Reviews for Grimm's Fairy Tales (Sterling Unabridged Classics Series)

The average rating for Grimm's Fairy Tales (Sterling Unabridged Classics Series) based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-03-02 00:00:00 Larry Landrum I'm thrilled that this book contains the nasty version of Cinderella, where the stepsisters not only cut off parts of their feet in an attempt to wear the slipper, but also get their eyes pecked out by birds during the royal wedding. That'll learn 'em. These "children's classics" are fairly dripping with blood - particularly the evil blood of those who seek to keep true love from running its natural, ho-hum course. These were dark and scary times to be a stepmother. Even though Snow White is stupid enough to fall for the wicked queen dressed as a peddler woman bearing poisoned goodies on THREE SEPARATE OCCASIONS, it's the queen who's forced to don "red-hot iron shoes" and dance until she drops dead. Then there is the wicked stepmother in The Twelve Brothers. She is put to death in a barrel filled with boiling oil and venomous snakes - (boiling-oil-resistant serpents, one must presume), where she died "an evil death." Reading more than 50 of these stories in a row tends to get a bit monotonous. In fact, many seem to be the SAME story re-told with only slight changes. Here are the fairy tale rules: 1) Share your food and drink with tiny forest folk. Kindness to animals is always rewarded. 2) Teeny tiny men seem to have trouble staying out of cows' stomachs. 3) A multitude of tasks must be completed before one is allowed to marry royalty. 4) When three siblings set out on quests, it's always the youngest, weakest, most childlike and kindhearted who succeeds. That one also always goes last, does not make the same mistakes as his or her predecessors, and wins the heart of the prince or princess who is cleverly disguised as an old man or woman. 5) For some reason, tailors see a lot of action. If you haven't read these, you really should...though I recommend sampling one every now and then, rather than all in one fell swoop. Too many happily ever afters can leave a sour taste in your mouth. Not to mention a disturbing amount of sympathy for stepmothers.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-01-12 00:00:00 Bradley Calcaterra 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 people Best 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.