Customer Reviews

Swedish Folktales and Legends (The Pantheon Fairy Tale & Folklore Library)

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

 

 

This collection was reasonably amusing. The selection of characters was diverse, and there was an appropriate mixture of both bawdy and "toilet" humor. However, I kept getting the feeling that I was reading second-hand tellings of the Norwegian classics of Asbjornsen and Moe. This collection truly pales by comparison to the high degree of art evidenced in the A&M stories.

By the way, why did the designers of this book choose a paper-bag-colored cover?

My mother and father put this collection together, so I'm a bit biased, but this really is a wonderful collection. Although some of the stories are a bit creepy, it was great to grow up hearing these stories before I went to bed. This is the second pressing (the first was Random House, this is UofMinnesota) and the new pressing has a great cover, and feels great in your hand. Anyone who likes fantasy or folklore really cannot miss this one!

I haven't gotten too far in on this one yet, I've read the lengthy introduction which talks a great deal about the editor's mother growing up on Bornholm, a Danish island. But there was some interesting information about the collectors of Swedish folklore that are presented in the book. Its paperback, but not bad quality. The illustrations are reproductions of original works from various archives throughout Sweden, but all in black and white and mostly pen and ink sketch, not a favorite of mine. I've read a couple of the entries under animal stories and they have thus far been very, very short. But I'm looking forward to completely immersing myself in Swedish folk tales very soon. But if you only want to buy one book of this type, choose Swedish Folk Tales with illustrations by John Baur. Now that's one to pass down through the generations, just lovely!

I love folklore, and not today's scrubbed, politically-correct versions, either. I love Italo Calvino's "Italian Folktales," a work not intended for children. I love Jane Yolen's collections, and I'm especially glad I found Dorson's collections when I was in college. These Swedish "tales and legends," in contrast to all the above, have a distinctly underdone feel. Many of them come off as mere anecdotes, inexpertly told by someone who should have left the joke-telling to others. There's also an abundance of scatological detail that seems to be in there solely because the teller of the tale enjoyed shocking his listeners, not because it was essential to the story. I can deal with some smut in a folktale, as long as the narration is smooth, the plot solid, and the smut, when it appears, has a clear relation to the story being told. Calvino, Yolen, and Dorson deal expertly with such detail; not so the collectors of these stories. The collection's greatest flaw, however, is that so many of the pieces presented here aren't really stories, just underpolished fragments and anecdotes. If you're an adult who enjoys folklore, including the occasional earthy tale, read Calvino's "Italian Folktales" instead. You won't be disappointed.

I just want to say this is a great collection of folk tales. There is a lot of variety and some of the tales are so funny!

This is a great book. I read it alot myself and also to mysister. Some of these stories are very funny while others are more'romantic' (sorta). You just have to read it, one of my sister's favorites is "The Princess of Catburg".