Cheryl’s Comments (group member since Dec 04, 2022)

Cheryl’s comments from the Once Upon a Time... group.

Oh, and btw, I do like this translation. I'm almost interested in reading the whole book - all 72 stories!

Erik Christian Haugaard
A Treasury of Hans Christian Andersen

Haugaard's "new translation" (1972) has it like this:

"Once upon a time there was a troll, the most evil troll of them all; he was called the devil." And yes, he made the mirror for mischief, and the Queen was mostly in the background; I'm not even sure of her connection to the devil or the shards... maybe she just exploited an opportunity.

This really is a tale of innocent love. When Kai becomes cold-hearted the adults say "That boy has his head screwed on right!" And there are frequent references to a Christian psalm, and saying prayers to earn protection, and a Bible passage that says "Whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of Heaven as a little child shall not enter therein."

The puzzle to be solved at the end, in my edition, is (view spoiler)[the word 'eternity' (hide spoiler)]; what is it in yours?

Which edition did you read, and does it say who translated it?

I requested "A treasury of Hans Christian Andersen
translated from the Danish by Erik Christian Haugaard."

I imagine that different translations will vary - but not by much, I hope.

The novel is only avl. as an audiobook at my libraries. But I have read several other retellings of Andersen's story. If y'all want, I could make annotated list here.

Indeed!

Fezzik! I love his big heart, and his rhymes, and his humility, and courage.

I wonder what they call Florin and Guilder in the Italian translation. I mean, we wouldn't have fallen for it if they called the countries something like Dollar and Bill, or Crown and Pound, right?

Yes, I was so excited to read a new edition than the one from my childhood, with more of the meta commentary! I've bought maybe a dozen new books in my life, and that was one of them.

Btw, my 26 yo son has heard of this, but yesterday we decided to watch the movie together and he loved it. Now he's planning to read it, probably in the summer so he'll be able to enjoy the book without being distracted so much by comparing it to the movie.

Definitely Buttercup is part of the author's parody of the genre. Mostly I see the book as homage, but it's also parody and satire. I do wish she were a stronger and more developed character.

But honestly, I think that Goldman, or at least his persona, is quite a male chauvinist. Look at the treatment of the starlet, and of Helen, in the framing matter. And, honestly, look at his other work. Like Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid. They're pretty much adventures for boys, eh?

So why did I like this so much? Because it's so darn clever.

I have no idea if OpenLibrary is available as an app. I read the scanned copies of the books through the website on my tablet. I find it super easy and I'm not at all a nerd.

It is archived on OpenLibrary.org, so you can read it for free there.

I loved this so much that (before the Internet made it easy) I hunted for years for the only other book by him that appealed to me. I did finally find The Silent Gondoliers and will be rereading it soon.

Does anyone else have interest in this short fable?

And by all accounts Goldman was happy with the movie. After all, he did write several screenplays for several successful movies, so he probably knew how to get his wishes honored.

So, yeah, I finished last night and was not disappointed in this reread. I do think that I would actually *not* have loved it, were it not for the layered framing device and all the insertions. After all, the adventure/romance is over-the-top, and the book is pretty much both homage and satire to the genre. (Remember where he was talking about his elementary school teacher who gave him Walter Scott and Victor Hugo etc.)

Yeah, it's a stereotypical 'boys book' that I love anyway (despite only one female of consequence who is pretty passive). Or, maybe the 'boys' say 'it's a romance but it's great anyway.'

I was a bit hesitant to pick it up again for fear of spoiling my fond memories, but I'm enjoying it just as much this time! And in fact I'm seeing a few things this time that I missed before. For example the Sicilian has an 'angelic' face...?! Provocative detail!

Adriel wrote: "I have read all THIRTY pages of the into and on looking at his Wiki page about 90% seems to be made up. I absolutely love that! Despite the length I did enjoy it. I found his fake wife highly amusing."

Yes, some readers know that the book by Morgenstern is made up, but think that the autobiographical bits are made up, and therefore they declare that Goldman is a jerk. But, yes, basically it's all made up!

That's part of the exploration of one of the big themes, after all... what is true love, what is happily ever after....

Sure! I'll try to find a paper copy in the meantime, but The Oxford Book of Modern Fairy Tales is archived on openlibrary.org and therefore free for anyone to read.

Adriel, I watched the film only once, and long time ago. All I basically remember is that it had its own charms and wasn't 'wrong' per se.

Yes, it is wonderful that we all have different tastes. Thanks!