I love fairy tales and had been wanting to read this translation of the Grimms' stories for some time. The Ralph Manheim translation was published in 1977. My trouble with different translations is that I know how I want them to sound so prefer the translations from my childhood or from the childhood books of my children. This is a good, accurate, readable translation. No pictures, though 😉
from the back of the book:
Here, for readers of all ages, is the first new translation in half a century of the two hundred and ten tales of the Bothers Grimm. Ralph Manheim, highly acclaimed, prize-winning translator of Celine, Gunter Grass, Bertolt Brecht, and others, has rediscovered in the original German editions of the Grimms' works the unadorned, direct rhythm of the oral form in which they were first recorded. He was retained their ageless magic and mythology and restored the extraordinary vitality and wit, the acute perceptions of human strength and frailty mirrored in the facets of these small gems.Strange Horizons calls it the "more fluid and readable" of the two key 20th century translations.
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Oh I like the sounds of this book. I think for many we get the original stories confused with the Disney Princess versions (which are all fantastic). Checking the library database is my next move!
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of Disney or most of their fairy tale adaptations. I hope you find and like this translation :)
DeleteI recently read a few of these when I was reorganizing some books. It's a job that takes me forever since I always stop to check out thing. Yesterday I was rereading Go Dog Go and Spot books as I cleaned out my daughter's kids stash on the top of her closet. Hope all is well with you. Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteI love reading the old children's books. Such fond memories!
DeleteI never knew anything about Grimm's Fairy Tales until the tv show "Grimm" came on. I hope children find these stories less scary than the ones shown on tv.
ReplyDelete"Grimm", I fear, bears precious resemblance to the actual stories that inspired it :(
DeleteMy mom had Grimm's Fairy Tales, the original Mother Goose, and another book or two in the family bookcase growing up but she never read them to us when we were little because they were all creepy and scary. I read them all in junior high--so many decades ago. The atmosphere of them never leaves you. They were warnings to children with little supervision in a dangerous world. I bet they worked well. ;)
ReplyDeleteI had my own book and Mother had a boxed set of Grimm and Andersen, and I read them to myself in elementary school. I've always loved them!
DeleteIt's good that the translation stays true to the original and still remains readable. I like that these tales are simple and unadorned, not at all like the sugar sweet fairytales we know today 😀. Have a lovely day! J 😊 x
ReplyDeleteYes, they're actually quite short. To adapt them they have to add so much fluff. The simple originals (or as original as we can get) are the best :)
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