The Complete and Original Norwegian Folktales of Asbjørnsen and Moe

By: Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Jørgen Moe, Tiina Nunnally - translator, Neil Gaiman - foreword

Narrated by: Ann Richardson

Magic and myth inhabit these chapters in figures both familiar and strange. Giant trolls and talking animals are everywhere. The winds take human form. A one-eyed old woman might seem reminiscent of the Norse god Odin. We meet sly aunts, resourceful princesses, and devious robbers.

These stories, set in Norway's majestic landscape of towering mountains and dense forests, are filled with humor, mischief, and sometimes surprisingly cruel twists of fate. All are rendered in the deceptively simple narrative style perfected by Asbjørnsen and Moe - now translated into an English that is as finely tuned to the modern ear as it is true to the original Norwegian.

Included here - for the very first time in English - are Asbjørnsen and Moe's forewords and introductions to the early Norwegian editions of the tales. Asbjørnsen gives us an intriguing glimpse into the actual collection process and describes how the stories were initially received, both in Norway and abroad.

Equally fascinating are Moe's views on how central characters might be interpreted and his notes on the regions where each story was originally collected. Nunnally's informative translator's note places the tales in a biographical, historical, and literary context for the 21st century.

©2019 Tiina Nunnally (English translation); Foreword copyright 2019 by Neil Gaiman (P)2020 Tantor

True Norwegian 🇧🇻 Folk Tales & Stories

Absolutely incredible. Stunning. Takes you and plants you deep into Norwegian lore of moons past. Completely leaves you wanting more and before you know it, it absolutely delivers!! Highly recommended!!

interesting

Folklore tales are interesting. These are very similar to other people's tales in many ways, you will see familiar themes and plots. but they also certainly have a bit of a different flavor to them. The narrator did an excellent job.

Interesting stories.

The reader was very expressive. The stories are not ones that you hear in other collections.

Amazing narrator - entertaining stories!

The narrator is so adept at accents. Sometimes I am disappointed because a book that is obviously set in a different country will have a narrator that does not fit with the character or the country at all. Not the case here! This narrator is able to do a charming Norwegian accent and other accents as well. The folk tales are entertaining. As old folk tales are, they take their time in getting to the end. So it’s very calming to listen to them. There are, of course, recurring themes and sometimes repeated characters. But each story is different. I am familiar with Irish and Scottish folk tales. But I didn’t really know anything about Norwegian ones. So this is quite a fascinating journey into fantasy and far away times and places for me. Don’t be put off by the fact that the sample reading is from the book’s introduction to the book. I promise you that it’s worth listening to the introduction and the stories are delightful!

Beautiful narration

The stories are narrated well. It is great to listen to stories from another country!