I was originally was going to give this a 3 because it is uneven strange, and sometimes surprisingly amoral, but then i realized how much I acutally had to say about it, and just how much I enjoyed reading these goofy stories. So bear with me while i recount some of the best and worst stories and some of the strange themes of grimm's fairy tales. (I have to admit, I write these reviews almost entirely for myself)Some themes/things you should know:-If you are an evil stepmother or witch, and you are looking for a brother and sister or pair of lovers, they've probably turned themselves into a duck and a lake, respectively.-people or animals geting released from wolf's stomaches and then placing stones in their place.-if you kill a dragon, giant or other fearsome creature, always cut out the tongue and hang onto in case you are betrayed by someone who claims to have killed the beast himself (when confronted, the deceiver will always claim that the beast had no tongue, but no one will believe him)-if you rescue someone (a fair maden, of course) from the bottom of the well while your companions are above ground, always put something else in the basket to replace your weight, because they will drop you and try to kill you.-Never bet against: -A tailor -Anyone named Dummling, or Thumbling -The youngest of 3 brothers -Anyone that can talk to, or is kind to animals, or who is kind to old women -basically anyone young, pretty, and poor. -Always bet against: -ugly peopleBest stories. Two Brothers-two brothers wander the world with a shitload of animals at their beck and call, so many in fact, that they decide to split up. they stab some knife or something into a tree that they can look at to see if the other is ok. One becomes a king (after killing a dragon), the other wanders the world. the king goes hunting, gets turned into stone by a witch. the other brother her saves him. lots of other things happen. it's one of the longest and strangest stories and it's just great. Rumpelstiltskin-One of the classics that the one I knew was actually very similar to the original. NOthing quite as funny as how upset the little guy gets when she figures out his name. Brother Lustig-Another long and weird story, this is different in that Brother Lustig first appears to be a good guy, then he is kind of a jerk, but he sort of gets picked on by a priest and then he tricks his way into heaven. it's weird. The Man of Iron-Robert Bly wrote a whole book on manliness based upon this fairy tale, and I can see why. It just a really good story, and very rich with male stereotypes. Not that stereotypes are necessarily good, but it just really well written and interesting. The Straw, The Coal and The Bean-my favorite. So funny. Contains this passage, as the coal tries to cross the river by walking on the straw: "The straw, however, beginning to burn, and the Coal slipping after, hissed as it reached the water, and gave up the ghost. The Bean, which had prudently remaned up the shore, was forced to laugh at this accident, and the joke being so good, it laughed so immoderately that it burst itself." Fortunately a wandering tailor is able to stitch the bean back up.3 disturbing stories: The Frog Prince: Did you know that in the original, the frog is turned into a prince after being thrown against the wall?! She gets pissed at him because she is supposed to be his companion (because he retrieved her ball), but then he turns into a prince and they marry. what kind of lesson does that teach?? Actually the story is really more about the last paragraph, about the prince's loyal servant, Henry, who had tied bands around his heart which broke of happiness upont the prince's return. Cinderella: one stepsisters tries to get into the shoe by cutting off a toe, the other by cutting off a heel. Their punishment for failure? They get their eyes pecked out by birds. The Poor Boy in his Grave An orphaned boy is adopted by a cruel farmer and wife. The farmer beats for his honest or endearing mistakes, like eating a bundle of grapes because he was a hungry. While baling hay while they are out, his sweater gets caught in the hay. Knowing he will be beaten, his despair leads him to drink what the the farmer's wife said was poison, but is actually honey. At this point you still think things are going to end up well. And it's kind of funny, he says "I thought death would be bitter, but it is so sweet!" He then moves onto to the fly-poison, about which he was also lied to, because it turns out to be wine. Still funny. But then his drukeness makes him feel a bit woozy, so he thinks he might be dying so, he goes and lays in an open grave, and the cold and the wine kill him! He lays in the grave forever. The farmer's house burns down later on and he and his wife live in poverty and misery, but come on!!That's all. See, I told you I had a lot to say.
تعودت أن أسمع ومن بعد ذلك أن استخدم تلك النهاية لكل حدوتة تم حكيها لي او حكيتهاتوتة ... توتة ... خلصت الحدوتة ... حلوة ولا ملتوتة؟؟هنا لا أستطيع أن أحدد كم عدد الحكايات التي كانت حلوة ولا الملتوتةفي الحقيقة، لقد شاهدت منذ فترة طويلة فيلما مفزعا عن الأخوين جريم وكأنهما يعيشا حكاياتهما المفزعة، واختلط علي الأمر وظننتهما شخصيتين وهميتين، إلى أن أتى على ذكرهما الجميل د. أحمد خالد توفيق وقد ترجم أحد أعمالهما المفزعةوقبل موعد معرض الكتاب بقليل أمسك ابني الأصغر بكتاب ملون بالإنجليزية وصادر عن دار نشر هندية وأبى إلا أن أشتريه له وكان يحمل عنوان هانسل وجريتل وسحب اخاه كتاب أليس في بلاد العجائب لـ لويس كارول قلت لنفسي لن اقرأ أليس للولدين فهي مفزعة وبها تفاصيل غير مفهومة لمن في سنهما فلأحاول مع الأخرى وكانت عن اخوين يتركهما والدهما وزوجة ابيهما في الغابة لعجزهما عن اطعامهما ... ففزعت ولم اكمل انا شخصيا قرائتها وفي المعرض وجدت نفسي وجها لوجه أمام ترجمة صادرة عن دار تتميز بالرصانة والاختيارات الجيدة فاشتريت نسخة من حكايات هذين الأخوين الحكايات اغلبها مفزع في التفاصيل ... وهناك ما نسميه بالمرة الثالثة أو "التالتة تابتة" وقد تأتي بالخير أو الشر ... وللمخطئ عقاب صارم وينفذ وإن كان إبنا أو إبنة أو زوجة وإن عشقها زوجها أو حتى الأم ... الأم تموت غالبا وزوجة الأب كائن شرير بلا قلب دائما ... والأب قاسي القلب يوقع اغلظ العقاب بدون تحقق من خطأ الأبناء او يتخلى عن بنته - دائما هي ابنته - لصالح زوجته الجديدة لتعذبها دون تدخل منه لصالحها ... فك السحر دائما يستلزم الصمت ويجلب سخط المحيطين بهذا الصموت ... وأخيرا قصص الحب تنتهي نهايات سعيدة كما نقول مثلا: عاشوا في تبات ونبات ميزت قصة ذات الرداء الأحمر أو ليلى والذئب، وكذلك عقلة الإصبع المختلفة تماما عن الكارتون، وقصص أخرى اقل إفزاعا حكتها أمي لي في طفولتي قبل النوم وقد ظننتها عربية الأصل وجدير بالذكر أن هناك قصة شبيهة لهذا الجو، عن زوجة تتمنى الذرية حتى وإن كانت حمامة، وترزق بالفعل بما تتمنى وتقوم الحمامة بمغامرات إلا أنني وقت حملي في ابني الأكبر حلمت بأنني واختي أنجبنا حمامتين واكلناهما بالخطأ واستمر الأمر يتكرر ككابوس بشع حتى انجبت وكان سؤالي لزوجي وقت الإفاقة من العملية ... سليم؟؟ عديت صوابعه وشفت إيديه ورجليه ودخلت في نوبة من هستريا ضحك مؤلم لنجاة ابني من مصير الحمامة بطلة كابوسي فهو طفل ذكر سليم وأطرافه آدمية ... لا أجنحة ولا عدد أقل من الأصابع المعقوفة ولها مخالب ملاحظات عن الكتاب الترجمة أكثر من رائعة ومناسبة لجو حكاياتنا العربيةهناك اخطاء طباعية قلبت الـ ز إلى ذ في أكثر من موضع والعكس الكتاب من البلاستيك وحجمه ثقيل وانعكاس الضوء على الورق ناصع البياض يجعل القراءة عسيرةكنت أود أن تذكر المترجمة أي شيئ عن رسومات الكتاب، فملامح الأشخاص بها غير أوروبية وغير ألمانية بالمرة وبخاصة الأنوف، والنساء أشبه ما يكن لصور ريا وسكينة في قصر محمد علي كتاب ممتع رغم تكرارالعديد من التيمات فيه وقد أدهشتني معلومة انها حكايات شعبية تم جمعها ولا ينسب هذا القدر من الافزاع والدموية للأخوين وحدهما بل يبدو انها كانت ثقافة شعب في زمن معين
What do You think about Grimm's Fairy Tales (2012)?
Ein famoses Werk vom Null Papier Verlag.Ich muss gestehen, ich kannte den Verlag gar nicht. Kein Wunder, nomen est omen, verlegt der doch erst seit Beginn der E-Book-Ära. Und ich lese E-Books erst seit ca. 2 Wochen. Natürlich lag es nahe, am Anfang nicht soviel zu investieren und sich auf Klassiker zu konzentrieren. Damit kann man ja nicht soviel falsch machen. Und auf der Website des Verlages findet man noch so einiges, was sich zu lesen lohnt. Der Verlag verspricht nicht zu viel, für ein digitales Buch kommen die Märchen der Gebrüder wirklich prima rüber. Und, OK, kein Papierrascheln, aber dafür durchsuchbar und mit Inhaltsverzeichnissen zum Klicken. Und die Bilder sind auch sehr schön.
—Kristin Schmidt
Demorei para fazer a resenha, mas o sentimento ainda é o mesmo, então lá vai: Yay!!!! Terminei meu primeiro livro em alemão. Bem, não é a primeira obra alemã que leio, mas é o primeiro livro que não é voltado para o aprendizado dessa língua que muitos não conhecem, têm medo e que na verdade é lindíssima e muito mais fácil de pronunciar do que vocês imaginam (apesar de um dos sons do "r" ainda me dar trabalho. rsrs)O livro reúne 200 contos dos irmãos Grimm, muitos conhecidos, outros que eu nunca tinha ouvido falar, além de 10 contos extras voltados para o lado Cristão (sem torcer os narizes, amigos, lembrem-se de quando os contos foram escritos e a cultura da época, ok?). Alguns contos de fadas são bem sombrios, o que me fez pensar que não se trata de um livro infantil. Mesmo os contos mais leves exigem um certo conhecimento da cultura da época para se entender a situação dos personagens.O único porém, que não estragou em nada o livro para mim, foram algumas repetições de temas e personagens, mesmo em situações bem diferentes, e algumas histórias estarem em alemão antigo, como estou no nível básico do alemão, fui obrigada ler alguns contos em inglês. No mais, mesmo no meu nível consegui ler as histórias e entender o que eu estava lendo. Não me fiz de modesta e recorri ao dicionário. No fim, valeu a pena, mesmo eu sabendo o quanto é arriscado ler contos de fadas ainda sendo iniciante no idioma. Eu recomendo a leitura. Aos que não conhecem ou não se interessam pelo lindíssimo idioma alemão, há uma edição brasileira do livro. A minha dúvida é se contém as 200 histórias. Procurem, pois vale a pena.
—Cassiana
Keep in mind that I don't know much about the history behind Grimm's Fairy Tales. I was so excited to read this book and it did not disappoint! I love seeing all the original stories and see how they have changed over the years to the one we know today. I love how most of the stories had a deeper meaning to scare kids into behaving. Others stories were completely off the wall having characters that were inanimate objects. I think the egg was my favorite character. I did not realize how much of our culture has been effected by these stories until I read them. It is a light fun read where you go on many small adventure. It is really must read book.
—Stacy
