2023 EDIT: Part of my 2023 clear-up, of books I no longer like, or am no longer interested in, or remember well as standing out, or find as special anymore, or I otherwise will not miss.
[I think I have finally outgrown this series and fandom, and I can no longer in good conscience support it, thanks to She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. My once-love of the franchise has turned sour; I am disenchanted, disinterested, and I can't look at it fondly anymore. I will always have the memories, but not the books.]
Final Score: 4/5
Original Review:
Harry Potter Reviews
My 'Harry Potter' month isn't quite over yet!
'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' is the book collection of wizard fairy tales mentioned in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows', and which becomes a plot point. Now 'Harry Potter' fans can read for themselves these wonderful and bizarre tales which are the wizard's equivalent to our own fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson.
I got this for £1 at a charity shop, and it is a 100-page delight.
J.K. Rowling did write 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' for a children's charity, in fact. And once more her imagination, wit and observations of human nature show no bounds. The little book includes an introduction by Ms Rowling herself - treating the commentator Albus Dumbledore like a real person, as well as the stories: 'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot', 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune', 'The Warlock's Hairy Heart', 'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump', and 'The Tale of the Three Brothers'. At the end of each story is a section of "notes" and analyses by the famous Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.
Each tale has magic being used for good and for finding good solutions to problems, as opposed to our own traditional fairy tales where magic is always cast by a wicked sorcerer or sorceress, and only exists to enable harm. (Although lessons are taught about how magic can cause as much trouble and pain as pleasure and convenience, and that it should be performed with the greatest responsibility). They also feature active heroines with individual personalities, brilliant humour, darkness, and the moral of "not everything is as it seems". They each contain subtle messages of love and tolerance to all living creatures, which Dumbledore explains in detail in his notes.
'The Wizard and the Hopping Pot' is perhaps the least enjoyable and most morally-questionable of the tales, although I love Dumbledore's notes afterwards, and this line, 'Mrs Bloxam's tale has met the same response from generations of wizarding children: uncontrollable retching, followed by an immediate demand to have the book taken from them and mashed into pulp' - Page 18.
I think 'The Fountain of Fair Fortune' is my favourite of the tales: great characters, great adventure, and with a great message about finding self-confidence in any situation, as long as you keep believing and trying in order to achieve your dreams. No wonder Dumbledore says it is a favourite among wizards and performed in pantomimes constantly; it is the best written of the lot.
'The Warlock's Hairy Heart' is undoubtedly the darkest of Beedle's tales, with a tragic ending, and a message about the price for seeking invulnerability and everything desirable yet unattainable. Coldness, intolerance and heartlessness only lead to loneliness and despair.
'Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump' is a fun little story, with a clear anti-monarchy (in the Muggle world, that is) agenda, and which most incorporates the magic spells used in the 'Harry Potter' series.
The final tale by Beedle the Bard is 'The Tale of the Three Brothers' and is the most relevant because it's where the story of the Deathly Hallows comes from: so it plays a vital role in the final 'Harry Potter' book. It is where the Elder Wand, the Resurrection Stone and the Invisibility Cloak all came from; all three things will turn out to be real in 'Harry Potter' and are important plot devices in Harry's adventures. The second darkest tale, 'The Three Brothers' is about the price and folly of mastering Death itself. For no matter how greatly both wizards and we, Muggles, fear death, it is inevitable, and no magic or trickery can sidestep or overcome it. This will become Lord Voldemort's downfall and one of the reasons for why he is, ultimately, his own worst enemy; because of his refusal to except that nothing and no one is immortal. I wonder if J.K. Rowling got the idea of using brothers in the story from the Grimm Brothers...
'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' is a continuously funny, charming, clever and dark little read, and a must for 'Harry Potter' fans. Internet Witch in-training Artemis Crescent fully recommends these fairy tales and their written commentaries.
Final Score: 5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment