The Happy Prince and Other Stories
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 4/17/2019
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 4/17/2019 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
I got this handsome hardcover from the ongoing book sale shelves in the Wadleigh library in Milford NH. It's an illustrated collection of Oscar Wilde's classic riffs on fairy tales - some of them very touching, others snarky, and some quite grim...
The title story has been adapted to the screen a few times, including this 1974 animated version. It's a favorite tale of mine, with its poignant look at the statue of a prince who was not allowed to interact with the poor of his kingdom while he lived, and who now, in the form of a statue, can only stand and watch their suffering - until a little swallow agrees to help him use the gold and jewels on his statue to help ease their pain. [There's a TV Tropes page on this story that may be of interest.]
Other tales include:
"The Devoted Friend", the story of a very dysfunctional friendship in which a rich man abuses the trust of his not-very-well-off friend Hans, borrowing his tools and refusing to return them, etc. Whenever Hans seems reluctant, the wealthy miller looks wounded and says something like "I thought we were such good friends, but apparently you don't agree," and poor Hans falls for it every time. Pure Wildean commentary here - though the people who ought to recognize themselves in this story (either as the abused or the abuser) usually don't!
"The Nightingale and the Rose" is a story of a handsome but poor young student who has fallen in love with a girl who has said she'd only dance with him if he brings her red roses - and there are none in his garden. A nightingale hears him and, touched by his tears, thinks that he is indeed a true lover - and resolves to help him, even at the cost of her own life... As one might expect, the fable does not end in typical fairy-tale fashion, and might not please the romantics among us, but it does ring true!
Then there's "The Young King," which is rather intense and dark, with a strong spiritual theme; and "The Remarkable Rocket," which is a sarcastically funny take on the sin of pride. Oh, and "The Selfish Giant", with perhaps the strongest religious element of all the stories, as the giant learns to share his garden with a little child who's clearly Christ...
The title story has been adapted to the screen a few times, including this 1974 animated version. It's a favorite tale of mine, with its poignant look at the statue of a prince who was not allowed to interact with the poor of his kingdom while he lived, and who now, in the form of a statue, can only stand and watch their suffering - until a little swallow agrees to help him use the gold and jewels on his statue to help ease their pain. [There's a TV Tropes page on this story that may be of interest.]
Other tales include:
"The Devoted Friend", the story of a very dysfunctional friendship in which a rich man abuses the trust of his not-very-well-off friend Hans, borrowing his tools and refusing to return them, etc. Whenever Hans seems reluctant, the wealthy miller looks wounded and says something like "I thought we were such good friends, but apparently you don't agree," and poor Hans falls for it every time. Pure Wildean commentary here - though the people who ought to recognize themselves in this story (either as the abused or the abuser) usually don't!
"The Nightingale and the Rose" is a story of a handsome but poor young student who has fallen in love with a girl who has said she'd only dance with him if he brings her red roses - and there are none in his garden. A nightingale hears him and, touched by his tears, thinks that he is indeed a true lover - and resolves to help him, even at the cost of her own life... As one might expect, the fable does not end in typical fairy-tale fashion, and might not please the romantics among us, but it does ring true!
Then there's "The Young King," which is rather intense and dark, with a strong spiritual theme; and "The Remarkable Rocket," which is a sarcastically funny take on the sin of pride. Oh, and "The Selfish Giant", with perhaps the strongest religious element of all the stories, as the giant learns to share his garden with a little child who's clearly Christ...
Journal Entry 2 by GoryDetails at Little Free Library, YMCA in Methuen, Massachusetts USA on Thursday, April 18, 2019
GoryDetails at Little Free Library, YMCA in Methuen, Massachusetts USA on Thursday, April 18, 2019
Released 5 yrs ago (4/18/2019 UTC) at Little Free Library, YMCA in Methuen, Massachusetts USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book in the Little Free Library outside the YMCA; hope someone enjoys it![See other recent releases in MA here.]
*** Released for the 2019 Into the Wild release challenge. ***
*** Released for the 2019 Movie release challenge. ***
