This was pretty good. It was quite long. There were tons of stories that should teach you a few things about other countries and other times. Ever heard of a tanuki (aka raccoon dog) or the fruit called medlar?I thought the presentation was better in the other fairy books edited by Andrew Lang that I'd read. I'm not sure whether to attribute that to the stories themselves, the translation, the editing or something else.There are lots of seemingly random stories in here. Some are surprising and some are not at all.I'd have to say 'The Colony of Cats' was my favorite (not for the ending, but for the story as it progresses), but it's been a while since I started—so I might be forgetting one I would have preferred.I read the Gutenberg e-text: no. 2435.
I am about five colors shy of finishing all of the Lang color fairy tale collections--I think I read all of them as a child, but I can't seem to remember them--although I do remember getting the books off the shelf at Estes Hills Elementary, in Chapel Hill eons ago. Anyway, Crimson down, just starting Brown. I did notice this time what seems to be disguised same sex attraction: the young men fancied each other was one quote--later, of course, they are like brothers. I do wonder if Lang cleaned them up.
What do You think about The Crimson Fairy Book (1967)?
A wide variety. I like "Lucky Luck," which is of the same type as "Faithful Johannes" (at least at first), but better put together. Oddly enough, it has two tales "The Hairy Man" and "The Gold-Bearded Man", where the prince gets in trouble by freeing a prisoner (a la "Iron Hans") but the freed captive does not play so great a role. I also particularly liked "The Colony of Cats" and "Niels and the Giants." And there is also "The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder" which gets a special mention for having the only benevolent stepmother in any fairy tale I've read.
—Mary Catelli
