Book Review: Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm by Philip Pullman

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 immortal tales of the Brothers Grimm.

From much-loved stories like “Cinderella” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Gretel” to lesser-known treasures like “Briar-Rose,” “Thousandfurs,” and “The Girl with No Hands,” Pullman retells his fifty favorites, paying homage to the tales that inspired his unique creative vision—and that continue to cast their spell on the Western imagination. (From Goodreads)

Best Bits: I loved the variety of Grimm stories in this compilation. It had all my favorites, and a few that I have a feeling my parents purposely omitted from my childhood bedtime stories. It was great to have them in the form they were intended...they're scary! Pullman also includes some notes at the end of each story sharing how he might have tweaked them, information on alternate versions, and providing some general information that I was unaware of. The book is an extremely quick read because each story is relatively short (average 5-10 pages). I can't complain about being entertained for a couple of hours without being bogged down. 

Nit Picks: There's not much new in this version of the Grimm fairy tales. Pullman does his own twist in some stories, and his writing is fabulous, but he doesn't stray too far from the source material (this is not a nit pick personally, but I know that some people will pick it up expecting things to differ a bit more than they do). 

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm
By Philip Pullman
400 Pages
Published by Viking
Rating: A