The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales

Rating:
Summary: A Educational Dive into Grimm
Review: I can't say how long getting this book as been on my mind. I'd tell my friends about this book I've seen, and we'd all giggle, unsure of what it actually was about. Seriously, I thought it was just some lady bashing fairy tales and digging up all the dirt on them.

Well, it's certainly the latter, but nothing was bashed. Tatar obviously has done a lot of research in creating this book. Many venerable references were used. Tatar dives into the world of fairy tales; their history, their content, the truth behind them. It is fascinating. I've been aware of some X-rated material behind Disney's works, but my eyes were still opened at the horrors hidden. Now I KNOW why all the *step*-mothers were jealous of the beautiful daughters.

A delightful addition were the several tales and prefaces at the back of the book.

"The Hard Facts of Grimm's Fairy Tales" is an fascinating, educational book for any student or lover of fairy tales. My one qualm is how Tatar seemed to be doing some name-calling and finger-pointing in several incidents. An unbiased approach would have been better.

Rating:
Summary: A Educational Dive into Grimm
Review: I can't say how long getting this book as been on my mind. I'd tell my friends about this book I've seen, and we'd all giggle, unsure of what it actually was about. Seriously, I thought it was just some lady bashing fairy tales and digging up all the dirt on them.

Well, it's certainly the latter, but nothing was bashed. Tatar obviously has done a lot of research in creating this book. Many venerable references were used. Tatar dives into the world of fairy tales; their history, their content, the truth behind them. It is fascinating. I've been aware of some X-rated material behind Disney's works, but my eyes were still opened at the horrors hidden. Now I KNOW why all the *step*-mothers were jealous of the beautiful daughters.

A delightful addition were the several tales and prefaces at the back of the book.

"The Hard Facts of Grimm's Fairy Tales" is an fascinating, educational book for any student or lover of fairy tales. My one qualm is how Tatar seemed to be doing some name-calling and finger-pointing in several incidents. An unbiased approach would have been better.

Rating:
Summary: The Riddles Of Classic Fairy Tales
Review: I have read several of Maria Tatar's books for critical fairy tales analysis.
The book is lush with beautiful drawings and the writing style is acutely very good, and very easy to read, and understand.
However, I just really wasn't impressed because I had known most of the information that was presented in thisvolume.
I acutely would recommend her novel The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales and her up coming book The Annotated Brothers Grimm ( this also looks very interesting. )
The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales ( to me at least. ) Would be a good starter point for someone who really wants to know the truth about fairy tales.
More recommend for new comers who want's great art work and something easy to read.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous New Look at the Grimms' Tales
Review: I really have to disagree with the previous reviewer. Tatar doesn't force the interpretations at all. She has spent years in archives looking at the varying editions of the Grimms' tales, and working with materials about life at the time the tales were collected. She's very rigorous in her research, and I think the conclusions she draws are really amazing. Her writing can be dense at times, but not so much so that you can't understand where she's going. This book is more scholarly than popular, but it's well worth reading for fans of the Grimms and other 19th century collections of fairy tales. A great companion to the Zipes editions of the Grimms.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous New Look at the Grimms' Tales
Review: I really have to disagree with the previous reviewer. Tatar doesn't force the interpretations at all. She has spent years in archives looking at the varying editions of the Grimms' tales, and working with materials about life at the time the tales were collected. She's very rigorous in her research, and I think the conclusions she draws are really amazing. Her writing can be dense at times, but not so much so that you can't understand where she's going. This book is more scholarly than popular, but it's well worth reading for fans of the Grimms and other 19th century collections of fairy tales. A great companion to the Zipes editions of the Grimms.

Rating:
Summary: close look at the uncensored tales
Review: It was really interesting to find out about how the Grimm's collection was put together and how it was rewritten. I was surprised to read that the Grimms added violence in order to make the stories more parent-friendly--I guess parents in those days really believed that punishments would produce virtue. Loved the stories at the end, which are pretty hair-raising.
I was surprised to learn that these stories went so far back in time and that they were originally for adults.

Rating:
Summary: Could be better
Review: Maria Tatar's book, while excellent lacks focus. She needs more information in some areas, while in other areas, she needs entirely new sections. It is an excellent book, but you may not find all the information you're looking for. For instance, I was reading the sex and violence section, and she would go on for pages about the sources the Brothers used. While this can pertain to the section title, she strayed to much, and I felt the section was lacking information on sex and violence.

Rating:
Summary: Could be better
Review: Maria Tatar's book, while excellent lacks focus. She needs more information in some areas, while in other areas, she needs entirely new sections. It is an excellent book, but you may not find all the information you're looking for. For instance, I was reading the sex and violence section, and she would go on for pages about the sources the Brothers used. While this can pertain to the section title, she strayed to much, and I felt the section was lacking information on sex and violence.

Rating:
Summary: 4 stars
Review: Some of the analysis is forced and superficial, but overall this is an excellent analysis of fairy tales and their significance. Includes some genuinely profound insights on the topic. Overall worthwhile.