Review of "Fairy Tales of Eastern Europe," retold by Joanne Asala

Review of

Fairy Tales of Eastern Europe, retold by Joanne Asala ISBN 1932043268


Five out of five stars

 In this case, the phrase “Eastern Europe” can be replaced by “Slavic people,” yet as is often the case across cultures, the fundamental plots of their most popular fairy tales are similar. Fans of fairy tales will recognize the widely told story of Cinderella, presented as the character Marouckla. Kinkach Martinko is the Slavic version of the Germanic tale of Rumplestiltskin and there is the classic tale of the energetic versus lazy brother.

 There are great and dangerous adventures, heroes that must succeed against great odds or lose their heads and cases of false witness in an attempt by a nefarious person to gain wealth and power that rightfully belongs to another. These tales are a peek into the Slavic culture and a demonstration of how many of the basic fairy tales of humans are based on the same plots across cultures. While the background climate may change, the expression of human and mystical nature does not.