virtual bookshelf because this is the book that I put on my actual bookshelf since I ordered a version of the complete fairy tales from Amazon. My opinion is that if you read an important author then you should own all of the important works and you should give them their physical dignity upon your book shelf. As a technophile, I think virtual bookshelves are a troubling future. ANYWAYS...I will review Hans Christian Andersen based on the stories that I read. I give this book four stars because I think that the imagination of Hans Christian Andersen is profound and that the book is certainly a must read for any thinking person. The book shines light on 19th century Danish life that could not be otherwise entirely understood. In addition, the stories paint memorable pictures of what I and everybody else envisions when one conjures the term 'Fairy Tale'.The Emperor's New Clothes: This tale is wonderful. The moral is memorable. The style is characteristic of the fairy tale genre. I think the story works especially well concerning Andersen's perception of public image when considered with 'The Leap Frog,' 'The Swineherd,' 'The Real Princess,' or just about any other Anderson tale. There is an undeniable dichotomy in Andersen between what one should be and what one wants to be. Of all the tales with this message, I believe this is the best.The Fir Tree: If you want a depressing Christmas story, this is your wish. This story tells the sad tale of a tree's mistaken desires for his life and his ultimate coming to terms with his wrongly-made life's choices. My favorite part about this story wasn't the Fir Tree at all; it was the culturally informative background of the story. The Danish children decorating the tree, celebrating Christmas and enjoying the new Spring. This is a life I certainly didn't have and its peaceful quaintness charmed me although I could go without the band of household rats and mice.The Snow Queen: I heard lots about this story before I actually read it. And all that I heard was generally positive. My opinion was to the contrary. I felt that the story lacked direction and that it tended to wander unnecessarily. I thought the idea of a broken mirror was neat and that the relationship between the two children was memorable but the pages and pages of conversations with vegetation was mind numbing. This story was probably my least favorite of the bunch.The Little Match Girl: I had also heard about this story. I liked the imagery and I feel that the story could be well adapted into some form of visual art. The setting is so static yet the story is so diverse as we watch a freezing poor child attempt to stay warm in the light of a match's flame. Her thoughts are so vivid that they do seem to warm the reader. Now for the stranger stories.The Shadow: This story reminded me of Kafka. I would certainly like to know if good ole Franz ever read this story. The change of being and perspective in this story was quick, convincing and intelligent. I think there is a thesis in this story that investigates the pre-Marx master-servant relationship. I'd like to read this story again after I've been in the workforce for several years.The Bell: I think I see where Andersen was going here, but I think he failed. It was a boring story with too ambitious a message. What I read what unbelievable and rambling.The Story of a Mother: This story is historical proof that beer and ale were not originally mean to be frosty and cold. In this story, a man is nourished against the cold of winter by some ale put on the stove especially for him to warm. Naturally, the man enjoys it just like a modern beer commercial. I want to speak briefly of my favorite story - The Shoes of Fortune. This story is the earliest literary example of believable science fiction that I have read except for maybe the unbreakable glass of Petronius' Satyricon. I marveled at how Andersen showed how the Danish landscape of Copenhagen had changed so unmistakably over the centuries. This story is for any history lover and for anybody who enjoys watching a member of a culture attempt to define and understand his own culture. This story took a cultured gentleman of the 19th century into a barbarian past and takes a less cultured workman of the same century into the dystopia of the, for lack of a better word, Bourgeois. If you read Andersen, read this story because it is an edifying experience that should not be missed.In all, the book does not deserve five stars because some stories are just too boring and poorly articulated. Nevertheless, Hans is a must read.
Finalna lista pročitanih bajki:1. Snežna kraljica2. Princeza na zrnu graška3. Carevo novo odelo4. Palčica5. Kresivo6. Postojani olovni vojnik---7. Mali Klaus i veliki Klaus8. Cveće male Ide9. Saputnik10. Mala sirena11. Leteći kovčeg12. Ružno pače13. Jelka14. Crvene cipelice15. Devojčica sa šibicama16. Divlji labudovi17. Rode18. Ole Lukoje19. Sneško---7. Najbrutalnija i radi se o tome kako mali Klaus nadmudruje velikog Klausa.8. Slatka priča o maštarijama devojčice. Da li sanja da cveće igra ili ona to samo sanja na kraju nije ni bitno. Bitno je što se slatka priča I suppose.9. Pokušava da prenese poruku da uvek treba biti dobar, nikad ne znaš kada ćeš biti nagrađen za to. Ali da li treba biti dobar zbog nagrade? Ima principa zbog kojih patimo, a opet nećemo da ih se odreknemo.10. Najveći cop-out u istoriji bajkopisanja. Treba da se završi tragično (fuck you Disney!), i tako se i zavrašavala... Dok u poslednjoj verziji Andersenova nežna dušica nije mogla to da podnese. Zato je dodala da malu sirenu spasu vile vetra (?!) sa kojima neko vreme treba da čini više dobra od zla i da zato ipak dobije besmrtnu dušu.11. Neki turci, neko nadmudrivanje, ne sećam se.12. Ne sudi čoveku po spoljašnjosti. Not a bad tale.13. The most emo tree in existence. Takođe pljuje onaj "hoću da budem odrasla sada" mentalitet.14. Versus površnost.15. Kratka ali slatka. Jedna od boljih primena fantastičnog elemanta u spoju sa tugom za umrlim.16. Nešto, nešto, avantura.17. TvTropes bi ovo nazvao Family-Unfriendly Aesop: osveta je kul (prema govnima). Druga najbrutalnija verovatno.18. Skandinavska verzija Sandman-a (onog što uspavljuje, ne Gejmenovog).19. Ubeđen sam da su odavde pokrali lika za Frozen. Recimo da se radi o čudnim ili misplaced, da ne kažem neracionalnim i suicidalnim željama.
What do You think about Fairy Tales Of Hans Christian Andersen (1995)?
This book was a gift from a relative who had travelled to Denmark, to my ill sister when she was 8 years old in 1960. I was unpleasantly surprised when I finally dusted it off and sat down to read the tales written by this master story-teller. Even the "good" stories that I knew and liked from other sources (notably, the wonderful Danny Kay film) were told badly. Most were scary, violent and never redeemed themselves with any kind of moral. Take "The Tinder-Box" which glorifies greed, theft, and deception, or "Little Claus and Big Claus" which covers the child-friendly topics of fraud and premeditated murder. What fun! I notice that there are checks by some of the titles in the table of contents, and the worst of the stories aren't checked off. I can only hope that my parents were wise enough to shield their sick little girl from some of these "classics" which would have surely given her nightmares.
—Mary Lou
I really like these stories. Anderson made all the classic stories, like The Little Mermaid, The Girl Who Stepped On A Loaf, Thumbelina, and The Little Matchstick Girl. I really liked these stories because they aren't your disney stories. For example, The Little Mermaid. She didn't give up her voice, the witch cut out her tongue. Every time she took a step, she felt as if knives were piercing her feet. The prince treated her like a little dog, and when he was married, he just said "If you loved me, you would be happy for me." And then she commits suicide. Yeah, she does. Thats the end. At the end of The Little Matchstick Girl, she dies of cold because her father would beat her if she came home without selling all her matchsticks. It's a harsh ending.
—Ina
My copy of this book was handed down to me by my Father. It is an ancient book with brown pages and a missing dust jacket. It looks like it was printed in the 40’s but I can’t be sure because the book does not contain a verso.The first tale is that of the stork and in keeping with the theme of the book is undeniably sweet, but also twisted. There are definitely morals behind each and every tale, but not all the morals are ones I necessarily share. Possibly because of their heavily Christian undertones.Some of the stories could be very hit and miss but I did enjoy learning about the macarbe truths of stories such as the little mermaid where the witch, instead of just taking the little mermaid’s beautiful singing voice, cuts out her tongue.The little mermaid is then given a potion which grants her legs but to walk on them feels like being stabbed by a thousand knives and in the end the prince doesn’t even fall in love with her, which of course kills the mermaid (literally).She gave up her life, her family and her voice just to have him marry someone else. But it’s all meant to be okay because she ends up going to heaven for all she has sacrificed. It was interesting to see how the stories were originally written and how much Disney changed them completely.I particularly liked the stories ‘The Nightingale’ and ‘The Daisy’.
—Kathleen Galvin
