Book 33: Fearie Tales: Stories of the Grimm and Gruesome by Stephen Jones
Book 33: Fearie Tales: Stories of the Grimm and Gruesome.
Author: Edited by Stephen Jones, Illustrated by Alan Lee with various contributors, 2013.
Genre: Fairy Tales - Classic and Re-told. Horror. Fantasy.
Other Details: Hardback. 430 pages.
Two hundred years ago two brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm, collected together a large selection of folk and fairy tales and published them as 'Kinder- und Hausmärchen' (Children’s and Household Tales). So successful was the first collection of 88 stories that they kept adding more to subsequent editions. Since then, the tales of the Brothers Grimm have been translated into upwards of a hundred different languages and are known and loved throughout the world. Now award-winning editor Stephen Jones has tasked some of the brightest and best horror writers in Britain, America and Europe with reinterpreting some of the traditional Hausmärchen, putting a decidedly darker spin on the classic stories. - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
This collection places each Grimm tale before the contribution by a prominent writer, which re-imagines the story. The fifteen authors invited to contribute include Neil Gaiman, Joanne Harris, Tanith Lee, Ramsey Campbell, Christopher Fowler, Brian Lumley, Garth Nix, and John Ajvide Lindqvist.
Stephen Jones' Introduction sets the scene giving some background on the Grimm tales and how the anthology was conceived. He also noted the recent interest in the darker side of the Grimm tales as expressed in the TV series Once Upon a Time and Grimm and films such as Hansel and Gretel: Witch-Hunters.
Most of the stories stood out for me and provided some genuinely hair-raising and gruesome moments. Only one story fell flat for me. The Grimm stories included reminded me of the power of the source material.
Alan Lee's black and white illustrations sprinkled throughout the text were brilliant with special mention for his haunting cover painting.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.