Theresa Fuller ha avuto una vita d'altri tempi: nata a Singapore da una matrimonio combinato, ha assorbito durante l'infanzia le fiabe raccontate a Singapore, e quindi in Malesia e Cina, dove ha vissuto: racconti che ha poi voluto trasmettere ai suoi figli, nell'assolata Australia dove vive adesso.

Sono storie, premette, che ha fuso, modificato, adattato, o che ricorda in maniera imperfetta dall'infanzia, ma che comunque rappresentano una novità rispetto ai patrimoni folkloristici che ci sono più vicini.

Peccato che lo stile sia povero e che l'autrice, consapevole della lontananza culturale e geografica dei propri lettori dai luoghi in cui le fiabe sono ambientate, si perda in fastidiose sessioni informative all'interno del racconto stesso.

Resta comunque un patrimonio di leggende, miti e fiabe da scoprire, magari recuperando raccolte insieme più complete e più... asettiche nella narrazione.

I am a huge fan of Asia and Asian culture - I have travelled throughout Asia and currently live in Hong Kong myself, so i feel a major connection to the culture. I could not pass up the chance to read a book about Asian and Chinese fables when it is so close to my heart!

This book is more than just a collection a short stories; it is a love story to Asian culture. It offers a unique insight into Asian stories with a slight twist. I really loved this book and would recommend this to anyone wanting to see more about Asian children's stories. A great collection.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am so glad I pushed through the first set of stories to read the rest of the book! I found the first story to be somewhat dry, but continued on to the rest of the tales, some of which were long and some of which were extremely short.

Theresa did a great job in translating and writing these stories for us to read. I found myself really enjoying the last story, and couldn’t get enough — once I figured out what it was about it was an ahah moment. I don’t want to spoil any of the stories, but I would really suggest picking this one up if you’re into folklore at all!

I am not overly familiar with Asian folklore, so I adored discovering these stories and hearing some of the tales from that part of the world. The Girl Who Became a Goddess is a pleasing collection as far as the stories chosen are concerned. The slight problem I had with it was the prose. There were grammatical and punctuation errors, and it often felt stilted. I think a little more editing would have made the text flow better and improved my enjoyment. As it is, I am giving it three stars for the great content, but it would have been four if I hadn't struggled to get past the problems in the prose. Definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of folklore and fairytales.

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

SPECS
Author: Theresa Fuller
Release Date: May 26, 2019

SUMMARY
The Girl Who Became a Goddess is a tribute to the childhood stories of Theresa Fuller who has experienced multiple cultures and learned to love them all. These are tales passed on from generation to generation, some to delight, some to terrify, all to enlighten.

A FOOLISH ANIMAL DISCOVERS THAT THE RAINFOREST IS A DANGEROUS PLACE.

As a girl, a mother, and a teacher, Theresa retells her favorite folktales through the lens of her own life experiences in Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, putting a unique spin on ageless classics.

A YOUNG BOY IS WILLING TO SACRIFICE EVERYTHING FOR HIS FAMILY.

The Girl Who Became a Goddess is a love letter to a young girl from the adult she has become.

REVIEW
I don't typically read folktales - not out of dislike, just because they aren't really on my radar a lot. So when I saw a collection of Southeast Asian folktales available for request on NetGalley, I was intrigued; I thought it might be an interesting expansion on my typical reading habits. I was absolutely right.
I knew almost nothing about Singaporean culture and folktales (most of the stories in this collection originated in Singapore), so I wasn't sure what exactly to expect. Essentially, the book is broken into two major sections: one half that contains several shorter folktales, and another half that is all one story - the titular legend. Though I enjoyed all of them, "The Mousedeer Who Danced on the Backs of Crocodiles" had to be my favorite. I love stories about animals AND stories that praise brains over brawn, and this one was both - and unlike anything I'd ever seen in the European folktales/fairy tales I grew up with. But, though that one was my favorite, there weren't any that I really disliked.
Really, this was a great case study in why it's a good idea to expand your reading horizons. I would probably not have picked this up if it hadn't been on NetGalley but I'm very glad I did. This was a fascinating look at a culture I didn't know much about, and after reading it I'm interested in learning more.
RATING:
This one is a little unusual because it's an anthology rather than a story, so I'm going to give it a flat rating rather than an averaged one. Since I enjoyed it so much, I'm going to go ahead and give it a 5/5.

This book was okay. None of the short stories really stood out as being exceptionally fantastic, but neither were they terrible. I’ve read every single one of the folk tales tales written by The Brothers Grimm, and this collection of stories was unique from those in that these originated from Malaysia, Singapore, and China. From my rather limited knowledge of these cultures, they seemed to be authentic. What brought down the rating was the lack of excitement. There was plenty of action in all of the short stories, but I didn’t care about the characters and it didn’t seem realistic enough for them to be in any real danger. Some of them were also a little disjointed. The first story, “The Mousedeer Who Danced on the Backs of Crocodiles”, was told from the perspective of a mousedeer, a tiger, and a farmer. It is probably only ten or eleven pages long, so for the point of view to switch that much was pointless and rather clunky. I didn’t love any of the stories either. I liked that they bring awareness to some of the world’s least known cultures, but other than that they didn’t do much for me.

A retelling of selected Asian folktales, along with author's notes explaining some of the history and why these particular stories were chosen. It's an interesting read; I knew a couple of them under other titles, but the others are new and this retelling adds a lot of details that were missing from my knowledge.This is a great read for anyone looking to expand their knowledge of folktales to more unusual ones. I love reading folktales and I'll be recommending this to others.

Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.

Wonderful book , full of different stories from different parts of the world. A great way to experience different cultures, learn something new and experience a brand new tale. Wonderful, well written and highly recommended