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The Annotated Brothers Grimm | 
 enlarge | Authors: Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm
Creators: A. S. Byatt, Maria Tatar
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $21.09
You Save: $13.91 (40%)
New (36) Used (12) Collectible (1) from $21.09
Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 13548
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 416
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.2
Dimensions (in): 10.2 x 8.6 x 1.4
ISBN: 0393058484
Dewey Decimal Number: 398.20943
EAN: 9780393058482
ASIN: 0393058484
Publication Date: September 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081121221340T
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Product Description
Maria Tatar redefines the Grimm canon with this authoritative and entertaining collection. The Annotated Brothers Grimm celebrates the richness and dramatic power of the legendary fables in the most spectacular and unusual Grimm volume in decades. Containing forty stories in new translations by Maria Tatar—including "Little Red Riding Hood," "Cinderella," "Snow White," and "Rapunzel"—the book also features 150 illustrations, many of them in color, by legendary painters such as George Cruikshank and Arthur Rackham; hundreds of annotations that explore the historical origins, cultural complexities, and psychological effects of these tales; and a biographical essay on the lives of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Perhaps most noteworthy is Tatar's decision to include tales that were previously excised, including a few bawdy stories and others that were removed after the Grimms learned that parents were reading the book to their children—stories about cannibalism in times of famine and stories in which children die at the end. Enchanting and magical, The Annotated Brothers Grimm will cast its spell on children and adults alike for decades to come. 75 color, 75 black-and-white illustrations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 The Darker Side of the Cultural Imagination September 24, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The truth except for a few common ones I didn't read most of these stories as a child and I wouldn't reccommend many of them as with their themes of hatred, punishment and fear they belong to another era. However, that's not to say as "sociocultural myths" (which fairy tales are) they aren't ripe for analysis. Much to the contrary. "The Boy Who Learned About Fear" is an excellent example because it shows the world as it was then and perhaps is now to some people who are downtrodden "nasty, brutish and short" but that's what children faced then and fear was indeed an unpleasent lesson they had to learn. But others such as "The Musicians of Bremen" could be read to a child and have a humanism missing from the other stories but in being analyzed in a larger societal sense create an understanding that would be missing and a riper appreciation of the story. And some like "The Jew in the Brambles" which is vehirently anti-semitic should not be read to children of course but it definitely belongs in here to understand where some of the anti-semitism of that culture emanated from and to analyze. And the Grimm Brothers in reflecting the teutonic conformism of the time and in taking older myths and removing explicit parts that might be inappropriate for children created what was still a mental landscape that in many ways was disturbing and ripe for analysis in a broader sense as this book does. And regardless the sanitization of today's children's stories doesn't take away the fact that there are many ugly and unpleasent things in the world that we shelter them from. And in today's climate perhaps fear is a lesson that needs to be learned. Not in the "cautionary tale" format that might traumatize a children but to let them know that the world they are being sheltered from can be dangerous and is something to approach with caution and something to learn about. But unfortunately one essential story that is missing although less known "The Grandfather" a beloved proverb that should read to any child that in modern, humanistic terms shows about accepting disability, people who are elderly and death itself and is quite moving delves into people's eternal hopes, fears and desires and in common childhood stories confronts them. And if one is into myths, anyone certainly a reader of Joseph Campbell or more intellectual philosophers would find much to explore in here.
Fun reading, look good on the bookcase May 3, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
As with the other annotated fairy tale books of Maria Tatar, such as The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales and The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen, this book just looks really good on the shelf. But, take it down and start to read it, and it will be a while before you can put it back. Grimm's fairy tales truly are the cream of the crop, and the annotations in this book really bring the lifelike stories closer to home. And as with the other tomes, this book is well laid out, has nice pages and brilliant illustrations, and is satisfying to hold, behold, and read. If you want the truly spooky, scary, gory Grimm, I would suggest you have a look at The Complete Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm (Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm), but get this book too for the annotations to the more familiar stories.
magical mix of stories and pictures March 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
An outstanding collection of familiar and unfamiliar tales, with beautiful illustrations from many different artists. I have been reading the tales one at a time, and am enjoying getting to know each story. I didn't know much about the Grimms and now I feel like an expert. Quality of paper and binding is very high, and I'm happy to put this in my permanent collection rather than with those yellowing paperbacks.
 The annotations were less than enthralling February 23, 2008
18 out of 23 found this review helpful
This edition has a great deal to go for it. It is beautifully illustrated, contains the "authoritative" direct 1857 versions of many of the Grimm's collected tales, and it includes several tales which have been bowdlerized out of more modern editions, such as "The Jew in the Brambles."
Despite these virtues, however, it has two distinct flaws.
1) It is not complete. Rather than include the complete collection of stories, it focuses on the better-known stories such as Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, etc. It does include many lesser-known stories, but it doesn't have them all.
2) I personally found the annotations somewhat pointless. Rather than provide new information, or explicate the period germanic background from which the tales were derived, or provide much information about the Grimm's scholarly research, they merely provided the annotator's own personal interpretation of the story, i.e., "fetched some large stones and filled the wolf's belly with them. The stones have been read as a sign of sterility, but they are more likely an appropriate retaliation for the incorporation of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother."
I'm not sure this volume ever really made up its mind as to its target audience. It includes too many stories with clearly offensive themes (again, "The Jew in the Brambles") to be suitable for young children, but at the same time, the annotations do not appear to be aimed at scholarly readers, and the wealth of illustration gives the impression the book is aimed at young audiences after all.
I personally would have been happier with a volume that included the entire collection of Grimm's tales and detailed, factual annotations. Other readers might prefer a cozy illustrated volume of Grimm's Greatest Hits with annotations to spell out the complicated parts ("Wait, the wolf is a sexual predator?!"). This volume seemed to attempt to strike at both those targets, and hit neither (although it fell closer to the second).
The Annotated Brothers Grimm April 10, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
A beautifully bound volume of the Grimm collection. With its side notes and explanations of what is going on in each tale, what better way to teach children the origin of these stories and gain a greater appreciation of its creation.
This book is just that book to have on your library shelf. I am delighted to have it. (And I am well over 13 years of age.)
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