Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 5,748 ratings · 300 reviews

Two hundred years ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of Children’s and Household Tales. Now, at a veritable fairy-tale moment—witness the popular television shows Grimm and Once Upon a Time and this year’s two movie adaptations of “Snow White”—Philip Pullman, one of the most popular authors of our time, makes us fall in love all over again with the imm...more

Hardcover, 405 pages

Published November 8th 2012 by Viking Adult (first published September 27th 2012)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm by Philip Pullman

Modern Myths and Fairy Tales

3rd out of 12 books — 6 voters

We Wove a Web in Childhood by Ruth Thomas

Best Books of 2012 - The Critics' Picks

62nd out of 79 books — 32 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 30, 2012 Maciek rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, children, read-in-2012, reviewed

The mountain and the valley never meet, but the children of men, both good and bad, met one another all the time.

-The Two Travelling Companions

I grew up with fairy tales: first my mom read them to me when I was still too little to do so myself, and then I took the big volumes in my own little hands and laboriously pored over each page, living among the princes and princesses, in worls where there were still giants and everybody paid attention to not mess up with witches, death itself walked the...more

21 likes · like · see review

Feb 11, 2013 Lee rated it 4 of 5 stars

Started so strong I thought I'd burn through these but things fell off a bit a third into it, or maybe I just got too used to the transparent language, the patient anonymous tone, the ever-present series of threes, the same ol' motifs. Courage, bravery, goodness, cleverness are rewarded with gold, princesses, and living happily ever after. Greed and evil are often punished by decapitation! Loved it when ultraviolent and weird, or when birds and fish talked, but sometimes the words blended and ke...more

7 likes · like · see review

Sep 18, 2012 Audrey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012_publish, arc, fairytale, netgalley, short_stories, audrey-s-2012-books

I grew up loving fairy tales, especially those by the Brothers Grimm. I had them narrated on records, and I’d sit or lay on the carpet and just listen and let my imagination take me away. I took the stories at face value, and never questioned how odd they are, or why things happen in them the way they do. It was just how it was.

Now, as an adult, it’s wonderful to be able to get reacquainted with the stories, and to read some I’d never heard of before. In this new translation and version, Philip...more

8 likes · like · see review

Jan 04, 2013 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mythology-and-folktales

I really enjoyed the author's retelling of classic Grimm's Fairy Tales, which featured a mix of well-known and lesser-known stories. There were a total of 50 tales, with analysis of the tale and source of the story after it has been retold. My only gripe was that I thought the book was a little too long. My favorites were "The Three Little Men in the Woods," also known as 'The Black and White Bride'; "The Three Snake Leaves," about bringing a loved one back from the dead and the treachery of an...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 06, 2013 Leah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Fine, but who is this book for?

Pullman's versions of some of the Grimms’ folk stories are well enough written and his little summaries at the end of each tale gives a bit of background to where each story originated and the different versions that have been told in the past. But from the moment I received the book and discovered that, to my amazement, there are no illustrations, I couldn't help but wonder - who exactly is this book for?

Pullman has updated the language but not the stories so we...more Fine, but who is this book for?

Pullman's versions of some of the Grimms’ folk stories are well enough written and his little summaries at the end of each tale gives a bit of background to where each story originated and the different versions that have been told in the past. But from the moment I received the book and discovered that, to my amazement, there are no illustrations, I couldn't help but wonder - who exactly is this book for?

Pullman has updated the language but not the stories so we have dreadful clashes like princesses in castles talking about weapons of mass destruction or giants saying 'Respect!'. This kind of pantomime humour made me think the books must be aimed at a young audience but then where are those missing illustrations? I also couldn't help feeling that with language like this Pullman's versions will date much more quickly than those I read in my childhood. Also Pullman has deliberately gone back to the unbowdlerised versions of many of the stories and I'm not sure that I'd be happy to be reading some of these to my (mythical) young children. Rapunzel getting pregnant without really understanding what was happening to her? Houses described as being as filthy as 'pisspots'? Must be for a teenage or adult audience then? But if so, what do these versions add to the ones we all read when we were young? For me, the answer to that question was nothing much, I'm afraid.

In the end I came to the conclusion that the book is in fact aimed at a very specific target audience - Pullman fans. I doubt this will gain him many new ones, nor is it intriguing or different enough to draw in many fans of folk tales. Not a bad book, exactly, but I doubt it will challenge the classic versions of Grimms’ that are already out there.

An interesting note – when first published in the UK this book was titled 'Grimm Tales: For Young and Old'. I see that the title has been changed for the US version to 'Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version'. I wonder if that has been because of the somewhat lukewarm reception the lack of illustrations and unbowdlerised language caused this book to have amongst many reviewers in Britain? Or perhaps the US publishers actually read it before publishing...

NB This book was provided for review by Amazon Vine UK. (less)

like · see review

Mar 01, 2013 Andrew Garvey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's hardly news that fairy tales are far, far too unpleasant, and far too good to waste on children. Pullman's selection of the best known, and plenty of lesser known Grimm tales and, for most of the book anyway, his edits, tweaks and arrangements are excellent.

Unfortunately, he's chosen to saddle a few, nowhere near all, of them with cheesy, jarring dialogue. If you're going to have characters say things like 'awesome' and reference 'WMDs' you should probably update the settings. Or just NOT d...more

like · see review

Feb 12, 2013 Jamais rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fairy-tales, brothers-grimm

Sometimes the old school really is better. //Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm// is an excellent retelling of the original Grimm Brothers fairy tales, and even better solution for those that miss the old versions of the tales. Pullman also adds notes on where he made changes, as well as some of the translation notes. For those looking for stories with some bite, this makes for some excellent reading; these tales are definitely not for the youngest, but older kids may enjoy them.

Although told i...more

like · see review

Feb 11, 2013 Mei-Lu rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review is for the audiobook version of Grimm Tales for Young and Old written by Philip Pullman and narrated by Samuel West.

I have a history of insomnia and lately I've been doing this thing where I turn off the lights at bedtime and listen to an audiobook. It's very relaxing and if I don't fall asleep "on time", I don't have as much anxiety about it. (You know that whole insomniac game of, "if I fall asleep right now, I'll get 7 hours of sleep...") Also, apparently it's good sleep hygiene b...more This review is for the audiobook version of Grimm Tales for Young and Old written by Philip Pullman and narrated by Samuel West.

I have a history of insomnia and lately I've been doing this thing where I turn off the lights at bedtime and listen to an audiobook. It's very relaxing and if I don't fall asleep "on time", I don't have as much anxiety about it. (You know that whole insomniac game of, "if I fall asleep right now, I'll get 7 hours of sleep...") Also, apparently it's good sleep hygiene because it means the lights are out at about the same time every night. (Whereas if I read a book until I get sleepy there's a chance I'll stay up late because I've got caught up in the story.) It's a very soothing practice, like having an adult reading a book aloud to you when you were a child.

Anyway, as you can imagine, I have a tendency to fall asleep mid-story. So I've mostly been doing this with books I've read before (i.e. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Neverwhere) but when I saw that Philip Pullman, author of the amazing His Dark Materials series, had just released an anthology of rewritten Grimm fairy tales AND that it was narrated by Samuel West (who seriously has one of the most exquisite voices I have ever heard - if you love Tom Hiddleston, then perhaps it will mean something to you that in the early days of Hiddles, I thought of him as a young Sam West or as "Sam West adjacent") I had to download this book.

This book was every bit as dark, delicious and fun as I'd anticipated. It's wittily written and beautifully narrated (Sam West can do an infinite number of voices and accents and he puts this talent to great use in breathing life into the various characters who show up in these tales). The original fairy tales were a lot bloodier and stranger than the sanitized Disney versions we heard as children and it's fun to revisit familiar territory only to discover that everything is not exactly as we remember it. (For instance, Cinderella's step-sisters cut bits of their feet off in order to fit in the shoes and are only discovered because they are bleeding. Really, the Prince is remarkably dense.)

I really enjoyed both Pullman's writing and West's narration and highly recommend this audiobook.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 05, 2013 CH13_Rachel Arens rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: traditional-lit

This is a new edition of Grimms' fairy tales, of which I read "Cinderella," by Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass. I enjoyed reading a more "original" version and picking out some of the details that supplied the popular Disney adaptation. The full significance of "Cinder"ella's name was revealed when her stepmother and -sisters would thrown peas among the cinders and force Cinderella to pick them out. I wish the story would have provided more of an explanation of the father's behavior...more

like · see review

Jan 30, 2013 Cindy Hudson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Many of the fairytales that Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected and published in the 1800s are well known even today: Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood. So why would anyone be interested in reading a new printing of these stories?

Philip Pullman answers that question with his Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version (Viking, 2012). First off, Pullman, who created the popular and beloved His Dark Materials series that started with The Golden Compass,...more Many of the fairytales that Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected and published in the 1800s are well known even today: Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood. So why would anyone be interested in reading a new printing of these stories?

Philip Pullman answers that question with his Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version (Viking, 2012). First off, Pullman, who created the popular and beloved His Dark Materials series that started with The Golden Compass, knows how to weave a tale or two of his own. Second, the Grimm brothers collected dozens of fairy tales that are not as well known but just as delightful as those listed above. And third, Pullman has researched and lists other similar fairy tales known in other cultures that adds to the appreciation of these tales.

Pullman starts with an introduction about brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, who were born in Germany in the late 1700s and began collecting and publishing tales in the 1800s. Pullman talks about the popularity of tales at the time, and he paints a picture of what it was like for listeners to hear them. He also makes a case for fairy tales as being meant to be added to and improved upon depending on the teller and the times they are told in. I really got an appreciation for how modern adaptations fit right into the spirit of fairy tale construction.

I really enjoyed reading each tale, then looking for Pullman’s comments at the end. In them, he noted any changes he may have made and why as well as cited similar tales told in other countries. For instance “Mount Simeli,” is similar to “The Story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves Killed by a Slave Girl” from The Arabian Nights, and “The Robber Bridegroom” has connections to Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”

Also a plus for reading the book is the length of the stories. Most are short and easily digested before bedtime or easy to read aloud at any time. But even though the stories are fairy tales, children would probably not appreciate the explanations or many of the tales themselves, which tend to be a bit more violent than the toned down versions found in popular culture. While thoroughly delightful, I believe Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm is best suited for young adult and adult readers.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
(less)

like · see review

Jan 26, 2013 Matthew Rhodes rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is an odd one.

I love Philip Pullman yet I'm not a fan of any Grimm Tale I have read prior to this book. I give this a low rating mainly because it was painfully hard work to read this book at any great pace. Grimm tales are so formulaic, they sometimes don't feel like real stories. Every woman in every story is either so astonishingly beautiful that it could bring a statue to tears or is a witch/evil on epic proportions/monstrously ugly. There's a forest. There's always a fucking forest. Ki...more This is an odd one.

I love Philip Pullman yet I'm not a fan of any Grimm Tale I have read prior to this book. I give this a low rating mainly because it was painfully hard work to read this book at any great pace. Grimm tales are so formulaic, they sometimes don't feel like real stories. Every woman in every story is either so astonishingly beautiful that it could bring a statue to tears or is a witch/evil on epic proportions/monstrously ugly. There's a forest. There's always a fucking forest. Kings and princes are always 'just happening to be wandering around'. The good men are always very clearly good men. The bad men are always very clearly bad men. There is no room for debate. The good man always lives happily ever after and gets married at the end. The bad men/women always drown in a barrel of nails/have their balls and eyes ripped out at the end.

The problem is its hard work to read fifty short tales that ALWAYS follow this exact formula. Its more like writing a maths equation than a story. It's just, well...boring. There's no other word for it. I could never willingly read this book again.

The other problem with it (which is more my fault as I hadn't looked into the details of this release properly) is Pullman's contribution. When I asked for this book for Christmas it was because I expected Pullman's own versions of the Grimm Tales. There is surprisingly little input from Pullman though and I think this was the main disappointment I had with the book and what put me off it. The main input from him comes in the short commentaries that he writes after each tale. Some of them are quite funny and insightful. Most are just of mild interest though.

I've not given this one star though because it does have at least some redeeming features which kept me going. Every once in a while you do get a Grimm tale which is actually quite interesting. 'The Fisherman and his Wife' is an excellent little story. The tale (can't remember the name of it unfortunately) that features Death getting stuck up a tree for seven years really made me laugh because the ridiculous circumstances are told in such a casual manner. Also, 'Hans-My -Hedgehog' deserves praise for being a Grimm Tale which features a half-man/half-hedgehog that plays bagpipes up a tree for several years whilst looking after some pigs as its main character. More books should have characters like this one.

Conclusion: disappointing. I wish Pullman had not fannied about with this when he could be getting round to finally finishing The Book of Dust.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 14, 2013 Kate Forsyth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Philip Pullman, one of the world’s most widely respected children’s authors, has chosen to retell fifty of his favourite tales to celebrate the Grimm anniversary. He writes: ‘my interest has always been in how the tales worked as stories. So I decided to retell the best and most interesting of them, clearing out of the way anything that would prevent them from running freely.’

At the end of each story, Pullman offers a brief commentary, illuminating his own response to the tale, while also offer...more Philip Pullman, one of the world’s most widely respected children’s authors, has chosen to retell fifty of his favourite tales to celebrate the Grimm anniversary. He writes: ‘my interest has always been in how the tales worked as stories. So I decided to retell the best and most interesting of them, clearing out of the way anything that would prevent them from running freely.’

At the end of each story, Pullman offers a brief commentary, illuminating his own response to the tale, while also offering a brief history of the tale and its sources. His scholarship is at times a little shaky. For example, he comments that ‘in all previous versions’ of Rapunzel, the heroine had betrayed her pregnancy to the witch by commenting on her dress being too tight. In fact, this detail had been added in by the Grimms’ literary source, Friedrich Schulz, and does not appear in the original version by Charlotte-Rose de la Force, in which the heroine merely complains of feeling sick.

Pullman’s audience will not care, however. They will love the lucidity and simplicity of his writing, his impish wit, and the occasional flash of his famous grumpiness.

My favourite commentary follows the story he calls ‘Thousandfurs’, which is the story of a princess whose hand in marriage is sought by her own father. She escapes, disguising herself with a coat made from the skins of all kinds of creatures. It is a terrible story of incest and abuse that is never fully resolved. In the afterword, Pullman playfully sets out what he would have done if he’d been writing the story:

‘That night the queen would wake from troubled dreams to find earthy fingers probing her lips: her father’s (severed) right arm. Mad with terror, she would scream for her husband, only to find him … (being strangled by) her father’s left arm. No one can help but herself. She would tear the arm away from her face and thrust it into the fire … I think that would work quite well.’

Lacking any illustrations, and including such dark tales as ‘Thousandfurs’ and ‘The Girl Without Hands’, this is probably not a book to buy your sensitive little girl for Christmas. However, it is a wonderful collection for anyone who wishes to recapture some of the mystery and magic of half-forgotten childhood tales such as ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ and ‘Hansel and Gretel’.

(less)

like · see review

Jan 13, 2013 Charles Dee Mitchell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: folklore-myth-epic

Who better to offer new English versions of fifty tales from the Brothers Grimm than a master storyteller like Philip Pulman? As he makes clear in his introduction and the brief scholarly notes he appends to each story, he both loves and respects this material.

The only thing to do, it seems to me, is to try for clarity and stop worrying about it. Telling these stories is a delight it would be a pity to spoil by anxiety...Like jazz, storytelling is an act of performance, and writing is performanc

...more

like · see review

Dec 28, 2012 Susan Tunis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Into the woods, then out of the woods… and happy ever after!

As she got older, my mother rediscovered her love of dolls. For me, it's fairy tales. My enjoyment of these archetypal tales certainly precedes their current trendiness. I've encountered both classic and contemporary fairy tales as significant elements of novels like Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden and Lisa Goldstein's The Uncertain Places, plays like Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods, and of course, any number of recent films and te...more Into the woods, then out of the woods… and happy ever after!

As she got older, my mother rediscovered her love of dolls. For me, it's fairy tales. My enjoyment of these archetypal tales certainly precedes their current trendiness. I've encountered both classic and contemporary fairy tales as significant elements of novels like Kate Morton's The Forgotten Garden and Lisa Goldstein's The Uncertain Places, plays like Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods, and of course, any number of recent films and television shows. I thought I had a reasonably good working knowledge of the lore, but Philip Pullman's Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm has proved me wrong.

The book includes an even fifty tales. Pullman's done the research, collecting various iterations of each story and distilling it to its essence. He has written his definitive version of the tale with a contemporary readership in mind. Each of the tales is no more than a few pages long, and each features a brief (and surprisingly academic) afterward by the author. I found these endnotes to be especially interesting, whether about the tales' origins, the literary choices he had made, or the differing versions of the story.

Some of these fairy tales will be familiar to all readers--though perhaps not every element. In Rapunzel, for instance, she is indeed entreated, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." However, I have no recollection of Rapunzel becoming an unwed mother. Surely that wasn't in the Disney version?

Many of these tales were completely unfamiliar to me. I was thrilled, however, to recognize a version of the tale Pullman calls The Twelve Brothers in a novel I read recently. (I'm sorry, I can't remember which.) It's a small thing, but I was so utterly delighted to have new a new familiarity with the source material.

Personally, I didn't feel the need to read this collection cover to cover. Rather, I read two or three fairy tales between novels and other reading. That way, it kept these tales with their repeating themes and images fresh and enjoyable. This book is a truly terrific resource. It was a pleasure to read, and I am confident that I will be referring back to its pages for years to come.(less)

like · see review

Dec 04, 2012 Liviania rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am a fairytale geek. I am crazy about them and have been since I was a wee child. I keep various anthologies on my shelf, including the complete Grimm, some Russian tales, and Jack Zipes' fantastic French fairy tale translations. When I heard Philip Pullman was coming out with a collection, I knew I needed it.

FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM: A New English Version lives up to my expectations. The selected tales cover both the extremely popular ("Cinderella") and the obscure ("The Stolen Pen...more I am a fairytale geek. I am crazy about them and have been since I was a wee child. I keep various anthologies on my shelf, including the complete Grimm, some Russian tales, and Jack Zipes' fantastic French fairy tale translations. When I heard Philip Pullman was coming out with a collection, I knew I needed it.

FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM: A New English Version lives up to my expectations. The selected tales cover both the extremely popular ("Cinderella") and the obscure ("The Stolen Pennies"). Thus reading the anthology straight through is a mix of rediscovering old favorites and being surprised by stories you don't really remember (or have never read before). I will admit to skipping around rather than following Pullman's order, but I think FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM works either way. And I was definitely keeping track of which stories would be best to read aloud to the niece and nephew.

Pullman doesn't pull back from the stories' gorier moments and doesn't cut earthier references, but he doesn't play them up either. People might be thrown in barrels full of nails and rolled into the sea, but there's no visceral descriptions of violence. The sexual references tend to be symbolic and nothing that will cause any kiddies to ask strange questions about the birds and the bees. Basically, I think these retellings will work for kids and adults, which is fitting for fairytales.

I loved the brief notes at the end of each story. He includes the attribution of the stories and rightfully adds to the Grimm brothers' praise of the talented Dorothea Viehmann. It's nice to see her contribution extensively praised in a major collection. Pullman explains in a few paragraphs why he chose to include certain episodes, or why he thought certain phrases were the best translation for the story. I generally feel like he accomplished the goal he laid out in the Introduction: to tell these fairy tales with a focus on story. The only time I was thrown out of a tale was when he used the phrase "weapon of mass destruction" which felt far too modern to me.

Fans of fairytales can safely flock to FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM. Pullman is an incredible author who I usually think of as detailed and somewhat convoluted. But in this collection he restrains himself and tells the fairytales in a concise manner, keeping his language simple instead of overwhelming these familiar stories with his distinctive voice. But that isn't to say the tales are plain - Pullman has a knack for a memorable turn of phrase.

Basically, FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM is everything I'd hoped it would be. It's difficult for me to be objective about fairytales, so I'd've been very disappointed if this collection wasn't any good. And I think it's terrific. (less)

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 04, 2012 Jason Pettus rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, dark, fantasy, children

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this review, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

So here was a quick read I couldn't pass up when randomly coming across it at my neighborhood library the other day -- a new compilation of around 50 classic Grimm Brothers fairytales (some famous but most obscure), done for the 200th anniversary of these tales' first publications, edited and sometimes sl...more (Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this review, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

So here was a quick read I couldn't pass up when randomly coming across it at my neighborhood library the other day -- a new compilation of around 50 classic Grimm Brothers fairytales (some famous but most obscure), done for the 200th anniversary of these tales' first publications, edited and sometimes slightly altered by popular "Narnia for atheists" children's author Philip Pullman. "But wait," I hear you saying. "The Grimm Brothers tales are only two hundred years old?" And that of course is part of the problem with supposed "objective" history, and why such new collections are always occasionally welcome; because although the folk tales being told date all the way back to Europe's Middle Ages, the Grimms themselves were modern businessmen who lived in the Victorian Age, and simply the first people who ever thought of actually collecting up all these oral stories and finally committing them to paper, who even just two hundred years later many of us mistakenly conflate with the fictional "Mother Goose" and believe to be the actual Medieval authors of the tales themselves. And as Pullman explains in his illuminating introduction, this is why he too felt free to change some of the details in these stories for this new anthology, because this is exactly what the Grimms did as well, slightly altering the tales from one edition of their massive compendium to the next over the decades in order to better fit the changing morality that occurred over the course of the 19th century; and in fact one of the most interesting things about this book is that Pullman not only compares the various Grimm editions in his smart notes ending each story, but also compares them to the other compilers of fairytales in non-English countries that were going on at the same time, showing that in reality these stories represent a pan-European outlook that influenced the entire continent equally from the years 1000 to 1500, when the invention of movable type finally started bringing definitive linguistic and thus cultural barriers to the geographic lines separating these countries. In fact, about the only "problem" with this book is simply that this research and Pullman's notes tend to be more interesting than the stories themselves -- this is no McGuiresque modern re-imagining of the fairytales, but simply a stripped-down retelling of them, so as such will contain no real surprises to those already familiar with the stories. But that said, for those who have never actually read them before, this makes for a great introduction to the subject, a quickly paced and always interesting volume that most people will be able to finish in full in just a day or two.

Out of 10: 8.5(less)

5 likes · like · see review

Nov 24, 2012 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version is a collection of fifty fairy tales. I was familiar with almost half of these, though it had probably been two decades since I last read some of them. Half of the stories were completely new to me. I probably found a few new favorites. At the conclusion of each story, Pullman shares facts, details, and opinions on the story. He tells us the type of story it is, what other tales are similar, what other cultures this type of story can be...more

like · see review

Nov 23, 2012 Heather Boustead rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-adventure, clean-romance, ebook, historical, childrens, classics

Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm:
A New English Version
By Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman retells fifty of the beloved Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm.

There is no way I am going to write a review on each of the fifty stories, as a whole the retellings are amazing. There are many stories people will recognize from Rapunzel to Rumpelstiltskin, and even my favorite The Twelve Dancing Princess, there are even some that may be new for people such as One Eye Two Eyes Three Eyes. What I loved about...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 18, 2012 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this Mr. Pullman’s “New English Version” of the famed classic Fairy Tales from the Brother’s Grimm. There were actually quite a few stories that I had not heard read before. So this was a nice surprise. What I liked about this collection was that Mr. Pullman tried to stay as true and accurate to the original telling of the stories from the Brothers Grimm. What I found the most intriguing were the references at the end of each tale as to the origin and what the tale represented.

It is a...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 12, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fairy tales remind me of that game telephone. The one where a person starts off saying something and as that phrase gets passed from person to person it changes until when the final person says it out loud it is nothing like the original. I feel that this happens quite often with fairy tales. There are so many variations for each tale with every author or storyteller throwing in their own twist.

Philip Pullman takes a slightly different approach. He has researched many of these tales from differ...more

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 08, 2012 Tim Roast rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Who'd have thought I'd be reading fairy tales as an adult.

Here Phillip Pullman has re-written 50 Grimm Tales. He has written an interesting introduction detailing how the traditional fairy tale differs from novel telling. Also after he has told each tale he writes a little bit of analysis to accompany it. Some tales will be familiar (at least in part), e.g. Rapunzel and Cinderella, whilst others will be less so. There are recurring themes, e.g. evil women, whether they be stepmothers or witches;...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 26, 2012 Lucinda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Enchanting collection of celebrated fairytales retold in a distinctive voice that is contemporary and fresh.

Phillip Pullman is one of the most recognized and revered authors, with his bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy and Sally Lockhart series standing out as astonishing works of fiction. His unique, distinctive voice turns these classic tales into something quite special that make them so unfamiliar, as if you are being introduced to them for the first time. This enchanting collection com...more Enchanting collection of celebrated fairytales retold in a distinctive voice that is contemporary and fresh.

Phillip Pullman is one of the most recognized and revered authors, with his bestselling His Dark Materials trilogy and Sally Lockhart series standing out as astonishing works of fiction. His unique, distinctive voice turns these classic tales into something quite special that make them so unfamiliar, as if you are being introduced to them for the first time. This enchanting collection comprises of fifty of Phillip Pullman’s favorites from Rapunzel to Snow white and Cinderella, to the less familiar tales of the three snakes leaves, Hanz my hedgehog and Godfather death. This book is not only a delightful volume that brings the classics to life, but also introduces readers to the lesser but equally as great tales that many may not have read. With black wit, otherworldly romance and a touch of particularity, these stories will capture your imagination letting it run away with you. What makes each story even more fascinating is a brief commentary that explores and delves into the story’s background and history, making it so much more special and unforgettable. In Phillip Pullman’s introduction he discusses why these stories have stood the test of time, being just as popular today as they were many years ago, and how they became very much a significant and central part of our collective storytelling imagination. Pullman’s Grimm Tales of wicked wives, brave children and villainous kings will have you reading, reading aloud and rereading them for many years to come.

This book should be on everyone’s Christmas list this year as it is my favorite book of the year so far, being something that truly astonished me and which I just lost myself within. The author’s style is so distinctive that you feel as if you are reading something entirely new as these superb, magnificent tales are brought into the twenty-first century with a modern twist. It is a book to treasure and one that will sit quite happily at the top of my bookshelf, with its stunning cover and binding that is so opulent and exquisite. It brought back such lovely happy childhood memories of when I was read to at night and which now shall be reread time and time again, furthermore to my nephews who now have a distinctive edition to add to their fairytale collection. The extra detail included about each story’s history was fantastic, making you feel as if you were reliving a part of literary history that was special and quite personal. I won this extraordinary book (that is a momentous edition to current literature), through a monthly giveaway with ‘the book exchange’. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking them as I concider myself to be extremely privileged to have had the fortuity of reading this splendid book. As an adherent and devoted fan of Phillip Pullman and an avid reader of His Dark Materials trilogy, I was naturally tremendously excited about the release of this brilliant book that I can now add to my collection of his works.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Sep 24, 2012 Dan Gregory rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I recently read this collection of folk tales written by the awesome Alan Garner:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collected-Fol...

These are all re-tellings of old folk tales gathered from all over the world and I have to say in the hands of such a talented writer it was a pleasure to read. There was a forward in the book by Phillip Pullman discussing the power and tradition of storytelling and how wonderful it is that these tales are passed on from generation to generation and preserved - as all great st...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 23, 2012 Anastasia Fitzgerald-Beaumont rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not Just So

I have my favourites just as I am sure you have yours, those tales, told in childhood, which have a lifelong resonance. My grandfather was a particularly good story-teller, both in fact and in fiction, meaning that he could tell true stories and tall stories with equal verve and conviction!

Those I liked best he told me time and time again. I loved them, so much so that I would not tolerate any deviation. Like Josephine, Rudyard Kipling’s lost daughter, for me the tales of a grandfat...more

8 likes · like · see review

Dec 30, 2012 Paige rated it 3 of 5 stars

3 1/2 stars.

I was so excited when I saw this. I love fairy tales (especially fairy tale retellings!!), and I am a fan of Philip Pullman's work, so I thought that this would be totally awesome.

As it is, these are not retellings of Grimms' fairy tales, they're just...tellings. He basically copy & pasted 50 Grimm tales and then added a couple paragraphs' commentary at the end of each. Occasionally he says something interesting, but mostly you could do without it. I recently recovered my edition...more 3 1/2 stars.

I was so excited when I saw this. I love fairy tales (especially fairy tale retellings!!), and I am a fan of Philip Pullman's work, so I thought that this would be totally awesome.

As it is, these are not retellings of Grimms' fairy tales, they're just...tellings. He basically copy & pasted 50 Grimm tales and then added a couple paragraphs' commentary at the end of each. Occasionally he says something interesting, but mostly you could do without it. I recently recovered my edition of the fairy tales at my mom's house, so I had them side by side for comparison. Sometimes I like the handful of word changes that Pullman makes better, but often I liked the "original" just as much or better. Like in the bird, mouse & sausage one, my edition of the complete tales says that the bird is sad after the sausage is eaten, and Pullman's version doesn't. I think it's better with the sausage being sad.

It's getting the rating it does because these were advertised as "retellings," when they are really no such thing, and Pullman isn't really clear why he selected the ones he did. In my opinion his commentary didn't really add much, and in one case, it was just weird: he detailed a Jungian analysis of a fairy tale that sounded quite interesting, before dismissing it as "twaddle" and saying it's just a coincidence that this fairy tale fits a formula and it's better without thinking about all that stuff anyway. I was like, "O...kay?" I know hardly anything about Jung so I don't really feel fit to say if it's twaddle or not, but finding patterns and going through the psychology of things is, to me, actually fun. To dismiss psychological analysis or symbolic imagery of fairy tales because "they're fairy tales" seems like things are kind of being sold short.

If you're interested in this, you're probably just better off rereading the Grimms' collection itself, or getting some illustrated stories out of the library and enjoying the artwork, which would probably be more enjoyable than the author's commentary.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Dec 19, 2012 nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

This book is a beautiful collection of fairy tales, from the standards to the oft forgotten. I enjoyed seeing the familiar tropes repeated time and time again: the sets of three, the clever tailors, the shape changers and sheep herders, the princes in disguise, and the happily ever afters. Pullman breaks down each story, alerting to what he has cleaned up, and sharing similar stories from other collections of tales, which gives the reader context as well as enjoyment.

It was a pleasure reading o...more

like · see review

Dec 04, 2012 Dia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Read other book reviews at Book Junkie Joint.

The stories are the same, but the storyteller is different – this is what Philip Pullman’s Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm is all about.

It’s a collection of fifty fairy tales that were extensively researched and put together in one book that’s meant to celebrate over two hundred years of existence of well-loved fairy tales from the brothers Grimm.

Growing up as an avid reader, I remember having several fairy tale books which I read with much gusto...more Read other book reviews at Book Junkie Joint.

The stories are the same, but the storyteller is different – this is what Philip Pullman’s Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm is all about.

It’s a collection of fifty fairy tales that were extensively researched and put together in one book that’s meant to celebrate over two hundred years of existence of well-loved fairy tales from the brothers Grimm.

Growing up as an avid reader, I remember having several fairy tale books which I read with much gusto when I was very young. Reading the fairy tales in this book was like getting re-acquainted with a long-lost friend. I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic because all the fairy tales that I’ve enjoyed in my childhood were in it.

I loved reading about the stories I grew up with and compare it with the versions I’ve read in the past. It was also interesting to read other fairy tales that I haven’t had a chance to read when I was young. This book is definitely enchanting and fascinating! It brings out the inner kid in me.

The fairy tales themselves were written in simple words that were enough to describe what was happening without being overly descriptive of the whole setting like a novel. This makes it a perfect reading material for children. And since the stories are fairy tales, this book is tailor-made to be the perfect bed-time story book. I also appreciate the notes after each fairy tale because it listed the other versions of the tale, and explained some changes and points.

Also, what I really liked about this book is that aside from the collection of fairy tales within its pages, the author took time to point out the many differences between a novel and a fairy tale. I think that this was largely for the benefit of the adult readers who might be expecting something different.

The author also took time to narrate the story of the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and how they collected each story within the pages of the book. It was interesting to know what led to today’s infamous Grimm collection of tales.
Would I read this book again? Definitely! It’s like a reminder of my childhood. And I highly recommend it to people who would like a book of bedtime stories for children.
(less)

like · see review

Nov 06, 2012 Jo at Jaffareadstoo rated it 4 of 5 stars

There is always a possibility that by reworking an old favourite there may be a tendency to dilute the fabric of the story to such an extent that it becomes unrecognisable from the original. Philip Pullman has taken the Grimm fairy tales which were written two hundred years ago by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and has succeeded in opening up the stories for another, and altogether, savvier generation.
For the Grimm purists this book may be a step too far, but I believe that this wonderful collection o...more

1 like · like · see review

May 05, 2013 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you are a fairy tale geek, you will love this. If you're not, well, I have no counsel.

In this book are the classics (Cinderella, Rapunzel), the favorites (The Robber Bridegroom, The Twelve Brothers), and the should-have-remained-forgotten (The Girl with no Hands), each capped with Pullman's editorial notes--a comparison of different versions, tweaks he made, and sometimes just flat-out criticism of the tale. These notes feel like hanging out with Pullman as he rants a bit, maybe fixes you a...more

like · see review

Nov 18, 2012 Leah (The Pretty Good Gatsby) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, fairy-tales-retellings, for-review-arc, ilu-rumpelstiltskin, short-stories

http://theprettygoodgatsby.wordpress....

I finished Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm last night and I've been chewing over this review since then. The summary isn't exactly correct: Pullman collected his favorites, but apart from a few tiny details, he left the stories intact. Being a Pullman newbie (Matt's determined to get me to read His Dark Materials and I swear I will!), this wasn't the best way to get a feel for his writing.

I've struggled in the past with reviews, but this one takes the...more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
YA Reads for Teac...: * May 2013 - Classic YA - Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm by Philip Pullman	5	12	May 01, 2013 06:20pm
Downloaded a Sample... Disappointed?	2	20	Nov 28, 2012 03:12pm

combine
Other Editions (9)

More editions...

Genres

Fantasy

133 users

Fantasy > Fairy Tales

76 users

Classics

75 users

Short Stories

68 users

Childrens

16 users

Adult

12 users

Folklore

11 users

Anthologies

10 users

Retellings

9 users

Young Adult

7 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

The Fairies Return, or New Tales for Old
by Peter Llewelyn Davies (Editor)
Collected Folk Tales
by Alan Garner
Once Upon a Time Machine
by Andrew Carl (Editor)
Angela Carter's Book of Fairy Tales
by Angela Carter (Editor)
Once Upon a Curse: Stories and Fairy Tales for Adult Readers
by Anna Kashina (Editor)

About Philip Pullman

from his official website:

"I was born in Norwich in 1946, and educated in England, Zimbabwe, and Australia, before my family settled in North Wales. I received my secondary education at the excellent Ysgol Ardudwy, Harlech, and then went to Exeter College, Oxford, to read English, though I never learned to read it very well.

"I found my way into the teaching profession at the age of 25, and taught...more

More about Philip Pullman...

Books by Philip Pullman

The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1)

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, #2)

The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials, #3)

His Dark Materials (His Dark Materials #1-3)

The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart, #1)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Fairy Tales from ...

133 trivia questions

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Fairy Tales from the B...

“Finally, I’d say to anyone who wants to tell these tales, don’t be afraid to be superstitious. If you have a lucky pen, use it. If you speak with more force and wit when wearing one red sock and one blue one, dress like that. When I’m at work I’m highly superstitious. My own superstition has to do with the voice in which the story comes out. I believe that every story is attended by its own sprite, whose voice we embody when we tell the tale, and that we tell it more successfully if we approach the sprite with a certain degree of respect and courtesy. These sprites are both old and young, male and female, sentimental and cynical, sceptical and credulous, and so on, and what’s more, they’re completely amoral: like the air-spirits who helped Strong Hans escape from the cave, the story-sprites are willing to serve whoever has the ring, whoever is telling the tale. To the accusation that this is nonsense, that all you need to tell a story is a human imagination, I reply, ‘Of course, and this is the way my imagination works.” — 4 people liked it

“The fairy tale is in a perpetual state of becoming and alteration. To keep to one version or one translation alone is to put robin redbreast in a cage.” — 1 person liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version
avg rating	preview: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version Goodreads rating: 4.11 (5748 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13554713-fairy-tales-from-the-brothers-grimm?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1339554952l/13554713.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13554713-fairy-tales-from-the-brothers-grimm?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version by Philip Pullman[/url]

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website