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A review by hazelalaska
The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
As is usual with these sorts of story collections, it was a mixed bag as to ones that I liked versus ones I didn't like. It was essentially split in half for me, with 19 out of the 36 stories being ones I liked, and 17 being ones I wasn't a huge fan of. I've found I can't read straight through these, since I tend to get bored sometimes. The stories can get repetitive if they are very similar, and it does feel like half the stories in these books are variations on the same few tropes. I can't always put my finger on it, but I do end up thinking to myself that I've read a version of that story before. Sometimes there are even variations of the same story within the same book. For example, in this one, The Hairy Man and The Gold-Bearded Man are, from what I recall, pretty much the same story, just with a few different elements. I'm not exactly sure how Lang compiled these and decided which stories to include, but one would think he would try to make it so the stories weren't too similar in order to give some variety.
Favorites:
The Prince Who Would Seek Immortality
Good:
To Your Good Health!
The Boy Who Could Keep a Secret
The Prince and the Dragon
Little Wildrose
Tiidu the Piper
Paperarelloo
The Gifts of the Magician
The Strong Prince
The Treasure Seeker
The Stone-Cutter
The Gold-Bearded Man
The Three Robes
Eisenkopf
The Death of Abu Nowas and of His Wife
Niels and the Giants
The Story of the Sham Prince, or the Ambitious Tailor
The Colony of Cats
How to Find Out a True Friend
Okay:
Lucky Luck
The Hairy Man
The Story of the Seven Simons
The Cottager and His Cat
Tritill, Litill and the Birds
How the Beggar Boy Turned into Count Piro
The Rogue and the Herdsman
Motiratika
Shepherd Paul
The Crab and the Monkey
The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder
Clever Maria
The Magic Kettle
Didn't like:
Lovely Ilonka
The Language of Beasts
The Six Hungry Beasts
How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished
Favorites:
The Prince Who Would Seek Immortality
Good:
To Your Good Health!
The Boy Who Could Keep a Secret
The Prince and the Dragon
Little Wildrose
Tiidu the Piper
Paperarelloo
The Gifts of the Magician
The Strong Prince
The Treasure Seeker
The Stone-Cutter
The Gold-Bearded Man
The Three Robes
Eisenkopf
The Death of Abu Nowas and of His Wife
Niels and the Giants
The Story of the Sham Prince, or the Ambitious Tailor
The Colony of Cats
How to Find Out a True Friend
Okay:
Lucky Luck
The Hairy Man
The Story of the Seven Simons
The Cottager and His Cat
Tritill, Litill and the Birds
How the Beggar Boy Turned into Count Piro
The Rogue and the Herdsman
Motiratika
Shepherd Paul
The Crab and the Monkey
The Horse Gullfaxi and the Sword Gunnfoder
Clever Maria
The Magic Kettle
Didn't like:
Lovely Ilonka
The Language of Beasts
The Six Hungry Beasts
How the Wicked Tanuki was Punished