- Paperback: 800 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd; New edition edition (24 Jun 1982)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140062351
- ISBN-13: 978-0140062359
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.4 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 375,524 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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First Sentence
There was once a lad whom everyone called Dauntless Little John, since he was afraid of nothing. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
There was once a lad whom everyone called Dauntless Little John, since he was afraid of nothing. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the most astounding collections of folk tales ever, better, I would say, than the brothers Grimms'. The flavour of raw, hard peasant life comes through on every page, and very little imagination is needed to transport you back to 17th century taverns where story-tellers spellbound their listeners with these even more ancient stories of ogres, bandits, princes, witches, priests, kings and thieves. Some are ghost stories, meant to curdle the blood, while others are cheery tales of youngest daughters outwitting the bandits and marrying the prince that would charm any child. Some are witty, knowing tales of corrupt priests, or bandits competing with each other for title of best thief. They are all deeply moral, if sometimes heavy on the retribution and revenge. These are earthy, funny, tragic, witty tales which, best of all in my estimation, have not been "tidied up", censored for sex or violence, or otherwise bowdlerized. Whether for reading to children or out of academic anthropological interest, these cannot be beat.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Calvino, the consummate allegorical fantasist, set himself the task of collating and documenting what was hitherto an untapped source of oral folk tradition in his adopted homeland. What he discovered was an unsurpassed wealth of folk tales and moral parables, and according to the introduction to this amazing volume, he was soon "possessed by a kind of mania" for collecting and comparing the vast portfolio with which he was presented. What is eminently evident in this collection is the passion which he brings to the retelling of the 200 stories, gilded with his inimitable style and bearing all the hallmarks of his own longer fiction. With a sensitive and intelligent translation that loses none of the almost tactile language of the original, this is truly a modern European classic.
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Calvino's folktales are a wonderful assortment of simple stories. Make-believe for grown ups, most of the tales feature good v's evil, the trusting hero being outwitted by the evil sorcerer, only to rise again and marry the king's daughter- that kind of thing. The happiest book i`ve read.
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