Review of "Bungling Pedro and Other Majorcan Tales," by Alexander Mehdevi

 Review of

Bungling Pedro and Other Majorcan Tales, by Alexander Mehdevi

Four out of five stars

Folk tales from an island culture

 Majorca is the largest of the Balearic Islands of the eastern coast of Spain in the Mediterranean.  It has been inhabited by humans since the 3rd Millenium BC and while the culture has been influenced by the continental states, it has developed some unique features. The tales in this book originated in Majorca, yet their themes are generally similar to those of other cultures. 

 There are stories about the simpletons that do things wrong yet somehow manage to be successful at the end. There are the classic stories of the king searching for a beautiful bride amongst the population and the monsters and curses that must be overcome. All of the stories end with the Majorcan suffix, “And they are still alive if they’re not dead.” The openings are “Long before the snow fell on the rock,” a reference to the fact that it almost never snows on Majorca. An interesting change from the classic, “Once upon a time.”

 The stories are written at the level of a middle school child and are a worthy addition to multi-cultural studies. Easily understood and with hints of the origin within an old island culture.