The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling: Book Review

This book is the one that Hermione inherited from Dumbledore. It contains the “Tale of the Three Brothers” that was told in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It also contains notes about each story written by Dumbledore and J.K. Rowling.

I’ll be honest here. True, morbid, Brothers Grimm fairy tales are just not my thing. I much prefer the fully fleshed out, happily ever after Disney versions. So, this book was just okay for me. Rowling did a good job of staying true to the form of real fairy tales, I have to give her that. It just wasn’t for me. They were mostly mildly entertaining. I liked that Rowling points out that the heroines of her stories are not helpless females that things just happen to while big strong men rescue them. Her heroines rescue themselves. Dumbledore’s comments did add some insight. Some of Rowling’s comments felt unnecessary. This book is aimed at Harry Potter fans. What true Harry Potter fan doesn’t know what a Muggle or a Squib is? But then some comments could have been explained further. I would have liked to be told about an Ashwinder instead of being referred to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. That happened several times and felt like an attempt to push up sales of that book.

This doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, but I loved the feel of this book. It’s such a nice, neat little book and the pages feel so smooth! Call me weird. I know.

I don’t regret reading this, but I don’t feel like I gained much from it either. I did like that the proceeds from the book are being donated to a children’s charity that Rowling co-founded. That’s really probably justification enough for me.

Reviewed December 28, 2008

Interesting. I still prefer my fairy tales to be fleshed out, but I’ve developed a taste for the dark ones as well. I still prefer my happily-ever-afters but there is definitely a place for the others in my heart.

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

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