The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm [Paperback]

Jacob Grimm (Author), Wilhelm Grimm (Author), Jack Zipes (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1987

A new translation of 239 fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. Also includes a listing of their oral and/or literary sources.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Is this new edition necessary? Only scholars are likely to persevere through all 32 of the "previously untranslated" tales found among the 242 entries. A few, rejected by the Grimms as too French or too literary, have merit; most of the others are slight variants of tales already in the canon or are fragments. There is no analysis or commentary of any individual tales, and though Zipes offers a fine introduction, he himself acknowledges the excellence of Ralph Manheim's translation of the canon (misspelling his name). Since Manheim's work is still in print and available at low cost in paper (Doubleday, 1977), only wealthy scholars, who will appreciate the identification of each tale's human or published source and date of first publication, might insist on Zipes. Patricia Dooley, formerly with English Dept., Drexel Univ., Philadelphia
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Splendid.”
--Faith McNulty, The New Yorker

“Clearly the text of choice for any reader...Zipes’ edition deserves to become the standard translation.”
--The German Quarterly
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 733 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Classics (January 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553051849
• ISBN-13: 978-0553051841
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,439,423 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grimm's tales as they should be read!, February 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm (A Bantam trade paperback) (Paperback)

True, some (but not all) of the Brothers Grimm stories are gruesome and parents would find it unesay reading them to their children as fairy stories, but then they were never intended to be read predominantly by, or to, children. The Brothers Grimm wrote down their collected oral tales mainly for the bourgeois audiences of 19th century europe, and Jacob Grimm said that whilst the stories were mainly for an adult readership, the fact that children were also beginning to read them was just a bonus. Certainly many of the tales are different to the sweet and innocent versions portrayed by Disney. Don't expect to find cute little animals here! However, expect to find tales with a moral and a recipe for living, as prevelent today as they were nearly 200 years ago. It's a great book, especially with the added bonus of Zipes' introduction which details the history of the Brothers Grimm and their reasons for writing down the tales. Buy it to read to yourself, not your children!

93 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fairy tales:unwatered and uncensored, May 15, 2000

By 

Fuchsia (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm (A Bantam trade paperback) (Paperback)

An excellent collection of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Its good to find collections of their tales out there that are not just watered down versions. Jack Zipes, who has also translated wonderful editions of the thousand and one nights and a collection of French Fairy Tales(both highly recommended) does an excellent job with the Grimms and provides interesting commentary about the orgins of the tales. My favorite story in particalar was one about a tailor, I can't remember the name.(Yes, I know there are a million stories about tailors but this was the one where the tailor gets blinded and his traveling companion treats him horribly) This edition even includes all of the stories that were even too violent for the Grimm Brothers. One called "How Some Children Played at Slaughtering" is especially unappetizing. All in all I recommend this book to anyone who would like a little enchantment in their lives. By the way, the cover of this book is just gorgous, nice illustrations inside also.

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I finally found a complete collection!, March 28, 2000

By 

Backroads "Scatter-brained book fan" (Cache Valley, Utah) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm (A Bantam trade paperback) (Paperback)

The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm date back to centuries ago, but only in the 19th century were they written down and collected. An avid fan of fairy tales, I consider this an important treasure. These are the original, untouched-by-Disney, pure tales. All 250, incluidng 40 never before seen, are in this. Many are actually redos of the same tale, but always with a different twist. They are full of gore and violence and everything else, but I've been reading them since I was little. The author Jack Zipes also provides plenty of history notes on the collecting, writing, and translating of the tales and the lives of the Brothers Grimm. All in all, 'tis excellent collection!