Grimm's fairy tales
by Gebrüder Grimm [Brothers Grimm] · first published 2011
26% recommend70% neutral4% critical
Why HN recommends it
Classic collection of European folk tales, valued for its raw, direct storytelling and cultural importance; many read it as children and now share it with their own kids. Suits readers of folklore and fairy tale origins.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Grimm's Fairy Tales is a work by Brothers Grimm now brought to you in this new edition of the timeless classic.
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Charles Perrault (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Perrault) and Grimm's fairy tales (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimms%27_Fairy_Tales) are better read anyway.
on “What Could Have Entered the Public Domain on January 1, 2017” ↗Vasistha’s Yoga - highly useful for understanding and transcending psychological conditioning, using mind to master mind. Early books: Arrow to the Sun and Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Hans Christian Andersen and The Hobbit - all very stimulating to imagination.
on “Books that have affected you and your life the most” ↗…tales and have much in common (South Europe might be a little different, but I'm not an expert to comment much) to the extend that sometimes only character names differ (or animal type). You might try Grimm's Fairy Tales[1] if haven't read yet, but aim for original/older edition[2] as originally it was quite violent but softened increasingly over time. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimms'_Fairy_Tales 2. https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/
on “Hedgehogs, the Keepers of Order and Knowledge in Slavic Fairy Tales” ↗My favorite book about the Brothers Grimm is "Fairy Tales: A New History" by Ruth B. Bottigheimer. She argues persuasively that the conventional origin normally told about the Grimm's fairy tales—-that they were recited by old peasant women remembering the ancient oral folktales of the Germanic people—-is not really true. In fact the tales mainly came from middle class storytellers. And the two…
on “The Brothers Grimm: A Biography” ↗…feels better than his "The Lord of the Rings": The Simarillion leaves all the details out, it has little direct speech, and only mentions what's important. Its style is not as raw and authentic as in Grimm's fairy tales, or as in actual historical legends like King Arthur, but it gets close as times, mainly by avoiding the verbosity that is so common in all modern literature.
on “The Heroic Industry of the Brothers Grimm” ↗Very likely yes. I was very familiar with this story, and other "Arabian" tales, well before Disney made the original animated version. We also had Grimm's fairy tales, which I loved reading, and nowadays am reading to my daughter, to her delight. Yes, with beheadings and child-eating monsters and witches.
on “AI is just unauthorised plagiarism at a bigger scale” ↗Grimm's Fairy Tales also have had an important impact on your culture. No one is asking you to believe in anything, but it's self-limiting to refuse to engage with works of historical/cultural importance.
on “Magnifica Humanitas (Encyclical Letter)” ↗…Instrumentalities of the Night series by Glen Cook * The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glen Cook * Many HP Lovecraft stories which I hadn't already read (I bought HP Lovecraft Complete Fiction) * Grimm's Fairy Tales * Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius * Takeshi Kovacs series by Richard K. Morgan * A Fire in the Sun (Budayeen series) by George Alec Effinger * Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey…
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗Grimm's Fairy Tales are already watered downed versions of the originals, edited for the benefit of softer 19th century sensibilities. Darker material gives stories gravitas as well as putting the moral lessons in starker,…
on “A Survival Guide to Medieval Fairy Tales” ↗I've been split on this. On the one hand it is a bit unpleasant and can be traumatizing, and we tend to shy away from unpleasant things, but on the other hand lots of generations grew up on Grimm's Fairy Tales and Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales and learned a bit about how difficult life can be and the consequences of moral failings or lack of hard work. It is important to prepare children for the fact…
on “The original “Bambi”” ↗I've been reading Grimm's fairy tales, and a few of them (heck, most of them) leave me wondering why the heck people would tell that story. For instance, there's one called "The Turnip". There are two brothers, both soldiers. One is rich,…
on “The Elf on the Shelf is preparing your child to live in a future police state” ↗…sets the world to rights by the end. >>I only read stories to my kids that have good old-fashioned happy endings. >That's actually kind of a modern development, itself. Good point! Makes me think of Grimm's Fairy Tales, Aesop's Fables. Must take another look. (If I recall correctly these are moral tales rather than pessimism, however.)
on “The Rise of Dystopian Fiction” ↗Have you ever read any of the original Grimm’s Fairy Tales? They are gruesome. Cinderella’s step sisters cut off parts of their feet to fit into the slipper kind of gruesome. Children have been dealing with this kind of stuff for a long, long time. Life leaves…
I just bought Mary Oliver's Swan[1] and it's quite a great read. Also, I wrote a paper in grad school comparing the Brothers Grimm's Fairy Tales to Anne Sexton's Transformations[2] as Homer compared to Sappho, and they are a thauma widesthai, if you like Grimm stories reinterpreted by a slightly unstable Bostonian feminist. [1] http://www.amazon.com/Swan-Poems-Prose-Mary-Oliver/dp/080706...…
on “Crime Writer Makes a Killing With 99 Cent E-Books” ↗…that it mentions in the link. The crying is a bit convoluted, lions surely know a cub from a human. Plus I doubt the crying sounds the same to a lion. These fairy tales that come out of Africa are like Grimm's Fairy tales I guess, but having the BBC report on them.... How many girls were not saved by mystical lions....
on “Lions save girl from kidnappers (2005)” ↗