Books in Brief: Fairy Tales from Japan

Fairy Tales from Japan, by Miroslav Novak, illustrated by Jaroslav Serych, (Hamlyn, 196 pp., $3.95). Remember that wild kid Momotaro, the Peach Sprite? Do you know the Longest Story in the World? Ever wonder why the Merchant’s Son Never Smiled? Probably not, unless you’re a Nipponophile too. But you should. Give the kiddies a treat and feed them something new for once, instead of warmed-over Goldilocks. And treat yourself to one of the most beautifully printed books of its kind. The Czechs do it up right. Clear type, excellent paper, handsome cover, lovely jacket, the work of graphicist Bohuslav Blazej. The book boasts superb illustrations: vivid hues, inkbrush and color-wash halfpage drawings and oustanding, frighteningly haunting full page color plates, dozens of them. Alice Denesova’s translations are a bit stolid, but they’ll do. For once, a book worthy of the old come-on: “for kids from eight to eighty.” The price is minimal; it’s worth at least three times that. Friendly gung-ho reviewer say: Wise Occidental buy 25 copies right now and give at Christmas. Ah so.

DB

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D. J. C. Brudnoy

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Fairy Tales from Japan, by Miroslav Novak, illustrated by Jaroslav Serych, (Hamlyn, 196 pp., $3.95). Remember that wild kid Momotaro, the Peach Sprite? Do you know the Longest Story in the World? Ever wonder why the Merchant’s Son Never Smiled? Probably not, unless you’re a Nipponophile too. But you should. Give the kiddies a treat and feed them something new for once, instead of warmed-over Goldilocks. And treat yourself to one of the most beautifully printed books of its kind. The Czechs do it up right. Clear type, excellent paper, handsome cover, lovely jacket, the work of graphicist Bohuslav Blazej. The book boasts superb illustrations: vivid hues, inkbrush and color-wash halfpage drawings and oustanding, frighteningly haunting full page color plates, dozens of them. Alice Denesova’s translations are a bit stolid, but they’ll do. For once, a book worthy of the old come-on: “for kids from eight to eighty.” The price is minimal; it’s worth at least three times that. Friendly gung-ho reviewer say: Wise Occidental buy 25 copies right now and give at Christmas. Ah so.