Tales of the Cairds

by Anne Cameron

In these magical tales of the Celts, Cameron does for old world mythology what she has done for new world myths in her best-selling Daughters of Copper Woman and Dzelarhons . Cameron adds wit and common sense to symbolism and to the mysteries of life and creation.

Genres: Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

Barbara Anne Cameron (born August 20, 1938 in Nanaimo, British Columbia) is a Canadian novelist, poet, screenwriter and short story writer.

Cameron legally changed her name from her birth name, Barbara Cameron, to Cam Hubert and later changed her name from Cam Hubert to Anne Cameron. She has written under these names.

Much of her work is inspired by Northwest Coast First Nations' mythology and culture.

An out lesbian, Cameron lives in Tahsis, British Columbia. She has previously lived in Powell River and has spent most of her life on Vancouver Island.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

I checked Anne Cameron's Tales of the Cairds out of the Hamilton Public Library in 2012, as the title looked both interesting and right up my alley so to speak. And yes, if I were just to consider the nine retold and reimagined mostly Irish (Celtic) folk and fairy tales in and of themselves, and simply as original stories, I would most likely be ranking Tales of the Cairds with three or perhaps even four stars (as Anne Cameron is most definitely a talented writer and her stories are indeed interesting, evocatively rendered and generally emotionally satisfying). However, the sad and poignantly true fact of the matter is and remains that Tales of the Cairds is in fact IN NO WAY an original work (at least not in my own and humble opinion) as ALL of the presented tales have been retold and adapted from other much earlier sources, and that Anne Cameron makes absolutely NO mention of said sources, acknowledges NONE of them with even a single word, well to me and for me, that is sadly totally and utterly unforgivable (and really, both from an intellectual and folkloric, but also and even more importantly from a cultural and historic point of view I consider that inappropriate, bordering on unacceptable cultural appropriation, especially considering how much and sometimes how strangely, even at times with a certain hint of nastiness and feminist anger most of these stories have generally been deliberately altered by the author).

Therefore I can and will only grant a one star ranking at best to and for Tales of the Cairds (as aside from the oh so frustratingly annoying lack of ANY type of source acknowledgements whatsoever, the back material on magical creatures also reads suspiciously and strangely as though Anne Cameron actually very much believes in their bona fide existence, which I for one do indeed find more than a bit creepy and strange). And while I would not go so far as to absolutely NOT recommend Tales of the Cairds, for I have, as already mentioned, actually much enjoyed Anne Cameron's writing style and general narrational set-up, if you are like me and always need and yes indeed require adequate and intellectually sound background information for tales and folklore that have obviously been adapted from ancient, earlier versions, Anne Cameron is (most likely) NOT AT ALL an acceptable author for you (I know that I for one will likely not bother reading any further Anne Cameron folktale adaptations, as I have since discovered online that she not only has very much a problematic reputation of usually not acknowledging any of the sources she has used, but is also rather vindictive and immaturely petty with regard to any and all criticism thereof).

[Luce Cronin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very lighthearted look at Celtic myths in this book of short stories. Of course , being written by Anne Cameron, the tone is definitely pro-women, pro-environment and humourous. The first story, which recounts the origin of the Cairds, (Travellers, Gypsies), although very funny, is very touching in its telling. Humour is often followed by deadly serious passages. The last piece tells the story of how the Celtic Magic people came to Canada's West Coast. The appendix consists of a small dictionary / note section on "The Magic Ones" - all the types of magic people of the Celtic realm.

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad I found this book this summer in a used bookstore in Victoria. Reading these tales of strong women, magic people and nonconformists was a balm for my soul.