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37+ Works 240 Membros 4 Críticas

Obras por Maggie Pearson

Owl Light (1996) 18 exemplares
Short And Shocking! (2002) 13 exemplares
Wanted One Body (2000) 6 exemplares
Rumpelstiltskin returns (2013) 6 exemplares
Dark of the Moon (1998) 5 exemplares
Room for One More (1995) 5 exemplares
A Slip in Time (Flashbacks) (2002) 4 exemplares
Short Christmas Stories (2013) 3 exemplares
Tales from Near and Far (1997) 3 exemplares
I Am Not A Frog (2019) 2 exemplares
Contes autour du monde (1997) 2 exemplares
Omega Seven (Hodder) (1999) 2 exemplares
Night People (1997) 2 exemplares
Le Seigneur des vents (1996) 1 exemplar
Dancing Stones (Solo) (2010) 1 exemplar
Sprookjes van overal (1997) 1 exemplar
Donnabella (Cheetahs) (1988) 1 exemplar
The Puddletown Dragon (1993) 1 exemplar

Associated Works

Marvellous Magical Stories (11-in-1) (2007) — Contribuidor — 5 exemplares

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Data de nascimento
1941
Sexo
female

Membros

Críticas

I wasn't sure about this one in the beginning; the first story was from Austria, called The Soldier's Bride, and it creeped me right the hell out. No way would I read it to my nieces until they were old enough to show a ghoulish delight in scary stories.

The rest of the collection was fantastic, a few real gems and no real clunkers. Some had clearly recognisable elements, but none of them tales I'd ever heard before.

A great find.
½
 
Assinalado
murderbydeath | 1 outra crítica | Jan 22, 2022 |
"Well,then,tomorrow is All Hallows Eve when the ghosts of dead men rise from their graves to walk among the living and witches ride the wind.Good people bolt their doors and keep the fire burning bright till morning."

In 1992, 12 countries of the European continent gathered in beautiful Maastricht and signed the European Treaty that would officially establish the European Union as we know it today and most importantly, the European Citizenship.What had started several decades ago was now ripe and ready to lead the European citizens to a new reality of shared aspirations, leaving the atrocities of the two World Wars behind.

The years passed and the family acquired more members,reaching the number 28.This beautiful anthology by Maggie Pearson includes 28 tales,each one belonging to the tradition and lore of every EU member.So,let's start our journey...

"The Soldier's Bride" from Austria - A haunting version of the well-known legend of the dead fiancé.
"The Traveller from Paradise"from Belgium- Well, it's not that difficult to confuse Paradise with Paris....
"The Fish That Flew and the Hare That Swam"from Bulgaria- When the ones we regard as mad are actually the only people who know best.
"The White Wolf"from Croatia- A beautiful version of the Selkie myth.
"Why Dogs Hate Cats"from Cyprus- Or why cats are majestic and sassy....
"The Mandrake Child"from the Czech Republic - A tale that is a mix between Pinocchio and the plant from The Little Shop of Horrors and yes, it is as crazy fun as it sounds.
"Peter Bull"from Denmark- Or what happens when we try to play it smarter than we should.
"The Three Sneezes"from Estonia- The funniest tale of the anthology with a hypochondriac protagonist who lied down waiting to die....
"The Fox and the Bear"from Finland- A tale that makes use of the beautiful nature of Finland.
"The Pope' s Mule"from France- This tale takes us back in the era of the two Popes. As if one wasn't enough....
"Mannikin Spannalong"from Germany- A cozy tale that brings the theme of women's independence into focus.
"The House of the Cats"from Greece- Let me busk in a moment of national pride here,because this story lends its title to Pearson's collection.This tale shows clearly how much we Greeks adore cats.
"The Magical Fiddle"from Hungary- When one has the chance to listen to the distinctive sound of the Hungarian violins (preferably in a traditional inn in Budapest), then it is understood that its music comes from the violinist's heart.
"Munachar and Manachar"from Ireland- Or how the Irish spirit is always an effective way to overcome traps.
"A Very Expensive Omelette"from Italy- A tale that reminded me of Portia from Shakespeare’s ‘’The Merchant Of Venice’’
"Misery"from Latvia- Lovely Latvia sends a clever tale that talks about persistence and social inequality.
"The Amber Princess"from Lithuania- Beautiful Lithuania takes pride in the quality of its amber and rightfully so.This tale reminded me of Wilde's story ''The Fisherman and His Soul.''
"Melusina"from Luxembourg- A sad,haunting version of the popular myth.
"The Happy Man"from Malta- A strange king who simply asked too much...
"Tyl Uilenspiegel, Painter"from the Netherlands- It's only natural to have a painter in focus when the tale comes from one of the most magical countries of Europe.
"The Glass Mountains"from Poland- Beautiful imagery in this lovely version of a famous tale.
"The River"from Portugal- A lovely,bittersweet myth.
"The Voice of Death"from Romania- An eerie,dark story.
"Violets in January"from Slovakia- The wintry story of the collection.With an evil stepmother nonetheless....
"The Most Beautiful Flower"from Slovenia- A beautiful tale that shows how spoiled princesses are taught a lesson of humility.
"Half-Chick"from Spain- An interesting story that explains the origins of the weathervane.
"Lars,my Lad"from Sweden- A Swedish kind of djinn that wasn't as clever as it should have been (unintentional rhyme success)....
"Tam Lin"from the United Kingdom - A tale of undying love and devotion that reminded me of ''The Snow Queen''.


The motto of the European Union is "In Varietate Concordia".There is a reason it was chosen to represent the members.The tales in the collection are diverse,each one bringing into focus certain characteristics of its homeland but without any traces of stereotypes."Ode To Joy" became our anthem.But these tales aren't all happy.Some are dark,some sad, some funny, others a bit weird, but isn't this what happens in every family in the world?Diversity and shared dreams bring us together and I can think of no better way to demonstrate this than through fairy tales and tradition.

Still,every tale has its darkest moments.In 2016, a member of the family decided to walk away.No relationship of any kind is ever easy.There are moments full of difficulties and strife, moments when bitter words are unreasonably exchanged and yet, the strong bonds that keep us united have the tendency to hold no matter the temporary tensions.Or do they? If nothing else,many of these tales show us that one person alone isn't able to turn the tide.Is walking alone a solution? Time will tell and History has taught us that we can create something special through unity and acceptance, no matter how mundane and detrimental it may sound.So, until Lady History provides some kind of answer to the question,we have collections like this one to look upon as an album full of photographs that remind us of a time when the family was together in combined diversity and unity....
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
AmaliaGavea | 1 outra crítica | Jul 15, 2018 |
Having previously read Winter's Tales and Girls,Goddesses and Giants by Lari Don, I was led to Maggie Pearson's collections of haunting tales from all over the world.I chose The House of the Cats and Ghosts and Goblins. The latter was my first choice,a collection of 25 tales from the four corners of our planet,with things that go bump in the night as their protagonists.

"The Moddey-dhoo":Coming from the haunting Isle of Man,a tale derived from the myth of the Hell hound.
"The Bride who Waited" :A heart-wrenching Native American tale.One of my favourites.
"The Vampire of Croylin Grange" :A story from England,with a few well-placed references to Wuthering Heights.
"Hold Him,Tubbs" :A tale from the South of the United States,with a very particular spook.
"The Grateful Dead" : A moving,haunting gypsy tale about the importance of kindness and honour in this world and the next.
"The Man of her Dreams" :A Nigerian story about a beautiful,spoiled girl and a mischievous spirit.
"Little Olle and the Troll" :A tale from Sweden in which we meet a cute,little,kind-hearted troll.
"Wungala" :The story of a brave mother and a rather ominous presence,coming from Australia.
"The Dauntless Girl" :A scary tale from Ireland,about a girl who played tricks with something she shouldn't have upset.
"The Ghost's Peso" :A funny story from Colombia in which a clever young woman tries to deal with her husband's ill choices.
"Jean-Loup" :When we combine chess,an old mill and wolves,what do we get? This lovely story from Canada.
"The Forest People" : A tale from New Zealand,about creatures who steal shadows.
"The Goblin Pong" :This tale from Brittany proves that we should all listen to grandma...
"The Haunting" :Now this story was CHILLING! I mean I got goose bumps when I finished it.It comes from the British Isles.
"Jacob and the Duppy" :The sixth sense of a donkey in a story coming from beautiful Jamaica.
"The Selkie's Revenge" :A haunting,sad tale from Scotland.
"As Cold as Clay" : A beautiful,tragic story of two lovers.From the United States of America.
"The Ghost on the Library" :A Chinese tale of a ghost who gets easily offended.
"Goldenhair" : From the beautiful,sunny island of Corsica, a story of a girl with golden hair and an evil suitor.
"The Werewolf's Bride" :From Spain, a story of dark secrets and evil intentions.
"The Hidden Hand" :A well-known Halloween urban legend from the USA.
"The River of Death" : A djinni tale from Morocco.
"The Cold Lady" : An eerie story with typical Japanese Horror elements.
"The Brownie Under the Bridge" :A Scottish tale of creatures lurking.
"A Room Full of Spirits" :A tale of troubled souls from Korea.

This is a wonderful collection of ghostly tales that are haunting,funny,tragic,full of premonitions and dark presences.Maggie Pearson succeeds in creating an ominous atmosphere in every tale before the reader reaches the great twist in the end.Highly recommended for all of us readers who enjoy being spooked by short yet powerful scary stories.Now,on to The House of the Cats !

… (mais)
 
Assinalado
AmaliaGavea | Jul 15, 2018 |
Looks like a good one for read-alouds during Halloween season!
 
Assinalado
rfewell | Jan 27, 2009 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
37
Also by
1
Membros
240
Popularidade
#94,569
Avaliação
4.1
Críticas
4
ISBN
77
Línguas
3

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