The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a companion book the the immensely popular Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, that I happen to adore. The book is the very same one mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and is said to be translated by Hermione Granger from the original runes (Hermione being one of the three main characters in Harry Potter) and featuring comments from Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts.
The stories are reminiscent of the fairytales of the Grimm Brothers, in that they are fairly gruesome in their 'original form' and are apparently still told to wizarding children today. There are five short stories, each teaching a wizarding moral or lesson to wizarding children.
The highlight of the book for me was the notes, said to be written by Dumbledore. His notes are detailed and provide an excellent insight into the world of Harry Potter and the history of the wizarding world. Dumbledore is not writing for a Muggle audience, though, so JK Rowling has added her own notes to explain some things, like for example, the difference between a wizard and warlock.
I valued this book for it's contribution to Harry Potter, not for what it was alone. The stories themselves were good, but not amazing, but the book as a book was clever and an interesting read, particularly for a far of Harry Potter.
Butterflies: 7 out of 10
Recommended for: people who have read all 7 Harry Potter books. There are spoilers and it won't make sense otherwise!
Warnings: one of the stories is particularly gruesome, but it's meant to be a fairytale, so it's not very believable.
Wasn't that an awesome book?! I only ever read it once and have already forgotten the whole thing though - but I remember the reference to Lucious Malfoy's father and found it funny ;)
ReplyDeleteI remember reading this one and enjoying it.... but I too can't remember what happens!... hmmm... looks like I will have to read it again!
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