Author: JRR Tolkien (English, 1892-1973)
Originally published: 1967 & 1949
Page count: 142
(there are pictures, so it's even shorter)
Dates read: 4/1/22-4/4/22
Back to the Classics category: x
Author Challenge: x
Dates read: 4/1/22-4/4/22
2022 book goal progress: 8 out of 20
Back to the Classics category: x
Author Challenge: x
Mindful Readers' Family Bookclub
genre/theme: April - Fantasy
Read my other book reviews for my 2022 goals HERE.
Smith of Wootton Major
Description:
This is a short fairytale about the importance of the village's Master Cook and how one can go from our world into Faery Land.
First sentences:
"There was a village once, not very long ago for those with long memories, nor very far away for those with long legs. Wootton Major it was called because it was larger than Wootton Minor a few miles away deep in the trees; but it was not very large, though it was at that time prosperous, and a fair number of folk lived in it, good, bad, and mixed, as is usual."
CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters - 6
Atmosphere - 7
Writing Style - 7
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 6
What is a CAWPILE Rating?
Review:
Read my other book reviews for my 2022 goals HERE.
Smith of Wootton Major
Description:
This is a short fairytale about the importance of the village's Master Cook and how one can go from our world into Faery Land.
First sentences:
"There was a village once, not very long ago for those with long memories, nor very far away for those with long legs. Wootton Major it was called because it was larger than Wootton Minor a few miles away deep in the trees; but it was not very large, though it was at that time prosperous, and a fair number of folk lived in it, good, bad, and mixed, as is usual."
CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters - 6
Atmosphere - 7
Writing Style - 7
Plot - 5
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 6
What is a CAWPILE Rating?
Review:
I fell in love with this sweet fairytale after reading the first sentence. It is a simple story but has a wonder to it that comes with visiting Faery Land.
Farmer Giles of Ham: The Rise and Wonderful Adventures of Farmer Giles, Lord of Tame, Count of Worminghall, and King of the Little Kingdom
Description on back of book:
This short story is a delightfully ribald mock-heroic tale. When a 'cunning, inquisitive, greedy, well-armored but not overly bold' dragon invades a kingdom, a most unwilling Farmer Giles is chosen to slay the dragon - a dragon who refuses to fight.
First sentence:
"Of the history of the Little Kingdom few fragments have survived; but by chance an account of its origin has been preserved; a legend, perhaps, rather than an account; for it is evidently a late compilation, full of marvels, derived not from sober annals, but from the popular lays to which its author frequently refers."
Favorite quote:
"His wife made a queen of great size and majesty, and she kept a tight hand on the household accounts. There was no getting round Queen Agatha - at least it was a long walk."
CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 6.1/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters - 8
Atmosphere - 5
Writing Style - 7
Plot - 6
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 6
What is a CAWPILE Rating?
Review:
I enjoyed this comedic story about a farmer who shooed away a giant and then was called upon to fight a lazy dragon. Through a series of chance events (mostly against his own will), Farmer Giles raises his reputation and eventually becomes king. The story had almost reverse quixotic tones and the humor reminded me of Monty Python.
Description on back of book:
This short story is a delightfully ribald mock-heroic tale. When a 'cunning, inquisitive, greedy, well-armored but not overly bold' dragon invades a kingdom, a most unwilling Farmer Giles is chosen to slay the dragon - a dragon who refuses to fight.
First sentence:
"Of the history of the Little Kingdom few fragments have survived; but by chance an account of its origin has been preserved; a legend, perhaps, rather than an account; for it is evidently a late compilation, full of marvels, derived not from sober annals, but from the popular lays to which its author frequently refers."
Favorite quote:
"His wife made a queen of great size and majesty, and she kept a tight hand on the household accounts. There was no getting round Queen Agatha - at least it was a long walk."
CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 6.1/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters - 8
Atmosphere - 5
Writing Style - 7
Plot - 6
Intrigue - 6
Logic - 5
Enjoyment - 6
What is a CAWPILE Rating?
Review:
I enjoyed this comedic story about a farmer who shooed away a giant and then was called upon to fight a lazy dragon. Through a series of chance events (mostly against his own will), Farmer Giles raises his reputation and eventually becomes king. The story had almost reverse quixotic tones and the humor reminded me of Monty Python.
Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let JRR Tolkien have the last words:
" 'Even if I had the craft to make ring-mail, I should be working for weeks. And we shall all be in our graves before then,' he said, 'or leastways in the dragon.' "
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