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The Grimm Conclusion (A Tale Dark & Grimm, #3) (2014)

by Adam Gidwitz(Favorite Author)

4.08 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Recorded Books

series

A Tale Dark & Grimm

review 1: Adam Gidwitz's, the Grimm Conclusion, was the most gruesome book yet! This final book in the The Tale Dark and Grimm series let readers see a little bit of Gidwitz's real life. In the book, the narrator is Gidwitz as a teacher who reads fairy tales to his students. This is actually how these series came to be. He read a fairy tale from Grimm's fairy tales to classes in the library and added his personal thoughts as he read. The children suggested he create a book from his comments and the stories. Point of view is the most unusual element of this novel. Mr. Gidwitz uses all three points of view: first person, third person, and second person. He begins the novel traditionally by saying, "Once upon a time..." and tells of the children as if he is in third person, ... morean outside narrator. Then, every once in a while, he interrupts the story to talk directly to the audience from his point of view using I, first person. He even asks the audience questions using second person, you. I feel as if he is actually telling me the story orally. This works well since fairy tales are part of an ancient oral tradition. The main characters are a young brother and sister, Joringel and Jorinda. The narrator becomes a character as he comments more and more and eventually invites the children into modern times to join him in his classroom. Minor characters include three black birds, the mother and the step-father. This story is set in a fairy tale world the narrator calls "Machenwald." This world seems to be some place in the distant past. However, the narrator lives in modern times in our world. The two worlds intersect when the narrator invites Joringel and Jorinda into his real-life classroom. I know the two are set in different times because the classroom has computers and other modern devices that the children know nothing about. There are several conflicts in this story. The main conflict, however, has to be that the children are neglected and abused and seek love and attention. Joringel is decapitated when his step-father shuts a trunk on his head. Joringel seeks solace in her mother who is interested, or so it seems, in only books. Joringel leaves home with a prince to escape the guilt over her brother's death and be loved by a prince. Turns out the prince is older was attracted to her red dress, but does not really love her. Jorinda becomes evil and goes to hell. Jorigel comes back to life and goes to hell to rescue her.The children's lives go through many tribulations. This book is about the two children, but using these children and their situations, Gidwitz tells a conglomeration of classic fairy tales: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, The Juniper tree, and a more. This book was hard to put down because it had everything: blood, love, death, evil parents, a tyrannical Queen, and a a personable narrator who spoke directly to me. This was a fun read. I could not wait to find time to read more. Anyone who likes fairy tales, does not mind blood and gore, and wants to be entertained would like this book and the entire series: A Tale Dark and Grimm, In A Glass Grimmly, and The Grimm Conclusion.
review 2: I'm a fan of Gidwitz. Loved his previous 2 books but book 3...meh. It started out as another great and seriously gruesome tale set in several of Grimm's tales but ended in the real world explaining the therapy of telling your stories in order to get those emotions out and not keep them bottled up inside. Hmmm. Good message but it kinda just felt like he didn't know how to end the book. Stephen King did it better in the Gunslinger books. less

Download links for: The Grimm Conclusion (A Tale Dark & Grimm, #3)

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