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The Tales of Beedle the Bard OF all the wizard "books" mentioned in the Harry Potter series, none would have piqued the curiosity of readers as has the The Tales of Beedle the Bard. And justly so. So much of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the last book in the Potter series, grew out of a fable featured as the last story in this collection—The Tale of the Three Brothers—that to negate this book as just another creature in author J K Rowling’s creative stable is unjust!
The sales figures say it too. Beedle has already been declared the fastest selling book for this year in the UK and has dethroned Stephenie Meyer’s vampire tales—the Twilight series—entering at No1 on USA Today’s Best-Selling Books list. So much for the economic meltdown—obviously Harry Potter and his ilk remain untouched by troubles in the Muggle (human) world! So what is it that works for Beedle? For one, it’s a wonderful companion to further appreciate Harry Potter’s world especially if you already own Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Quidditch Through the Ages the other Potter attendants written by Rowling. Second, the fables work, with the commentaries of course. With their Aesop-like qualities, Beedle will appeal to every mum’s desire for new fairy tales with similar garnishing of just and moral endings. Never mind that these simple allegories are perhaps, a tad too simple, Dumbledore’s remarks for each fable give it that necessary zing. In a style that fans of Harry Potter will come to recognise, Dumbledore’s comments are not without gentle rebuke, charming arrogance and brisk humour thrown in for good measure. The butt of his satirical writings spares no-one, not the Malfoys, not syrupy authors who once "rewrote" these very tales to disastrous results and not even a maiden aunt of his. Third, the illustrations all done by Rowling herself, gives the avid Potter fan, a peek into just how the author visualises her own work. Also the simple pen and ink scratchy illustrations sprinkled all over the book give it a hand-drawn, hand-created appeal. One that harks back to the original seven copies of this book that Rowling hand-wrote and illustrated. Six were given away to people closely associated with the Potter books over the years as a way of thanking them. The seventh was given to the Children’s High Level Group (CHLG), a charity Rowling helped create in 2005 to protect and promote children’s rights. CHLG auctioned the book which was picked up by Amazon for a wonderfully encouraging sum and now the book in its published form will also be used to garner more money for the same charity. It would be easy to give an idea of what these five fables are, but really, they ought to be read, even if it is just once. The good thing is it will engage readers of all ages for there is something here for everyone. But having said this, the price is a dampener. At least in India it is. I too skidded into the bookstore to have a keen look at the book. But the price almost cut my spending spree short. Don’t get me wrong. I know this is for a good cause but that is the only reason I bought it. Having done that, I gobbled down the book before I even got home. Sometimes, that can be hard to digest.
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The interesting part is
that despite being a stand-alone, this book has so much ‘Potter’ to
it! Each of the five fables featured has a commentary attached
"written" as it were, by Albus Dumbledore, beloved Headmaster
of Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Potter series.
Potter fans will also recall that this was the book bequeathed to
Hermione Granger by Dumbledore in his will and what is more the book is
projected as a translation by Granger herself from the original runes.
Enough to lure Potter fans all around.