Public reader discussion about Grimms' Fairy Tales in the WeRead Catalog by Jacob Grimm.
By WarmRound15
It’s a book club where we pick a classic and go chapter by chapter, reading a little each day and then chatting about it. Right now I’m in the middle of *The Grapes of Wrath* by John Steinbeck. There are links to older discussions and a whole list of past posts too.
By NinaInTucson95
As an adoptive parent, I’m honestly glad to hear that the awful stepmothers were really just awful parents all around.
By EspressoClock
I just can’t get enough of them either. The Brothers Grimm are some of my favorite stories. They look all sweet and magical at first, but then there’s usually this nasty irony in there, or the main character has to go through something awful too (like Rapunzel being stuck alone in the desert and the prince getting blinded by thorns). There’s just something really special about reading old fairy tales — they pull you in and give you that nostalgic feeling, but they’re also smart enough to have deeper meanings and themes. I’ve been reading Arabian Nights too, with Aladdin, Sinbad, Ali Baba and the forty thieves. I really like how one story leads into the next, starting with Scheherazade. They’re written pretty differently from The Brothers Grimm or my Hans Christian Andersen collection. But I’m really enjoying them. I feel like I’m learning a lot about the culture by knowing what their classic “fairy tales” are. Aesop’s fables are great too. Each little story is so short, but there’s always a good message in them. The copy I have even has little notes explaining what each one means in case you miss it. Does anyone else read fairy tales like this? I’d really like to know what other people think.
By Drifts-Candle68
Does anyone know what the actual differences are between these two Grimm’s Fairy Tales editions? “The Complete Grimm’s Fairy Tales” from Pantheon Books (880 pages) ISBN10: 0394709306 and “Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales” from Canterbury Classics (652 pages) ISBN10: 1607103133 What stories or sections are left out in the shorter one? I’m leaning toward the Pantheon one since that’s the one M-L. von Franz referred to, but it’s only in paperback... The Canterbury Classics copy is leather-bound, which is way nicer, but it’s shorter for some reason. As far as I can tell they both use Margaret Hunt’s translation, unless they were trimmed by different editors? Also, if there is one out there that’s fully Margaret Hunt, complete text, and hardcover or leather-bound with color illustrations, I’d love to know about it. And if not, which edition is usually considered the best of the bunch?
By scarfearly47
Feeling old now? Only kids from the 1800s would remember this. UwU