Reviews for The Seven Swabians, and Other German Folktales

The average rating for The Seven Swabians, and Other German Folktales based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-03-14 00:00:00 Noel Josephson This is an enchanting collection of German folk tales. I really try not to give away to many 5s, but the cooking section and the German sayings sections in the last couple parts put this over the top for me. This anthology of German folk tales is divided into four main story sections in addition to a few gems like I just mentioned. The four story sections are animal tales, comic tales, fairy tales, and local legends. I kind of expected to hate the animal sections, so I was presently surprised to find them over flowing with humor and charm of all sorts. These and the comic tales had a sort of traditional cartoon comic grace in tone of reality that I found very touching. The comic tales were delightful, some with good moral messsges though I realize that�s not really there point. I�d never heard of Til Eulenspiegel, a sort of trickster character with many stories attributed to his life: now I want to find and read more about him. The Seven Swabians, the flagship story of this work, was hilarious and it has not escaped me that this likely was some of the comic inspiration for Monty python and the holy grails comedy scetch. Hans in luck opened the section well with a nice twist on reality. The fairy tale section was also wonderful, presenting variants of the tales that I likely had never heard or new tales unheard. For me the sagen or local legend section was the only section that still sometimes missed, but what it lacked in raw entertainment value it made up for in cultural tones of all sorts. So in conclusion, I�d recommend this for anyone that wants to learn more about German heritage, German stories, and of course lovers of fairy tales, laughter, and a good tale.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-05-03 00:00:00 Kim Janeck I enjoy this book -- mostly because I'm a professional storyteller, and I'm especially interested in the oral storytelling in Celtic traditions. That's what the author offers. If you're looking for an extensive collection of folktales -- this is not it. It includes sixteen stories, all retold in a way that would make for good oral retelling. "Breeze" is apt. This is a breezy introduction to oral storytelling in Celtic lands. The book is attractively arranged, with black-and-white illustrations and Celtic-themed borders. Each story is introduced with details about where the author heard the tale, variants, history. And most of the tales are followed with a related folksong or two, including both words and music. This is not a compilation, but it is an experience.