| The Annotated Brothers Grimm (The Annotated Books) |  | Authors: Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm
Creators: Maria Tatar, A. S. Byatt
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
List Price: $35.00
Buy Used: $19.98
as of 9/4/2010 06:08 CDT details
You Save: $15.02 (43%)
New (37) Used (21) Collectible (1) from $17.70
Seller: -bearbooks-
Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 37,192
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.3
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 8.7 x 1.5
ISBN: 0393058484
Dewey Decimal Number: 398.20943
EAN: 9780393058482
ASIN: 0393058484
Publication Date: September 17, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| |
| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780393058482 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
|
| Similar Items:
| |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
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.
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
 Excessively Annotated August 29, 2010
L. Mulcahy (Richmond)
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
The stories aren't too bad and some of the notes are insightful and interesting. However, many of the annotations (including the long-winded introductions) simply state the obvious or go on to tell you what is about to happen. I was repeatedly annoyed by this. Some of the sidebar notes even reach out into the depths of space and make the sort of 'connections' that only someone who is fixated on a particular subject, or perhaps just bored, would make. After I chose not to read most of the notes, I enjoyed the book much more. For the most part, the illustrations were just okay. They appear to be historically appropriate - but they aren't what I would call aesthetically pleasing. I found it rather amusing that from the different versions that the Grimm's released, this particular collection includes the various episodes of violence along with the Grimms' additions promoting Christianity. Of course, how would I have known that if not for some of the more useful annotations?
This was my first time reading one of The Annotated Books, and I wasn't that impressed. The worthwhile insights could have been summed up in a succinct introduction.
underwhelming August 12, 2010
D. Helm (CA)
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
Honestly I found this book disappointing. It isn't my first time reading Maria Tatar or the Annotated Books series and expected more based on my past experience with each. I read Tatar's The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales and The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition several years ago and found both terribly interesting and informative, The Annotated Brothers Grimm doesn't compare to either. The pictures are pretty good, but the footnotes are on the slim side for the series. They aren't particularly insightful and often repeat themselves.
To make matters worse Tatar's translation was underwhelming. To be fair this is hardly the first time I've been frustrated by an artless Grimm translation, but it's always disappointing. One of the things I love best in a good Grimm translation is the poetic repetition. There is a lot of variety in how the verse in Grimm stories in translated, but the versions here lack the grace and focus of more artful translations.
Compare the exchange between the princess and the horse head from GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES: TWENTY STORIES: with Tatar's rendering of the exchange.
'Alas! dear Falada, there thou hangest.'
And the Head answered--
'Alas! Queen's daughter, there thou gangest.
If thy mother only knew thy fate,
Her heart would break with grief so great.'
Tatar's:
'Alas, poor Falada, hanging up there.'
And the horse's head would reply:
'Princess, princess, down and out,
If your mother found this out,
There's no doubt--her heart would break.'
I might not know what 'gangest' means but it's a hell of a lot better than a verse that hinges on rhyming 'out' with 'out'.
And then there's the dire warning in the Robber Bridegroom:
'Turn back, turn back, thou bonnie bride,
Nor in this house of death abide.'
Tatar's:
'Turn back, turn back, my pretty young bride,
In a house of murders you've arrived.'
Yes she's managed a half rhyme here, but the rhythm lacks the musicality of better versions. It isn't exactly hard to versify dire warnings either. The story Mr. Fox (not printed in this collection) does just fine with its variant.
Mr. Fox's warning:
'Be bold, be bold, but not too bold,
Lest that your heart's blood should run cold.'
Tatar's translations may owe their flatness to accuracy at the expense of art, but clearly I favor flash and rhythm over strict accuracy.
As if this wasn't enough all of the stories except the ones 'for adults' were taken from the Grimm's last edition after the stories had been heavily edited to be more suitable for Christian children. This means that all hints of sexuality were purged (Rapunzel's pregnancy), gratuitous mentions of prayer and piety were inserted (though the stories were of pagan origins) and blame was shifted off of fathers to mothers (Furrypelts) and off of mothers to stepmothers (an awful lot of them) to maintain the sanctity of parenthood. The only reason the 'stories for adults' escaped unedited was because after the first edition they were deemed inappropriate for printing and were purged from the collection. Actually that's not completely true. One of the stories, "Jew in the Brambles" was only deemed inappropriate by later editors. Jacob and Wilhelm printed the anti-Semitic tale in several of their books.
I guess GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES: TWENTY STORIES: is still my favorite.
 Beautifully illustrated volume with insightful annotations July 28, 2010
z hayes (TX)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is truly a treasure to browse through and read. The author, Maria Tatar has collected more than forty Grimm stories sourced from the authoritative version first published in 1857. The author has the credentials to back up her work - she is a renowned scholar in the field of folklore and children's literature, and has authored many books in the field. As someone who is quite familiar with children's literature, especially fairy tales (albeit from a layperson's point of view), I was impressed by these new translations and the deep insights afforded by Ms. Tatar's annotations.
The book contains an introduction by A.S. Byatt, the author of Possession : A Romance (Modern Library) and Babel Tower, among others. There is also an article by the author titled "Reading the Grimm's Children's Stories and Household Tales: Origins and Cultural Effects of the Collection" which in itself, provides interesting perspectives on fairy tales. As Tatar writes, "the fairy tale keeps us firmly rooted in reality....we never stray into a world that requires us to navigate a new reality or to learn entirely new rules of behavior." The articles also explores some of the defining characteristics of fairy tales, the link between myth and culture as observed by Joseph Campbell (author of The Power of Myth), and the origins of fairy tales.
The book itself is divided into five parts:
Part I The Tales (37 in all) including The Frog King, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Brave Little Tailor, Cinderella, Furrypelts, The Singing, Soaring Lark, The Worn-out Dancing Shoes, etc.
Part II Tales for Adults
The Jew in the Brambles
Mother Trudy
The Hand with the Knife
How Children Played Butcher with Each Other
Hans Dumm
The Evil Mother-in-Law
The Children Living in a Time of Famine
The Stubborn Child
The Rose
Part III The Brothers Grimm: Biographical Essay
Part IV Other Matters (Prefaces to the First Two Editions of the Grimms' Children's Stories and Household Tales
Part V The Magic of Fairy Tales (Further Reading and a Bibliography of Illustrations)
The work is extensively illustrated in both color and B&W, with illustrations by some renowned artists such as Arthur Rackham, and samples of his work can be seen in The Arthur Rackham Treasury: 86 Full-Color Illustrations, amongst others, Kay Nielsen, and also A.H. Watson.
The annotations reflect a deep understanding of the motivations behind the writing of these fairy tales, for example on page 231, the annotation to "the evil mother-in-law was sentenced to death at the stake" (from The Six Swans) reads "the villain's punishment, however severe, is no worse than what she planned for the tale's protagonist. The fact that she burns to ashes signifies a definitive end to her reign of terror." Most readers are drawn by the triumph of good over evil in these fairy tales, and children especially are calmed by the thought that such evil will end at the end and the perpetrator/villain will not ever return to cause pain or hurt.
I am deeply impressed by this work and have a couple of other annotated works by the same author. I hope to share them with my young daughter someday (she does ooh and aah at the illustrations!).
Annotated Book of Grimms January 8, 2010
Kristen N. Granet (SC)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
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!
Interesting for all ages! September 3, 2009
Minnie (Texas)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15
|
|
|
|
Return to PokerSupplies.com Homepage
About Us
Privacy Policy | |
