The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

I regarded the Harry Potter series as the Cabbage Patch Kids of the literary world for several years, heaping scorn upon J.K. Rowling and her fans, until I actually read the books and realized how excellent they are. Rowling combines no-nonsense prose, vivid characters and addictive plots with enough escapist fantasy to make it fun, and sociopolitical themes (e.g. the persecution of werewolves, the racist pseudoscience of the "pure bloods" and the quislingism of the Ministry of Magic) of sufficient relevance and sophistication to keep Harry Potter a few steps ahead of the derivative pulp that has been riding on its coattails, so to speak, for the past decade or so.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a collection of 5 fairy tales in the style of the Brothers Grimm with a magical twist, interspersed with M.H. Abrams-style literary commentary supposedly written by Albus Dumbledore in. I like fairy tales, and I liked these stories. However, I think the notes basically act as filler rather than adding much to the story, and in my opinion Beedle is short to the point of laziness--it could have been good instead of quaint if Rowling had put more work into it. I have no problem paying CDN $14.50 for a hardcover book from an author I like. I'd rather not pay the same for 1/4 of a book, thank you very much.

RATING: 65%

(Image from mg.dailymail.co.uk.)