Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov (Penguin Classics)

Great set of stories, and short essays to place the work in cultural context.

Absolutely fantastic collection of tales that includes both original Russian folk tales collected by Russian folklorists and ethnographers, and Russian folk tales retellings (or "reworkings") by such masters as Aleksandr Pushkin, Pavel Petrovich Bazhov, or Nadezhda Teffi. Each section is preceded by a biographical note about the author, and the whole collection also includes a bibliography and comments on alternate versions. Definitely worth reading!

These fairy tales have no more violence than any regular fairy tales for children. I love this book. It introduces a magic world of Russian fairy tales written by famous classic Russian writers to English speaking readers.

Good reading. I liked the way Mr. Chandler divided the stories by author interpretations and selectivity, also providing some alternative versions of the stories presented. The backgrounds of the author interpreters was also fascinating.

Book cover and two pages were torn. As theses were gifts I felt embarrassed to give this book. Ordered new got secondhand or just damaged book.

This volume serves at several levels, and all are richly rewarding. The Magic Tales can be read simply for their stories, but with Robert Chandler's expert guidance they also become an introduction to Russian folk tales, their collection from the early nineteenth century onwards and their assimilation and adaptation by classic writers. Then again, for those already seriously engaged in the study of folk tales, oral storytelling, or the sources used by writers ranging 'from Pushkin to Platonov', there is much here to augment and advance their studies.Most of us have been familiar since childhood with stories involving princes, princesses, kings, queens, witches, wicked stepmothers, simple peasants and creatures that speak and/or help out in various ways. Here, for prince we read tsarevich; for princess, tsarevna; for king, tsar; for queen, tsaritsa; and for witches, baba yagas. But, having done that, we will still be surprised by the originality of most of these stories. Some have features in common, but they are not simply Hansel and Gretel, Puss in Boots, Jack and the Beanstalk and their ilk all over again.For those unfamiliar with Baba Yaga, she is likely to be most interesting of all. Mostly she is an unattractive, elderly woman, who lives alone (with a cat) in a strange house on the edge of a forest. She likes to eat human flesh, and has a fence made of human bones, topped with skulls, with an obvious space for one more skull....!! When she travels, she sits or stands in a mortar, propelling and steering it with a pestle, sweeping away her tracks with a broom. But then we come to 'The Tsar Maiden' and find a succession of three baba yagas, each living separately and at some distance from her sisters. Furthermore, they are intentionally helpful to the hero of the story. By the time we finish the book - and have read Sibelan Forrester's Appendix - we have formed a definite picture of the conventions within which baba yagas operate and are aware that there are quite as many differences as there are similarities to Western witches.Some of the stories are suitable for children, but many are not. They deal with adult concerns, hopes and difficulties. Yet they are not filled-out with the realistic detail that we normally expect of even the shortest of stories. This would seem to be because of their origin as stories related and passed-on by word of mouth - generally to unsophisticated audiences. As we read the oral tales collected by Aleksandr Afanasyev (1826-71), the magic of this form of communication comes across just as powerfully as the magic in the stories.Afanasyev came a little later than the Brothers Grimm (and Charles Perrault's Tales of Mother Goose), but can be seen as their Russian equivalent. Many of the stories in this collection that come after Afanasyev owe something to him, some a great deal. Pushkin, however, surprises yet again with his genius for originality. The two tales in verse with which the book opens pre-date Afanasyev and were collected by Pushkin himself from his childhood nurse - who was and remained a serf.

As we were in the final stages of editing our forthcoming issue of  Chtenia - Readings from Russia , themed "Dark and Scary" (comprised of tales of vampires, witches and other nefarious characters), I noted that all the tales, in addition to being <em>strashilki</em> (scary stories), were tales of transformation. It turns out my observation was neither new or profound. As Robert Chandler begins his introduction to this fine new collection of tales:The magic tale... is remarkably adaptable. Transformation is its central theme, and the tales themselves seem capable of almost infinite transformation.Now, to some degree, one could say that all fiction is about transformation, if not of the protagonist and his world, then of the reader. Yet this is a useful hook to hang this collection upon, and it does help in getting at what these stories are about, what their role was in Russian culture more widely.Tales of this sort were usually told for the lessons they taught and, as Chandler notes, magic tales were not told lightly, for the spirits were felt to be listening.Today we are of course far more enlightened. We can just sit back and enjoy the magic tales in this volume without the baggage of culture and superstition. And enjoy them we should. Magic tales are by definition quests, journeys, initiations, and thus filled with adventure, unlikely turns of luck and fate, and surprising endings. In a word, enjoyable diversions. Truly, who cannot be tempted to finish a story that starts "Once there was a tsar, a tsar who always did as he pleased and who lived in a country as flat as a tablecloth."Finally, it should be noted that these translations are new, fresh, and of the highest quality. Not as that should surprise us when Chandler is behind the translator's keyboard. But it is always worth mentioning.As reviewed in  Russian Life  magazine.

Magical!

This volume serves at several levels, and all are richly rewarding. The Magic Tales can be read simply for their stories, but with Robert Chandler's expert guidance they also become an introduction to Russian folk tales, their collection from the early nineteenth century onwards and their assimilation and adaptation by classic writers. Then again, for those already seriously engaged in the study of folk tales, oral storytelling, or the sources used by writers ranging 'from Pushkin to Platonov', there is much here to augment and advance their studies.Most of us have been familiar since childhood with stories involving princes, princesses, kings, queens, witches, wicked stepmothers, simple peasants and creatures that speak and/or help out in various ways. Here, for prince we read tsarevich; for princess, tsarevna; for king, tsar; for queen, tsaritsa; and for witches, baba yagas. But, having done that, we will still be surprised by the originality of most of these stories. Some have features in common, but they are not simply Hansel and Gretel, Puss in Boots, Jack and the Beanstalk and their ilk all over again.For those unfamiliar with Baba Yaga, she is likely to be most interesting of all. Mostly she is an unattractive, elderly woman, who lives alone (with a cat) in a strange house on the edge of a forest. She likes to eat human flesh, and has a fence made of human bones, topped with skulls, with an obvious space for one more skull....!! When she travels, she sits or stands in a mortar, propelling and steering it with a pestle, sweeping away her tracks with a broom. But then we come to 'The Tsar Maiden' and find a succession of three baba yagas, each living separately and at some distance from her sisters. Furthermore, they are intentionally helpful to the hero of the story. By the time we finish the book - and have read Sibelan Forrester's Appendix - we have formed a definite picture of the conventions within which baba yagas operate and are aware that there are quite as many differences as there are similarities to Western witches.Some of the stories are suitable for children, but many are not. They deal with adult concerns, hopes and difficulties. Yet they are not filled-out with the realistic detail that we normally expect of even the shortest of stories. This would seem to be because of their origin as stories related and passed-on by word of mouth - generally to unsophisticated audiences. As we read the oral tales collected by Aleksandr Afanasyev (1826-71), the magic of this form of communication comes across just as powerfully as the magic in the stories.Afanasyev came a little later than the Brothers Grimm (and Charles Perrault's Tales of Mother Goose), but can be seen as their Russian equivalent. Many of the stories in this collection that come after Afanasyev owe something to him, some a great deal. Pushkin, however, surprises yet again with his genius for originality. The two tales in verse with which the book opens pre-date Afanasyev and were collected by Pushkin himself from his childhood nurse - who was and remained a serf.

This is a beautiful collection of tales, covering a great range of styles from the very traditional to more contemporary works that draw heavily on traditional themes. Chandler clearly loves this field and has provided wonderfully comprehensive notes as well as useful short biographies of the authors included. The translations are (as far as a non-reader of Russian can judge!) faithful, pithy and unflinching; occasionally some of the imagery is crude, to be sure, but that is what the originals were like, and it must be stressed that many of these tales were never intended for children's ears - the introduction makes this quite clear.Thoroughly recommended - many of the tales are extremely moving, and those that aren't are generally very funny!

some tales were complete discovery to me and are unknown in Russia; some are retold in a very strange way, also the language in many stories is a bit too complicated and clumsy.

Wife very pleased

Good book