Tales of Beedle the Bard
For those who felt cheated, or were left wanting for more after having read J K Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, there is now a reason to cheer- Rowling has come up with the book “Tales of Beedle the Bard” to answer all questions that were left unanswered in the afore-mentioned book. The [...]
Ashwin Mehendale
13.12.2008
Arts & Culture, Books
For those who felt cheated, or were left wanting for more after having read J K Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, there is now a reason to cheer- Rowling has come up with the book “Tales of Beedle the Bard” to answer all questions that were left unanswered in the afore-mentioned book. The book is quite unusual, and comprises of fables and fantasies meant for both muggles (for the mudbloods, that means non-wizarding people), and wizards. Stories such as “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot” and “The Fountain of Fair Fortune” are for the wizard kids what “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” are for their muggle counterparts.
According to the author’s note, our beloved Professor Dumbledore bequeathed the original drafts of the stories, dating back to the 15th century, to the present Headmistress of Hogwarts School- Professor Minerva McGonagall. Professor McGonagall most generously shared these drafts with Rowling, for her to publish them for the benefit of the muggles. What’s more is that there are notes scribbled, apparently by Dumbledore, accompanying the tales.
The book, priced at Rs 599, can be enjoyed by both adults, and children. Profits made from the sale of the book will be given to the Children’s High Level Group. My advice for the Potter-fans is to go ahead and buy this book. Who knows, you might end up learning a magical lesson after all!
Ravi Mishra
[ratings]
[image courtesy: http://tinyurl.com/6xrema]
I was a bit disappointed with the Deathly Hallows to be honest..it didn't really clarify a lot of lingering questions…e.g. the Malfoys' origins, Regulus Black's history etc. etc. J.K.R is a master storyteller but I think she digressed a bit too much in this book..nevertheless, she deserves every accolade for her work and I believe H.P. will still be a must-read 20 years down the line.
There seems to be a dearth of original fantasy writers though.For e.g last year the 3rd book of The Inheritance series,(written by Chris Paolini…it has gone from, bad to worse)..Brisingr was absolutely tosh..everyone seems to want to be Tolkien (I've come across the theme of the Wise Elves from the west in so many different stories) but they only seem to end up being third-rate copies of the Silmarillion or the Lord of T.R.
The only truly original writers I have read recently and enjoyed in this genre, are J.K.R. and Philip Pullman.The latter's "His Dark Materials Trilogy" is simply superb..(the movie starring Nicole K. and Daniel C. – The Golden Compass however, left out a lot of stuff from the book so that it is likely to be incomprehensible to those who haven't read it)
I'm going to check out Beetle Bard soon.Thanks for the critique Ravi.Great post..you guys have a good thing going here.Do keep it coming!!
P.S.Thanks to Ankita for recommending this forum to me.