Customer Reviews

Irish Myths and Legends

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

In case your one of the 96% who never really looks at the "size" of a book when you order it, make sure you do for this one. It's only a pocket version of Lady Gregory's book, and, although the website does not tell you so, this is an ABRIGDED version.

Just know what you're getting.

I have read this book and find that the first part is fairly accurate when I compare it with other translations of the stories about Finn and the Fianna. However, I read the notes section for the stories about Cuchulain and noticed that Lady Gregory states that she compiled these stories, while the book jacket states she translated them. Unfortunately she has used several different sources for one of my favorite tales (Deirdre and Naoise) and it makes me wonder how accurate her version of this tale is. She has some elements in the ending that I have found attributed to later versions of the tale (she uses the later version of Deirdre stabbing herself instead of her dashing her head on the rocks), but the fact that she admits in her notes to editing and compiling the tales as she sees fit makes me wonder what else she edited because she didn't like. Personally, I am searching for a translation that is more accurate when it comes to Irish tales, because I feel that the original meaning becomes muddled when tales are edited to match a person's taste.

This edition offers only a small selection of Lady Gregory's _Gods and Fighting Men_, plus the book itself is about 2" by 4". In other words, this book is really a souvenir--not a text to be read. You probably want to get the full text of _Gods and Fighting Men_ instead.

I was incredibly surprised and disappointed when I received this book in the mail. I had ordered it for my wife's birthday and couldn't believe how small it was. I wish I had had some warning. She finished reading it in about 10 minutes.

FYI...this book is about an inch and a half square. This is like a keychain size book. You can't really tell that from the picture.

This very tiny book is very disappointing. I was expecting Lady Gregory's classic book of myths--a tome of a couple hundred pages. This little edition might be nice for a young child but was not what I wanted to introduce my niece to her classic heritage.

THIS BOOK IS A MINI BOOK!!!IT IS ABOUT TWO INCHES BY TWO INCHES.ANYONE THAT READS IT MUST HAVE VERY GOOD EYESIGHT!!!I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE.

Even though I've never read Irish Myths and Legends, I can assure you I would like it. I'm always interested in the mythology of my heratige. There might be some of My personal favorites; Cuchculain, Finn McCoul, and The Voyage of Bran. That's why I, Jacob Behnke, a ten year older from Hastings, Minnesota, highly recomend Irish Myths and Legends.