The Annotated Brothers Grimm (The Annotated Books)

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Maria Tatar redefines the Grimm canon with this authoritative and entertaining collection. The Annotated Brothers Grimm celebrates the richness and dramatic power of the legendary fables in the most spectacular and unusual Grimm volume in decades. Containing forty stories in new translations by Maria Tatar—including "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," "Snow White," and "Rapunzel"—the book also features 150 illustrations, many of them in color, by legendary painters such as George Cruikshank and Arthur Rackham; hundreds of annotations that explore the historical origins, cultural complexities, and psychological effects of these tales; and a biographical essay on the lives of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Perhaps most noteworthy is Tatar's decision to include tales that were previously excised, including a few bawdy stories and others that were removed after the Grimms learned that parents were reading the book to their children—stories about cannibalism in times of famine and stories in which children die at the end. Enchanting and magical, The Annotated Brothers Grimm will cast its spell on children and adults alike for decades to come. 75 color, 75 black-and-white illustrations.

Product details:

Item number (ASIN): 0393058484
Author: Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm
Creator: Maria Tatar, A. S. Byatt
Dewey Decimal Number: 398.20943
ISBN: 0393058484
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 416
Package Dimensions: 150 x 870 x 1010 (hundredths-inches)
Publication Date: September 17, 2004
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Binding: Hardcover

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Amazon.com customer reviews:

Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Annotated Book of Grimms
Great book with annotation on the Brothers Grimm. This was bought for a director's gift for a play based on the brothers. Needless to say, he was pleasantly pleased!

Rating:

- Interesting for all ages!
I bought this for my young child, to introduce her to Grimm's fairy tales. I loved these as a child. I particularly chose this book so that we can discuss the many questions that will arise throughout our readings. I would have loved to have known some of these facts when I was growing up.

Rating:

- Old stories, modern language
I was a little disappointed to find that Ms. Tatar chose to modernize the language of the Tales to the extent she did. While it's not a bad idea to make literature that is at least purportedly aimed at children more accessible, I think it is also important that the language retain some of the character of the original. Case in point: one of my favorite Grimm tales, "The Boy Who Could Not Shudder," which frightened me immensely as a child, has been changed dramatically here. Instead of being unable to shudder, the boy is unable to get the creeps. That's not really even the same thing, and lessens the impact by failing to use exactly the right word in exactly the right circumstance, a goal toward which I believe all writers, translators, or editors should strive.

Rating:

- The Darker Side of the Cultural Imagination
The truth except for a few common ones I didn't read most of these stories as a child and I wouldn't reccommend many of them as with their themes of hatred, punishment and fear they belong to another era. However, that's not to say as "sociocultural myths" (which fairy tales are) they aren't ripe for analysis. Much to the contrary. "The Boy Who Learned About Fear" is an excellent example because it shows the world as it was then and perhaps is now to some people who are downtrodden "nasty, brutish and short" but that's what children faced then and fear was indeed an unpleasent lesson they had to learn. But others such as "The Musicians of Bremen" could be read to a child and have a humanism missing from the other stories but in being analyzed in a larger societal sense create an understanding that would be missing and a riper appreciation of the story. And some like "The Jew in the Brambles" which is vehirently anti-semitic should not be read to children of course but it definitely belongs in here to understand where some of the anti-semitism of that culture emanated from and to analyze. And the Grimm Brothers in reflecting the teutonic conformism of the time and in taking older myths and removing explicit parts that might be inappropriate for children created what was still a mental landscape that in many ways was disturbing and ripe for analysis in a broader sense as this book does. And regardless the sanitization of today's children's stories doesn't take away the fact that there are many ugly and unpleasent things in the world that we shelter them from. And in today's climate perhaps fear is a lesson that needs to be learned. Not in the "cautionary tale" format that might traumatize a children but to let them know that the world they are being sheltered from can be dangerous and is something to approach with caution and something to learn about. But unfortunately one essential story that is missing although less known "The Grandfather" a beloved proverb that should read to any child that in modern, humanistic terms shows about accepting disability, people who are elderly and death itself and is quite moving delves into people's eternal hopes, fears and desires and in common childhood stories confronts them. And if one is into myths, anyone certainly a reader of Joseph Campbell or more intellectual philosophers would find much to explore in here.

Rating:

- Fun reading, looks good on the bookcase
As with the other annotated fairy tale books of Maria Tatar, such as The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales and The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen, this book just looks really good on the shelf. But, take it down and start to read it, and it will be a while before you can put it back. Grimm's fairy tales truly are the cream of the crop, and the annotations in this book really bring the lifelike stories closer to home. And as with the other tomes, this book is well laid out, has nice pages and brilliant illustrations, and is satisfying to hold, behold, and read. If you want the truly spooky, scary, gory Grimm, I would suggest you have a look at The Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm (Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm), but get this book too for the annotations to the more familiar stories.