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Title: Classic Celtic Fairy Tales by John Matthews, Ian Daniels ISBN: 0-7137-2783-7 Publisher: Sterling Publishing Pub. Date: 30 June, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: Wonderful
Comment: This collection of "fairy tales" is unlike any of the softened stories Disney is so fond of, like "Sleeping Beauty" and "Beauty and the Beast." This is, of course, not to say that our popular fairy tales are not lots of fun, but within THIS collection, you will find not only love, magic, and heroic quests, but also the unexpected, the bizarre, the grotesque, and -- in truly Celtic fashion -- an undercurrent of sorrow in many tales. Collected from old journals and books of folklore for the most part long out of print, each story is told in "original" wording whenever that is possible, with only the most necessary revisions, and in this John Matthews has done an excellent job keeping the Celtic Otherworld authentic while making it accessible to a modern -- and largely urban -- consciousness.

This book is listed in the children's section (and indeed it would make good reading with your child), but I have read each tale many times by myself and love them all (though I love especially the one about the old eagle, and the one about the fisherman who hunts seals until the seals take him down to their watery home to show him the pain he has wrought, and then teach him how to fix it.) Many of the stories ramble -- in what, from this and other readings, I have come to think of as a peculiarly Celtic way -- and they deal with death and loss, marriage and family, strange vows and impossible quests in sometimes confusing and unexpected ways, but this is no barrier to enjoyment, and indeed provides plenty of food for thought when you put the book down. "Morals" are not so clear cut as in our popular tales, and sometimes they are deeply buried or completely foreign to us. In this, they serve to teach us much about Celtic cultures and consciousness -- a valuable lesson for those with Celtic ancestry, an interest in Celtic scholarship, or belief systems based upon an old Celtic model.

All of this alone would make a wonderful book, but there is even more. On top of the complex beauty of the tales, the book includes strange but lovely paintings by Ian Daniels (one or two to a story - the one on the cover is my favorite) that add to the mood as you read. Indeed, a cold night, a crackling fire, and an ancient tale from this book are all that is needed to conjure a shadow of the Otherworld right into your living room.

Rating: 5
Summary: Really Good
Comment: This story of fairy tales from the celts is very good. It has wonderful illistrtions and owinspiring storys. Anyone who is interastined in fairy tales and the celts is going to love this story. Please read this you will love it!

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