Customer Reviews

Folktales Told Around the World

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Dorson's anthology consists of stories told by real storytellers from around the world. It's a great selection. Each tale can be enjoyed for its intrinsic qualities, and Dorson also provides interesting commentary on the texts and storytelling traditions. There's a fine variety of stories, and the texts are transcribed from actual storytelling performances rather than "polished up" as literary recreations. This sense of authenticity adds to the anthology's appeal, and Dorson includes background information on the tellers to provide readers with a better understanding of ways in which these stories are actually told within their communities. One concern, though, if you are planning to read these to children, be aware that some of the stories are a bit "earthy" -- or in Dorson's terms "yeasty." This authenticity is part of the anthology's signficance, and it shows that storytelling isn't just for children. But, some of the stories won't appeal to school librarians and cautious parents.

Dorson ranges throughout the globe and passes on stories translated into ordinary spoken English. The stories read the way they'd be told in a family or group of friends. This is an invaluable resource: each selection includes notes about the individual sources and the themes covered in the story. It's also just plain fun to read.

I cannot criticize the level of scholarship reflected in the University of Chicago folklore series, but I can state categorically that, as a rule, the stories are not fun to read, for either of two reasons: (1) The "stories" are disorganized nonsense that putatively instruct or demonstrate some crucial folk motif without subtending such critical concerns as plot and character, or (2) The editor preoccupies himself with the iotas of difference among N variants of a tale. In the India volume, for example, one finds oneself continually falling asleep, while Pantheon's India volume bristles with rollicking stories. Focus on the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library (I, fortunately, own the lion's share of volumes within both of these top-of-the-line series) and worry about U. of C. only if you insist on pursuing strictly the scholarly vein. (Friends and loved ones are always amazed about the depth of my knowledge about other cultures, even to commanding the uttermost tiny details of this ritual or that practice, and I am proud to tell them that I have learned this material from--guess what--the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library. No, I didn't learn it from Richard Dorson and his bone-dry feathermates.)