The fairy tales we grew up on as children — and the ones we’ll probably tell our children — are not the real deal.
Unless you read the Grimm ones, which are as bloody and violent as can be. Like Hansel and Gretel, for instance.
Those are the kinds of awesome stories that Adam Gitwitz remembers. In his new book, A Tale Dark and Grimm
Glance at the reviews on Amazon (not that you should necessarily trust those) and you’ll see a few words that keep popping up: “hilarious” is one of them. “Gruesome” is another, but that’s either a good or bad thing depending on what you consider appropriate for younger readers. In any case, the book only costs $6.99 on Amazon
What’s your favorite Grimm story?
via Al’s Book Club
This sounds interesting…
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I does seem a shame that the original stories are so watered down. Presumably we all managed to get by (and in fact loved) the old gory ones, so you wonder why the ‘neutering’, as you so aptly put it, of these stories is necessary.
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Probably because of children’s sensitive ears. ;) It’s the same reason some parents are so ban-happy with books.
And there’s nothing wrong with PG versions of things, in my view. Sometimes those can be really fun and open up new story aspects. But it’s good to preserve the originals — and make sure they’re remembered.
Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts, Kasia!
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I’m not sure if they still do them, but I used to love The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling when retelling old fairy tales and “tweaking” them was popular. Great stories!
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Oooh! I’m gonna have to look those up now. They sound awesome!
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Hope you like them. I did.
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