The Mythology Of GRIMM - Nathan Robert Brown

The Mythology Of Grimm

The Fairy Tale and Folklore Roots
        of the Popular TV Show
Nathan Robert Brown           
Berkley Boulevard Books

 

Nonfiction/TV Tie-In

 

In just a few days, the fourth season of Grimm begins.  For those who have missed it, a Detective Nick Burkhardt works homicide cases with his partner, Hank, in the almost-too-green area of Portland, Oregon.  Starting four years ago, Nick realized that some of the crimes made absolutely no sense.  Unless you know about the Wesen.  Which Nick did not, really.  His Aunt lived long enough to pass along her books and equipment, but not a lot of practical advice.  Except for the fact that now, Nick is The Grimm and these crimes are his to work out.  And most of the Wesen are, traditionally, his to kill.

The Wesen appear human, usually, but in times of stress or fear or being seen by the Grimm, their true forms are revealed.  There are many types of Wesen, for instance, Nick formed a very unlikely friendship with a Blutbad.  (This book contains an entire glossary of Wesen Terms since they do tend to fly by quickly in conversation.)  Some live among humans, others can’t quite manage that.
 
For those who watch the show and would love to get an opportunity to really go through the books and weapons in the trailer, hold onto your socks.  There’s information here about the weaponry that has already been used, and about pieced we’ve only looked and wondered at.  Sprinkled through the pages are “Tasty Morsels,” serving as kind of fun facts.  If you wonder about all the fascination background that must be in those books, this one starts out with a bio of the Original Grimms, their time, and those who came after them to add to or argue about the original stories.

The meat (if you’ll excuse the expression) of the book is the work of the Original Grimms and how they’re still relevant here today.  The author makes an essentially chronological exam of the cases Nick has worked (not all, clearly, although that would be great) using the formula: brief intro, re-telling of the pertinent tale (using modern English and expressions) then looking at how well it fits into the original tale.  Sometimes, it won’t fit the original.  It may be that circumstances of a case fit with a later iteration of a tale, giving Nick and his friends a place to start.  And making them, quite literally, fairy tale detectives!
 
Rating: 9
October 2014
ISBN# 978-0-425-27102-5 (trade paperback)