Customer Reviews

Struwwelpeter: Fearful Stories and Vile Pictures to Instruct Good Little Folks

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

 

 

I only know the German version, but if the translation is at all faithful, it should be a hilarious book of morals for those who are not squeamish! This book is in the old style of "scare 'em out of doing it" didactic tales and details the traumas that ensue when youngsters fail to follow the wise instructions of their elders. From the boy who wouldn't eat his soup and shrivelled away to the tot who wouldn't stop sucking his thumb until a pair of scissors had something to say to him, these twisted poems are the perfect antidote to today's politically "correct" and sugar-coated moral works for children

This edition is definitely NOT for children--the gruesome pictures in the beginning are wonderfully drawn, but would probably disturb young children. Having said that, this is a great book. Dr. Zipes' introduction, which adds immense value, discusses the intended use of this book as an instructor of morality and how 150 years of middle-class Euro-American families have used different approaches to teach socially "correct" behavior to their children.

At the end of the introduction is part of a review left on Amazon in 1997 by a reader of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (a book compared by some to "Struwwelpeter"). The reviewer attacked the book as glorifying the murder and debasement of children, and even talked about being unable to eat any blue-colored foods for years as a result of trauma caused by the blueberry scene. I think this reader, like many readers of "Struwwelpeter", has kind of missed the point. This book is not about being cruel to children. It's about warning children that if they are horrid, horrid things will happen to them. If you play with matches even though mother tells you not to, you'll get burnt up. If you're dirty and smelly, no one will like you. The bluntness of the consequences of bad behavior just serves to ram the message home. I found it fascinating that the author originally wrote this for his THREE-year-old son, when he decided that all the available books on correct behavior were either too didactic or too sentimental. This is hardly the 19th century equivalent of a slasher film, with blood and guts randomly strewn about--all the bad things in this book could have been avoided, if only the victims would have listened to people who were wiser than them. Whether or not you agree with the social message, it's still a fascinating read.

This is an excellent read. In reference to the advice of most readers of Struwwelpeter to NOT let children read this book, I would like to quote Terry Pratchet: "...it was much earlier than that when most people forgot that the very oldest stories are, sooner or later, about blood. Later on they tookt he blood out to make the stories more acceptable to children, or at least to the people who read them to children rather than the children themselves (who, on the whole, are quite keen on blood provided it's being shed by the deserving. That is to say, those who deserve to shed blood. Or possibly not. You never quite know with some kids.)"
As an educator and once-child, I would reccommend this book to children over the age of 10. Of course this reading experience, like any, should involve a discussion with the parents so they can understand the differences between being a child of the Victorian era and being a child now.
Give kids credit!!

Feral House, the Loompanics of history/art publishers, here publishes a title that is destined to become a rare collectible. In this paperback edition, you will find more than just the reproduced works of author Heinrich Hoffmann. This is perhaps the only opportunity so far for collectors to purchase prints of the work of reclusive artist Sarita Vendetta.

The only other printed examples of her work are contained in "Tortures and Torments of the Christian Martyrs," another Feral House publication which is now out of print. That book had only a few of her drawings, while Struwwelpeter contains dozens.

Vendetta's disturbing and shocking artwork will always provoke controversy, dealing as it does with issues of sexual deviance, child abuse, and religious mania. For collectors of the insane and macabre, this book is a must-have. I would recommend two copies: one for your bookshelf and one to extract the art for framing.

The quality of the prints (color, size, paper) is quite good considering the cost of this book. The prints include drawings which appear to be out of our present time, and the paintings are revoltingly representational, colorful, and graphic.

Besides purchasing her original art directly from La Luz de Jesus Gallery in California, there is no other way to collect the works of this elusive American artist. Only fools and villians (of which there are many) would view Vendetta's work and not see the inherent social criticism in her depictions of evil.

I will leave the text for others to review. But I want to also mention that the other historical illustrations contained in this book are charming and add to the value of this unusual publication.

This version is a letter sized paperback, with heavy, slick paper
used. It claims that the only other english translation is severely edited. Sarita Vendetta offers up her new illustration,
and are just as, if not more disturbing than ever. There is just a hint of Gorey
in her drawings. The latter part of the book offers drawings
"based" on the originals of Hoffman. So if you are looking for something old and something new this may be for you. Also the
Introduction by Jack Zipes gives biographical info on Hoffman
and his writing of Struwwelpeter.

I'm glad to see that this book is being shown as a paperback. It had been shown as a hardcover for the longest time (and still is by other booksellers). I don't recommend this book. This take on Hoffmann's classic is more documentary than a straightforward re-release of one of the former editions. (For a straight reprint of an original see the Dover paperback of the original English translation.) This edition is more an observation of Struwwelpeter as a kind of historic anomoly than an enjoyment of the stories in the humorous spirit in which they were written. The illustrations fail because they are too literal (a painting is included which belongs among this century's most perverse) and don't have any of the charm of the more symbolic and childlike illustrations from the original English editions (reprinted by Dover). Ironically, they betray a darker and more puerile fascination on the editors' parts. There are lots of good articles about the various editions this book has been through, with some Freud thrown in of course. While trying to take a seemingly appreciative and scholarly (read stand-offish) stance, though, the authors still manage to miss the point by forcing modern day sensitivities and a surprising lack of decorum on what is a collection of stories never meant to bear the weight of literary criticism now being heaped upon it. Even Dover includes a short caveat on the inside front cover of its edition apologizing for one of the tales! Better use your sense.

The original is a neat classic. This is a modern re-make (new drawings, "corrected" for a more modern audience), and strays from the quality of the original.

To it's credit, it has a copy of the original tacked on as an appendage.

Skip this version, and just get the original, and you'll have all you need, for less money.

Although this was historically a popular book for children in the 19th century, I was not familiar with it until it was referenced in Grant Morrison's _Doom Patrol_. I don't necessarily recommend this for kids of today, however. Adults who enjoy quirky rhymes and disturbing pictures like Edward Gorey's should get a kick out of this. What struck me about this edition was the additional material -- a brief discussion of changing attitudes toward child-rearing and how children were viewed by society, a review of some of the work that Struwwelpeter inspired, and even the inclusion of the anti-Nazi work Struwwelhitler. It's a well-rounded volume.

I first came across this when I was...well, the most I shall admit to is that I was a preteen at the time. I actually quite enjoyed it, especially the illustrations, but due to being broke when I found it...did not buy it, much to my regret. (I have since lucked out and obtained a copy from Amazon.)

I feel I ought to quickly address the comments many people have on the translation: I've read both this and the original translation, and am familiar with both what was considered 'suitable' for children in Germany and in English-speaking countries at the time.

The original translation is almost certainly toned down. If you don't believe me, try reading a modern unexpurgated edition of Grimms' and compare it to one of the old translations -- or, which perhaps might be easier, pick up one of the various books on the history of the Grimms' volume of tales. You can see roughly the same thing if you compare some tales of stories for children in English-speaking countries that have been culled from other countries to the originals. ( I actually sort of find it offensive, if nothing else because sometimes the stories make much less sense in the bowdlerized versions. Though, admittedly, the humor in such things as guys getting pregnancy scares is probably not evident to all. )

The illustrations are quite wonderful -- I rather prefer them to the original, which look rather too childish and ill-executed for the time period...in fact, they look like they belong in a publication from a century before the original German work was authored. I do share the feelings of my fellow reviewer who bemoaned the lack of collections of this particular artist's work, though it is good to know where to find it.

If a reprinting of this is ever offered, I'd strongly recommend it for goths with children old enough, but at its usual current price it's not really something I would have around children of any age. However, it is something I think many of those who love Edward Gorey's work would quite enjoy.

While the pictures in this book are very well drawn, they are thoroughly over the top in appearance and do make this version of the book quite grotesque. As a child I really enjoyed theses stories, but this version just really turned me off.