Lucky Hans and Other Merz Fairy Tales

This is one of the best collections of modern fairy tales I have come across in a long while. Like most fairy tales, these stories are not written for children. Instead, they are satirical, witty, and often darkly humorous tales that explore a variety of artistic and social themes. Kurt Schwitter's biting tales and Jack Zipes' masterful translation and expert commentary will not disappoint fans of fairy tale literature, dadaist and surrealist art, or experimental poetry and prose. The illustrations throughout the book are also a great treat, and make for an attractive volume of work available nowhere else in English. Five stars!

From the dark forests of Germany, where the brothers Grimm collected their stories, comes a new interpretation of the fairy tale. In these stories, a woman can die from being too beautiful; a cat and mouse can become a team of killers; and a man can be sentenced to death rather than save the princess. Like the original Grimm Fairy Tales, the stories in //Lucky Hans and Other Merz Fairy Tales// are not for the faint of heart. According to Jack Zipes's introduction, Kurt Schwitters was a German artist and writer during the 1920's. Schwitters was influenced by the European Dadaist movement, and some of his fairy tales reflect the Dadaist tendency towards absurdity and non-meaning. These, however, are less interesting than the stories in which Schwitters employs irony to play with the genre's conventions. For instance, "A King Without People," imagines what would happen if a king had no kingdom, subjects or power. Also interesting are the stories with a political agenda, such as the one where an army is destroyed by one of its own soldiers. While an interesting piece of artistic history, these are not stories for children, unless, like me, your child has a morbid streak. Reviewed by Katie Cappello