Throughout history mankind has used to myths, stories – if you will – to explain the inexplicable, to retell events that are monumental or to drive home lessons that desperately need to be learned. Some of these were in the form of pictures (cave drawings,) some set to music, still others were passed down orally and told and retold through each generation, across lands and waters and continents and generations. It is how mankind has learned. It is how we have adapted.

In “More Than True,”  poet Robert Bly surmises that fairy tales have been a way for man to learn very valuable tools of civilization. Using the ideas of philosophers as varied as Kierkegaard to Carl Jung, as well as interspersing his own poetry throughout the book, Bly closely examines six well known tales, such as The Frog Prince, and looks deeper at their hidden meaning.

At this juncture, if the reader is not familiar with Bly and his work, it might be good to note that he is the leader – the Leader – of the mythopoetic men’s movement. This is the movement that suggested that “men” had lost their masculinity due to the industrial revolution, the five day work week and the feminist movement. In order for these wayward, lost men to regain their masculinity they had to go to sweat lodges, retreats (male only of course) and drum circles. Yes. That’s correct.

This movement is important to this review for two reasons: First, his primary supposition is correct. There is wisdom in fairy tales. Anyone who has studied the “flood narrative” that most have read in the Bible, knows that it is found in every civilization, in every culture, throughout time, although few include Noah or an ark. If you’ve ever said the children’s poem, “Ring Around the Roses,” then you have told the story of the Bubonic Plague which was told and retold through stories, myths and even in rhyme. So the premise is correct. However, the poems that Bly has chosen has been carefully done so in order to further his errant beliefs regarding this men’s movement. He uses the hierarchy of needs by Carl Jung to prop up his own ideas of masculinity when Jung was an existentialist who couldn’t have cared less about gender issues.

All of that to say and explain why this book was fascinating and frustrating and a complete failure for me as a psychology major and as an historian. I absolutely do not recommend this book. The very last thing this world needs is more men sitting around a circle getting hyped up on testosterone and beating drums!

The book tries to explain the hidden meanings in six popular fairy tales. Dull and underwhelming........

More than True by Robert Bly is a book that examines six fairy tales and there relevance today. It also shows us hidden meaning in these fairy tales as well. If you like fairy tales or want to know their meaning I would recommend this.

The esteemed poet Robert Bly plumbs the depths of six fairy tales in an attempt to illuminate their archetypal human truths.

This book and I got off to a shaky start, and though it ultimately recouped a second star, I can't in good conscience say that I liked it. Each chapter starts off with a lovely summary of a fairy tale, most not widely known. Then Mr. Bly shares his interpretation, frequently highly personal in nature and amplified by his own poetry. I wish that the personal aspect of the book had been played up and the "basic human truths" part downplayed because these interpretations struck me as highly idiosyncratic.

The first tale is "Six Swans." An evil stepmother transforms her six stepsons into swans, and to break the curse, their sister must weave them six shirts of starwort in six years, all the while not speaking or laughing. In the meantime a king falls in love with her and marries her, and her mother-in-law tries to frame her for filicide. She is on the brink of being burned at the stake when she finishes the last shirt, breaks the spell, and can finally defend herself.

So far, so good. But then Mr. Bly sallies forth with his interpretation, in which we are to view each person in the story as facets of a single male consciousness that, in part owing to a corrupting motherly influence, has devolved into perpetual irresponsible boyhood. The sister is the part of the male consciousness that must be purified by way of muteness and artistic creation: forget the shirts—she's really a poet!

If the above interests you, you might like this book better than I did. If you think the above is ridiculous, come sit by me. In particular the denial of gender upset me: our heroic sister, clearly the protagonist of the tale, who sacrificed so much and in some ways revealed some pretty fundamental feminine truths, is really just the poetic potential of a male ego. And why, oh why, must writers see in everything a metaphor for writing?

Granted, the first fairy tale was the most problematic of the bunch for me. Later in the book, I was sometimes touched by Mr. Bly's strivings and musings; I was intrigued by how this book illuminates the male ego, and I'd welcome the chance to learn more about Mr. Bly's own life. But these were diamonds in the rough, and there was quite a bit of rough.

More Than True: The Wisdom of Fairy Tales is a detailed look at six fairytales. Bly is an American poet, essayist, activist, and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His most commercially successful book to date was Iron John: A Book About Men a key text of the mythopoetic men's movement, which spent 62 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. He won the 1968 National Book Award for Poetry for his book The Light Around the Body.

Throughout history, stories have been used as entertainment, to keep history alive, and to embellish praise on leaders and heroes. Stories were set to rhythm by use of meter or beat. Later stories were told by bards and set to music. Religions used oral traditions to carry on the beliefs. No one recorded the actual words of deities or even the actual teachings of Buddha. Word of mouth and oral traditions were how stories were kept alive.

We look at fairy tales and even nursery rhymes and find out there is much more to them. Baa Baa Black Sheep was about a wool tariff. Sleeping Beauty is a tale of rape in the 17th Century Italian version of the story. The original versions of Little Red Riding Hood did not have a happy ending for Red. So many of our favorite tales are actually pretty violent and not the happy endings we know. These tales were more for adults than children. What if there is a deeper meaning in fairy tales and their symbolism.

Bly looks at six fairy tales in this books and examines their meaning and symbolism. Of the five stories used I was only familiar with The Frog Prince. The examination of the tales ties them to earlier versions and earlier symbolism, sometimes going back to ancient Egypt. Since stories are oral traditions they mixed and intermingled with other similar stories that carried more meaning. What may seem like a stretch at times is actually researched and well connected to other stories. Very well done, but perhaps a much deeper look at fairy tales than one would expect. Enjoyable, but be warned it is a scholarly work and not light reading.

Available March 27, 2018

Robert Bly takes us on a journey through six fairy tales. Shining a light on the tales themselves and why they are still popular and relevant. Each tale is taken apart, studied and viewed through the eyes of not only Bly but several great thinkers. 

These fairy tales are timeless. And magic and Bly always gives us something to delve deeper into and discover a new meaning to them.

As always, it is my pleasure to read Mr. Bly.

Netgalley/ March 27th 2018 by Henry Holt and Co.

One man’s interpretation of the hidden meanings in fairy tales. Fans of Robert Bly might enjoy this book. I did not. I found it very difficult to follow much less to understand. Mr. Bly dug very deeply to come up with this one. I felt the poetry was very distracting from the purpose of the book as well.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I have always read fairy tales and I found the in depth analysis of the fairy tales in this book to be very interesting. The author picks several good fairy tales, I enjoyed reading all of them. While discussing each one he talks about the importance of different characters and animals and adds poetry of his own and others to add to the points he makes. If you enjoy fairy tales I think you will find this an interesting read.