#The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe

[now-winter-comes-slowly]

Content warning: this is very much the Devil of folklore, and not an impish little red guy. These stories are not suitable for children.

These tales come from The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe, in new translations by Simon Roy Hughes and Juergen Hubert, read by Rory of Varietal Lit.

[kerflooey]

answer these and tag nine others!

last song: tolerate it, taylor swift currently reading: the complete and original norwegian folktales of asbjørnsen and moe - translated by tina nunnally, dubliners - james joyce, the hard life - flann o'brien,dark days - james baldwin currently watching: good omens and our flag means death on a loop currently craving: the sushi i bought for dinner later last movie: love leads the way (1984)

tagged by: @historiavn tagging: everyone who comes accross this just do it!

[skaldish]

Today I received a copy of The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen & Moe, and this is the most delight I've felt for a book related to my practice in ages.

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe

by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Jørgen Moe

Translated by Tiina Nunnally

Having loved Fairy Tales and Folk Tales for all of my life and having read them from many countries I was delighted to find this book up for review and now want to add it to my collection. In this book there is history about the original authors and how they collected the tales, the fact that the authors were influenced by Grimm and more.

As I read I saw tales that I remember reading as a child and others that reminded me, in part, of other fairy tales. The illustrations are marvelous. I believe this book is not only historical but relevant and educational and would allow for discussion in classes or between parents and children.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes

Would I buy? Yes, to add to my collection

Would I buy it to give as a gift? I think my granddaughters “might” enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and University of Minnesota Press for the ARC  - This is my honest review.

5 Stars

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44803703-the-complete-and-original-norwegian-folktales-of-asbj-rnsen-and-moe

Description                                                            

A new, definitive English translation of the celebrated story collection regarded as a landmark of Norwegian literature and culture

The extraordinary folktales collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe began appearing in Norway in 1841. Over the next two decades the publication of subsequent editions under the title Norske folkeeventyr made the names Asbjørnsen and Moe synonymous with Norwegian storytelling traditions. Tiina Nunnally’s vivid translation of their monumental collection is the first new English translation in more than 150 years—and the first ever to include all sixty original tales.

Magic and myth inhabit these pages in figures both familiar and strange. Giant trolls and talking animals are everywhere. The winds take human form. A one-eyed old woman might seem reminiscent of the Norse god Odin. We meet sly aunts, resourceful princesses, and devious robbers. The clever and fearless boy Ash Lad often takes center stage as he ingeniously breaks spells and defeats enemies to win half the kingdom. These stories, set in Norway’s majestic landscape of towering mountains and dense forests, are filled with humor, mischief, and sometimes surprisingly cruel twists of fate. All are rendered in the deceptively simple narrative style perfected by Asbjørnsen and Moe—now translated into an English that is as finely tuned to the modern ear as it is true to the original Norwegian.

Included here—for the very first time in English—are Asbjørnsen and Moe’s Forewords and Introductions to the early Norwegian editions of the tales. Asbjørnsen gives us an intriguing glimpse into the actual collection process and describes how the stories were initially received, both in Norway and abroad. Equally fascinating are Moe’s views on how central characters might be interpreted and his notes on the regions where each story was originally collected. Nunnally’s informative Translator’s Note places the tales in a biographical, historical, and literary context for the twenty-first century.

The Norwegian folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe are timeless stories that will entertain, startle, and enthrall readers of all ages.