Fresh Press : Fairytales, Diverse Retellings and Indian Myths – Three Books

I love fairy tales and retellings. I am always in the hunt for books that feature age old loved fairy tales, myths and folk tales. One of my favourite book on fairytale retellings is New World Fairytales by Cassandra Parkin. It was so original and magical; the right kind of book to spend a whole day with.

Here are three new releases that talk about fairytales:

1.The Complete Fairytales by Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault needs no introduction. I have loved fairy tales since I was little. So I was extremely pleased to be gifted a cloth bound edition of Complete Fairytales collected by Charles Perrault from Oxford World Classics. The stories are translated by Christopher Betts and also includes his notes. The book had a wealth of information for fairy tale geeks like me. Something I really loved about the book was that it included stories in verse as well. It is such a fun moment to read them out loudly and be awed and nostalgic at the same time. Also I miss these old kind of poems where everything rhymes! The illustrations, sometimes spreading to two pages, were stunning to look at. It includes all old favourites like Little Red Riding Hood, Bluebear, Donkey Skin, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and more. This would be an ideal gift for children who love fairy tales and of course definitely a collector’s item for the book shelf.

2.A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman

This anthology was a whirl wind ride. It is a collection of reimagined folk tales edited by We Need diverse Books’ Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman. I loved that authors, not necessarily those from the same background/region have reimagined the folktales. There were many reimaginings of Indian epics though many of them disappointed me. But there were so many favourites in this collection that it was such a joy to read it. I have included only my favourite stories below.

-Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi
Roshani Chokshi reimagined a Filipino fairy tale. It is a love story about a goddess in love with a man. The story explores explores affection and ambition.

-Olivia’s Table by Alyssa Wong
This was one of my absolute favourites. It is a shame I have not read more by Wong. The story is set around the Chinese Hungry Ghost festival. The writing is beautiful and explores death of a young girl’s mother. It focusses on coming to terms with grief through food and somehow I was reminded of vague bits of Spirited Away.

-The Land of the Morning Calm by E. C. Myers
This was a gorgeous read and reminded me of The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan, a debut that really stood out in 2018. It is based around a video game which is central to Korean culture. Through themes of creativity, escapism and moving on, E. C. Myers explores grief.

– Steel Skin by Lori M. Lee

This was a fun sci-fic ride. It is about androids being no longer in use in a future world. The narrator has a doubts about her father and how their relationship has changed after the mother died. The climax is perhaps the best part of the story.

-Nothing into All by Renée Ahdieh
A girl trades goblin magic for a chance to study music. This makes her brother angry. A story about siblings, forgiveness, greed, retold from the Korean folktale, Goblin Treasure.

-Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar
Inspired by two stories from The Mahabharata – “Satyavan and Savitri” (one of my personal favourites among myths) and “Ganga and Shantanu”. I did feel a bit odd about ‘board exam references’ because it did not fit the vibe of the story. But it was a lovely read.

-The Crimson Cloak by Cindy Pon
The Crimson Cloak is based on the Chinese legend where two lovers are joined once every year through a bridge of magpies (It was one of my fav stories as a child but in a different version). The writing was beautiful and I felt so connected to the characters. The narrator takes control of the story and she is a very powerful one indeed. I loved it and it definitely deserves five stars.

-Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa
Julie Kagawa’s story is set in a small town and exploring the myths of Japanese fox/human shapeshifters.

-The Smile by Aisha Saeed
A feminist tale where Aisha Saeed gives a king’s courtesan the gift of choice. Based on the legend of a dancing girl called Anarkali who was a courtesan for King Akbar in the Mughal Empire and with whom Prince Saleem falls in love.

3.The Blue Lotus by Meena Arora Nayak

The Blue Lotus is a compiled volume of different folk tales and myths of India, ranging from one page each to several pages. It was a pleasure to revisit stories from Mahabharata, Jatakas, Panchatantra and many more. Princes, princesses, talking animals; this book is a very nostalgic read for Indians. The stories were divided by subsections such as The World is Created, Treachery, Greed, Friendship and so on. Another interesting book that comes to mind,  published by Aleph, is A Clutch of Indian Masterpieces edited by David Davidar. It remains one of my favourite books with good representation of stories from north and south India (It did not successfully represent north east India).

I enjoyed the Introduction to The Blue Lotus. As you know, folktales have several different versions; so Meena Arora has taken pains to tell the story that has glimpses of several different versions. There were many interesting tid bits in the Introduction section as well. Something I found very interesting was how political sentiments influence folk tales. There is a popular tale that the monkeys who helped Rama and Sita were reborn in the ‘white island’ and Queen Victoria is a rakshasi who comforted Sita and thus received a boon. The rakshasi was able to gain victory over other nations because of this boon and the reborn monkeys are the Britishers who later ruled over India. This might have been a tale narrated to find peace with how the Britishers colonized India.

This is a tricky book to talk about because on one hand I loved the many stories I grew up hearing and reading but on the other hand it might not be a universal collection of Indian folk tales. India being such a  vast country with a distinct culture in each state, it would be impossible to gather all the stories into a single book. The stories from the Bible, Quran and folk tales from North east India felt like a deliberate attempt for inclusivity of India’s religious diversity and political impartiality; as if the author is trying hard to say ‘But this is not only about Hindu myths, but Indian myths’ or ‘There are folk tales from all parts of the country without distinction’. But just like in real life political situations, these stories are few in number and side lined.

Speaking for Kerala, the Aitihyamala is a prominent book on folktales and includes stories of several legendary characters of the state. I was dissapointed not to see some of the famous legendary characters of the Aitihyamala in the collection. I assume, in the same manner, every state would have such collections of their culture. Meena Arora’s compendium remains vastly a collection of popular tales with a few other regional stories on the margins. But I admit it is an admirable collection of stories. The Blue Lotus is  definitely worth a buy for your shelf as you will find yourself reading these stories and being in awe of them every night.

Disclaimer : Much thanks to the publishers, Oxford World’s Classics (The Complete Fairytales) and Aleph (The Blue Lotus) for sending me the books. All opinions are my own.