Pullmans
Fairy Tales offers something unique: the chance to watch a master storyteller think through these most foundational of tales. . . . It is fascinating.
The New York TimesZippy! . . . These tales are about plot and economy and speed [and] make great bedtime read-alouds for children who can handle a little gore. . . . The original tales werent for children, of course; they were for everyone. So is this book. . . . Pullman is both erudite and funny. . . . He has fun with dialogue, and is particularly snappy with dwarfs. . . . You know what? He crushes it, as the youth of today are wont to say. . . . His translations are perfection.
The New York Times Book ReviewIt is such a pleasure to read these tales again, to experience their strangeness and richness, their violence and beauty, their sheer nonsense. . . . Reading Pullmans version it is impossible not to hear Pullmans own gentle voice; he is present on every page. . . . [His] interventions work brilliantly.
The Boston GlobeThese wonder tales . . . compel belief as powerfully as any adventure or thriller.
Marina Warner, The Times Literary SupplementExcellent . . . His beginnings are like invitations that cannot be refused. . . . Pullman shows how completely he understands the Grimms. . . . [He] pays homage to the Brothers pioneer work and simultaneously breathes new life into a great, venerable tradition of magical storytelling.
Jack Zipes, Los Angeles Review of BooksA real pleasure to read . . . This is the kind of writing that stands up to years of bedtime repetition. . . . The authors best appearances are in the notes, which are often as entertaining as the stories themselves. . . . Swiftness and clarity, he says, were his guiding principles; to which he has added wit and invention. . . . Beautiful or grotesque, the mad poetry of these tales is often delightfully funny too.
The EconomistA fresh, sparkling collection of the finest stories from the Brothers Grimm, hand-picked by an author perfectly suited to the task. This volume is
a must-have for any lover of fairy tales. . . . In the hands of a master storyteller such as Pullman, the Grimmss tales take on a whole new life.
Library Journal (starred review)A wonderfully rich reading experience . . . Stylish in its simplicity [and with] a salutary clarity and directness . . . In addition to his elegant introduction, [Pullman] concludes each tale with his own always interesting commentary. . . . There are, of course, any number of English-language versions and editions of Grimm, but few are as felicitous in their telling as Pullmans. His book surely belongs on the same shelf as the very best of those that appeal to general readers of all ages.
Booklist (starred review)Readers will enjoy not only returning to European fantasys roots but seeing how the tree still blooms. . . . Smooth narration makes every tale accessible while keeping the mystical and lyrical qualities that make fairy tales so beloved.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)You didnt know you needed to reread Grimm. You do.
This is a grand and a great book. With confidence and modesty alike, Pullman adds just enough Pullman to remind us that the oldest stories are always best told by someone who knows how to do the job of storytelling. No grandstanding here, no posturing or poesy-making. Pullman selects familiars and exotics, and gives us the goods anewthe ashes never grittier, the golden shoes never more lively, and the tellers notes concise, witty, scholarly even. Older Grimmsput them on the top of the bookcase. This one needs to be closer to hand.
I read it ravenously, rapturously.Gregory Maguire, author of
Wicked and
Making Mischief: A Maurice Sendak AppreciationI could not imagine a better emissary for the Brothers Grimm than Philip Pullman. His translations have the timeless quality of a voice speaking in a quiet room, at once ancient and immediate to the senses. What a pleasure it is to be reacquainted with these stories in all their swiftness, wonder, horror, and charm.
Kevin Brockmeier, author of
The Brief History of the DeadPhilip Pullmans Grimm is quite eloquent, and his commentary is witty and historically accurate. There is no doubt in my mind that
the Grimms would have been delighted with what he has accomplished. Jack Zipes, Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota
In this
pitch-perfect retelling of the Grimms fairy tales, Philip Pullman reminds us that the stories have lost none of their relevance or racing energy, even two hundred years after they were written down. As storyteller and sage, he preserves the flavors and aromas of fine, old wines from times past and delivers them to us in
sparkling new bottles.
Maria Tatar, Harvard University; author of
The Classic Fairy TalesIve admired Philip Pullman since his early fantasy
Galatea on through the splendid trilogy His Dark Materials. All of his gifts, including his prose eloquence, and his endless high Romantic imagination, are manifested in this
marvelous retelling of Grimm.
Harold Bloom