This collection features the work of some of the most important yet overlooked folklorists on the Western world. These are tales that should be studies alongside those of the Grimms, Perrault, and Andersen. At last we have a complete translation of their work in English. It has been a long time coming and much overdue.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

I love things all Norwegian. I was drawn to this due to my heritage and I
Love reading folklore that incorporates this strong history!

An interesting collection of folktales that I had not encountered before. As with any collection of stories, the stories are of various quality. Some go on for too long, some I felt were too short, but all in all, they were interesting to read. What's interesting is to compare these stories to folktales that come from other parts of Europe, each region has their own sensibilities, and that is easily seen via these stories. I don't think it's a book that can be read in long sittings, rather, a story a day or two stories a day works best.

"The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe" will be a great addition to the SRP for 2020.

The stories collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe form one of the treasures of world folklore. In this newly translated, definitive edition we have these beloved tales -- such as East of the Sun and West of the Moon, The Three Billy Goats Gruff -- and others less well known, in a version that strives to preserve the spirit of the original. The translator's introduction is fascinating and enlightening, and as an appendix the introductions to the first four Norwegian editions are included for further research. A foreword by Neil Gaiman was not included in the review copy, but I'm sure it will also be excellent. This is a must-have edition for lovers of folktales.

Since I started reading the book "The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe I developed a significant interest in the fascinating collection of these amazing stories. I enjoyed Tiina Nunnally's ability to start with the background setting and explain the reason she presented an interest in the translation of these tales. The historical background related to 1841 and the explanation of the original methods to publish these stories displayed an insightful description of the efforts made to provide access to the book. The introduction chapter I enjoyed the most because it allowed me to gain an in-depth understanding of the method Tina used to present the stories to modern society again.

I learned from Tina's explanation regarding the misinterpretation of words after the first re-publication and how easy we can misunderstand words if not translated correctly. The story collections provide a wonderful insight into the Norwegian cultural landscape and people characteristics, I, therefore, most definitely will recommend a copy of this book to any reader. The book presents an amazing writing style and well edited approach.

Thank you for sharing these folktales! A very enjoyable collection of Norwegian folktales seamlessly translated. I read them in the evenings to my family to much enjoyment and discussion. We imagined it was the way they were first shared. This one is a must have for your folktale collection.

I'm a huge nerd for fairytales and especially for regional collections, because I love to compare how archetypes have travelled across different traditions. This collection of Norwegian tales is right up my street, and one I would be happy to add to my shelves in hardback. It's well-written and well-translated, and has a wide collection of stories laid out well.

I really enjoyed this book of folktales and will enjoy using them in the classroom with my learners.

Translator Tiina Nunnally first caught my attention in 2005 with her spectacular modern translations of the Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales which removed all the syrupy sweet Disney coating and looked at the astonishingly sharp lessons Andersen offered up to Danish children. (Witness the actual story of The Snow Queen, for instance, in all its Christian allusion.) As such, I was eager to review Nunnally's latest translation of folktales, modern translations of the much loved Norwegian Folktales collected over decades by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. From Ash Lad to Three Billy Goats Gruff, from three-headed trolls to twelve-headed ones, all the classics are here including my personal childhood favorite, "The Tabby Cat of Dovre Mountain." (If you've never that one, you should if you want a good laugh.) This is a beautiful edition of the folktales but alas, it is only at present available in hardcover. I'm still waiting for my copy because it looks as if the first printing may have sold out. If you are a lover of folktales, this is a wonderful edition. Nunnally's well-worded translations (she points out all the efforts translators make to capture the intent of the original in terms understood by modern readers.

The introduction written by Neil Gaiman was not made available in the Digital Review Copy I received, but many readers may recall his own recent foray into the Norse world, Norse Mythology. I'm eager to see what he has written about this classic collection.

Spin, span, spun- my review is done!


I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from UMP via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There's something for everyone in this fantastic collection of Norwegian Folktales. The translation from Norwegian is excellent. Everything is clear and never awkward. There are trolls and magic and all the things one expects from fairy tales. Truly a delight to read.

Fantastic little book of fairy tales with all the magical excitement you would want. Have already planned to buy copies to put in everyone's stockings at Christmas this year. Lovely! Trolls are a favourite of mine so this was a real treat. A must read for any fairy tale or folk tale fanatic.

A highly readable translation of tales that are both familiar and new to a reader who is familiar with the stories of Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimm brothers. It is a rich exercise to draw both comparisons and contrasts among the three sets of writers. The book would be a welcomed addition to nightly storytime for children, and at the same time it is worthy of an adult/scholarly look. The translator’s note at the beginning gives perspective and history to anyone looking to dig deeper into the book and it’s stories.

The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe
by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Jørgen Moe

Translated by Tiina Nunnally

Having loved Fairy Tales and Folk Tales for all of my life and having read them from many countries I was delighted to find this book up for review and now want to add it to my collection. In this book there is history about the original authors and how they collected the tales, the fact that the authors were influenced by Grimm and more.

As I read I saw tales that I remember reading as a child and others that reminded me, in part, of other fairy tales. The illustrations are marvelous. I believe this book is not only historical but relevant and educational and would allow for discussion in classes or between parents and children.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I buy? Yes, to add to my collection
Would I buy it to give as a gift? I think my granddaughters “might” enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and University of Minnesota Press for the ARC - This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Trolls, talking animals and a one-eyed woman. This new collection captures everyone I love about folktales. A little ridiculous, a little magical, all equally enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Orchi e troll, creature delle foreste, tesori, ragazzini brillanti e fratelli crudeli: le lande del Nord rivivono nelle fiabe e leggende che per centinaia di anni sono state tramandate dai loro abitanti, fra fiordi e ghiacci.

Raccolta ottocentesca che rivaleggia con il lavoro dei Fratelli Grimm, Norweegian folktales è qui arricchita da illustrazioni che non so se siano più inquietanti o più suggestive - come le leggende stesse.

Un baule dei tesori per chiunque sia appassionato di miti, fiabe e leggende o, semplicemente, sogni l'Aurora Boreale.

As a lover of fairytales and mythology, this book was right up my alley, packed full of trolls and princesses and talking animals. The book definitely had a Norwegian feel to it, and I couldn't help but think of this being read to children around a roaring fire with the snow falling heavily outside. The book feels more folktale than Brothers Grimm, and I loved the stories, almost all of which were new to me. This would be lovely to reread on a Winter night, and I'm looking forward to the darker months so I can do just that.

NOTE: I was provided with a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a cute book of folktales thats very much like what Hans Christian Anderson wrote. But it's full of 3 headed trolls, 6 headed trolls, and 9 headed trolls, which the Ash Lad had to take care of in order to win his princess. There was a blue ribbon that made the boy stronger than any troll. We had the boys work for their princesses by going 1000 miles, 2000 miles, and 4000 miles in one day. We had a lad changing into different horses to fool his master, eventually besting him. They had most of the stories with good endings. I only read one with a bad ending for the person. I would praise Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Moe as exceptional storytellers where you could read one or two or more a night to your children before they slept. There was meaning in most of the stories for the better.

I've never read a complete Grimm, or HC Andersen, or any of the other major collections of folkloric fairy tale. So I might find those as well to be a bit too patchy and plain weird at times for my tastes, while also providing some fun. This certainly can be called that – patchy, as some stories go on too long and some hardly ever get going; plain weird, for the stories that can outstay their welcome do so by including too any elements. Take 'The Three Princesses in White Land' as an example – a lad gets hidden from his fate when sold as a baby, then must ignore two lovely princesses buried up to their necks in sand, but, he is told (how is this even known?) to obey the third, who says how he is to defeat three trolls who beat him up first. Newly married he's given a condition to live by, fails to obey that rule, then uses a host of magical transport and magical people to find out where he should go to redeem himself – and there are still three bits of this to do this with and that for and ye gods is this a folk tale or a whole saga?

I've not come across such wilfully convoluted approaches in the more popular stories of this form. But there is still fun, as I say, not least in those entries here featuring Ash Lad, a down-on-his-luck character that's half Cinderella, half Struwwelpeter (oh, and the former gets to make a convoluted appearance in these pages). We also see the benefit of living the complete opposite to that guy who swapped a paper-clip up and up to a house. There is a clear comment to be made about this collection, in that the authors are so little-known worldwide as opposed to the others I mentioned at the top, and that may well be for obvious reasons. But that's not to denigrate this collection; it's been well put together, and even if my e-arc was done too early for Neil Gaiman's introduction you can see there is a bid to put these stories out there where they should belong. I think they do belong in a second rank, below the Grimms etc, but they're still readable, and the academic will be very grateful for this compilation – the first time ever the full sixty, presented by a vicar and a peat expert, have ever been together in English.

These are fun, bizarre Norwegian folktales - simply put. Asbjornsen and Moe were two nineteenth-century collectors of old Norwegian folklore who worked in tandem for most of their folk-telling careers; this is the first English translation of their complete folktales in more than 150 years.

The stories read like a mix of Grimm’s fairy tales, ancient etiological stories, and Greek myths. To me, they’re not the kind of myths that I would have enjoyed reading as a young girl - they’re filled with deception, mischief, murder (quite often), and other wild adventures - but I can see these being popular oral histories for kids of the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the myths tell tales of “Ash Lad,” the youngest of three sons who was so named because his older brothers said he was only good for digging in the ashes - but as you may expect, Ash Lad is a clever boy, finding novel solutions to problems that stump his older brothers. You’ll find all of the other folktale characters here - damsels in distress, tricky robbers, nasty Norwegian trolls, wise and prophetic old women or men, all set against Norway’s forests and mountains.

Reading the introductory note from the translator gives you a sense of how daunting it must have been to translate these stories - not did Nunnally have to translate from old Norwegian, but she strived to maintain the same simple narrative style that Asbjornsen and Moe used, filled with humor, alliteration, and repetition. She also updated the dialogue to make it less archaic, but still reflective of the homely characters in the stories. Some of Nunnally’s efforts don’t fully succeed, but I was impressed anywhere I could get even a glimpse of the humor and mischief that was present in the original Norwegian tales.

Overall, an entertaining and fun read if you were the kind of kid who enjoyed fairy tales or the kind of high-schooler who enjoyed the Greek epics. Thank you to University of Minnesota Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy.