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Title: Fairy Tales (Everyman's Library Children's Classics) by H. C. Andersen, Reginald Spink, Hans Christian Andersen, W. Heath Robinson ISBN: 0-679-41791-5 Publisher: Everyman's Library Pub. Date: 01 October, 1992 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: IT'S THE ILLUSTRATIONS
Comment: I think that most of us have been exposed to at least some of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales. If we haven't read them, we, of previous generations, have probably seen the movie of his life starring Danny Kaye, and any child who watches television has probably seen a Disney version of "The Ugly Duckling."
While these, and similar productions are entertaining, they "prettify" his stories. what I mean by this is that many of his tales have very sad endings and/or have dark gloomy atmospheres. Not all, but many.
For example, "The Little Match Girl" tells the tale of a poverty stricken child whose father sends her out on a freezing New Year's Eve to sell matchsticks. She is afraid to come home without having made any money, as her father will punish her. As the night grows colder, she lights the matchsticks one by one for a drop of warmth. In the flare of each match, she sees visions of her grandmother in heaven, and with the last match her grandmother descends from heaven and takes the little girl in her arms. In the morning, her frozen body is found.
In "The Red Shoes," a little girl is given a pair of red shoes which she feels are the most wonderful things in the world, she values them above everyone and everything, and even at her own communion can think of nothing other than how beautiful she looks in her red shoes. These shoes prove to be her death, as they cause her to dance for days on end until she finally had to have the executioner chop off her feet so she could stop dancing. Then, and only then, with stumps for feet, did she repent for her conceit. As in many of Andersen's fairy tales there is an obvious moral here.
Some other old favorites such as "The Ugly Duckling" and the Emperor's New Clothes" are included.
I think that this is a very good English translation of the included tales, but what makes this book stand out are Arthur Szck's illustrations. There is no copyright date in my copy, but I'm sure it is over 50 years old, and even so, Szck's color illustrations are each and every one worthy of framing. In bright, bold colors, and frequently with an oriental feeling, they are just plain wonderful. I fell in love with them, and I'd bet that most readers would too.
Rating: 5
Summary: Staggering Surrealism.
Comment: 'The Snow Queen' is possibly the greatest short story I've ever read. Although its message is essentially Christian, its means of getting there is staggering, Surrealist and far from dogmatic. There is an Alice quality to the heroine's narrative as she seeks her abducted playmate, full of singing flowers, helpful crows and robber barons - the songs of the flowers are full of sexually loaded and enigmatic imagery. But the word-pictures as a whole are haunting, the blazing sheen of the snow, with the suggestive reds dotting it throughout. The final puzzle is worthy of Borges. Wow.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Joy to Read, But Not Faultless
Comment: I enjoyed reading ANDERSON'S FAIRY TALES by Hans Christian Andersen. My favorite stories in this book were The Mermaid, and the story about the Dustman. I loved the vivid language and the way the stories came alive, seeming to burst like balloons from the pages of the book. I also enjoyed the way common household objects and animals were personified. I found fault with the story that had the better part of its setting in the Garden of Eden. The winds from the ends of the earth were personified well, but one of the winds dispargingly referred to Africa.
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Title: Grimms' Fairy Tales (Illustrated Junior Library) by Wilhelm Grimm, E. V. Lucas, Lucy Crane, Marian Edwardes, Fritz Kredel, Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm, Jacob W. Grimm ISBN: 0448409410 Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap Pub. Date: October, 1995 List Price(USD): $16.99 |
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Title: The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables by Aesop, Don Daily ISBN: 0762404132 Publisher: Courage Books Pub. Date: October, 1999 List Price(USD): $9.98 |
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Title: Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales by BROTHERS GRIMM ISBN: 051709293X Publisher: Gramercy Pub. Date: 09 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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Title: Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales by HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, Lily Owens ISBN: 0517092913 Publisher: Gramercy Pub. Date: 10 May, 1993 List Price(USD): $14.99 |
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Title: The Golden Book of Fairy Tales by ADRIENNE SEGUR ISBN: 030717025X Publisher: Golden Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.99 |
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