Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

Summary:

GET INSIDE GRIMM.

NBC’s hit television series Grimm pits modern detective Nick Burkhardt of the Portland Police against a cast of terrifying villains—lifted directly from the pages of classic fairytales. In the world of the show, the classic stories are actually a document of real events, and Nick himself is descended from a long line of guardians, or Grimms, charged with defending humanity from the mythological creatures of the world.

From The Big Bad Wolf to Sleeping Beauty, The Mythology of Grimm explores the history and folkloric traditions that come into play during Nick’s incredible battles and investigations—tapping into elements of mythology that have captured our imaginations for centuries.

Review:

Just before the return of season four of Grimm this fall, The Mythology of Grimm: The Fairy Tale and Folklore Roots of the Popular TV Show by author Nathan Robert Brown came to us fans in waiting.  The author and mythologist, Brown, helps us understand from where the idea of Grimm comes from, the popular and long lasting children books of the Brothers Grimm; and like the show says, actual Grimms.

As a fan of Grimm, you must think “I know all the Wesen so far,” if that’s true, then you are a hard-core fan and you know what a Dickfelling, a Siegbarste, a Mauvais-Dantes, and a Zauberbiest is.  If not, there is no need to worry, the book comes with a glossary of the Wesen from season one and two, and another one with a glossary with terminologies that the show uses.

The author, Nathan Robert Brown, retells stories from the Grimm Brothers Kinder-und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales) and Charles Perrault’s Histoires ou contes du temps pause, avec des moralités (Tales and Stories from the past, with Morals) or Tales of Mother Goose. Some of these stories are the ones that the writers of the show use in the first season and are the most popular among children.

Speaking of children, author Nathan Robert Brown encourages readers to first read the book themselves before trying to read it to their children, this is because he uses the original work stories, and with the passing of the time those stories water down to suit children by taking away the accidents, blood, and morals.

In his retelling, Brown inserted funny and sarcastic comments in the precise moments needed, something that I really liked and made me laugh while reading the stories. His way of writing is more like he is telling you the tales personally in a normal conversation.

From the book I also liked that like in the show they use myth of other parts of the world outside the German tales and the author makes time to also retell some of these stories, like La Llorona, Lowen, Murcielago, and others.

If you are a fan of Grimm and would like to read from where the show get their ideas, I recommend you to read The Mythology of Grimm: The Fairy Tale and Folklore Roots of the Popular TV Show, you will have a fun time and relieve those stories that were once told when you were young, also if you like to read the original stories the book has a bibliography for further reading of folklore tales.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*