The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, Lily Owens

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Book Reviews of The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales

Book Review: Beautifully embroidered, melancholy tales
Summary: 4 Stars

It is ironic that Andersen did not consider his fairy tales very important. He wanted to be a "serious" writer and worked much harder on his real projects; plays, novels, poetry, travel books and autobiographies. Those works are largely forgotten while his fairy tales not only live on, but have permeated our culture. Our thinking and even our speech are peppered with references to his stories. The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid and The Red Shoes come to mind.

Do be forewarned that not all of the stories have happy endings and some are really terribly sad. Andersen did not have an easy life. His father died when he was eleven and his existence was rather joyless for a long time after that. He left home at fourteen and wandered about trying different lines of work unsuccessfully until finally, after years of struggle and hardship, he was noticed by important people and gained acceptance. Perhaps the darker images in his writings spring from his own difficult years.

Oddly enough, my own children are especially intrigued by the sadder tales. In our time, we shelter children so from any tinge of melancholy. Their interest and the fact that enormous crowds are flocking to see Titanic, an undeniably tragic story, has caused me to wonder if there is a need in the human psyche to tiptoe a bit around the edges of pathos. Hans Christian Andersen's stories are like small beautifully wrapped gifts, but he leaves a few sad little loose ends so they don't always tie up into perfect !packages.

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