A Diverse Fairy Tale Collection: Anansi Story Time

Fairy Tale and Culture

This review is of the multi-cultural fairy tale collection, Anansi Storytime. Since this audio drama is an anthology, the subject matter being critiqued will be the following episodes:

Building Asgard’s Wall (Norse)
The Island of Skeletons (Native American)
Doctor Knowall (German)
Why Anansi has Eight Thin Legs (Akan/African)

This list should serve as enough of a showcase of the different cultures the podcast tackles. With eighteen episodes at the time of writing this review, I tried my best to include one for each major region of the world. Obviously I couldn’t get all of them.

Building Asgard’s Wall and Why Anansi has Eight Thin Legs: Variations and Diversity

Ever since Marvel Studio’s introduced Thor into their universe, the desire to learn more about Norse mythology has gone up. At the very least, comparing and contrasting actual myth with the comic book is a fun exercise and “Building Asgard’s Wall” does it beautifully. Highly doubtful it was their intention, but their characterization of key players in both Mythology and the MCU like Loki is on point. Granted most of my knowledge comes from Crash Course: Mythology and the MCU, meaning it’s second hand at best. Still, the story is told in the style of a more western-themed fairy tale. It even starts with “Once upon a time …” To be honest, it felt odd hearing those words and similar variations of that phrase throughout this sample collection.

Essentially an Anansi origin story, “Why Anansi has Eight Thin Legs” is a tale not unlike those explaining how the leopard got its spots. At least, you can’t help but compare the two. Told with slapstick humor, this African tale has a lot more in common with western storytelling of the same time period than one might think.

Native American Skeletons and an Uncommon Grimm Fairy Tale

With a title like “The Island of Skeletons, images of the supernatural jump to mind. While otherworldly elements are present in many fairy tales (this one included), the emotional core of the story is very much not about the paranormal at all. Yes, the main trials the character goes through to achieve his goal are cemented in the spirit realm, but the story is very much a heroes journey. And while the argument that Campbell’s theory of myth is universal has been debunked by not only writers, but neuroscientists as well, the story is no less an excellent example of the power of this style of storytelling.

Compare that tale to a more western-centered model of fiction and you’ll see more similarities than differences. This could come as a surprise to some, as the story of Doctor Knowall is a Grimm Fairy Tale. A lesser known one when compared to ones like Hansel and Gretel, but a story in their bibliography nevertheless. The analogous elements of the two stories differ in tone, but follow a similar plot. Doctor Knowall is a true children’s tale. The Island of Skeletons feels more like a modern day young adult story as it is surprisingly dark.

Overall these four stories from four different cultures proves the wealth of fiction across the world and that no matter where you are, good storytelling has no boundaries.

4/5 Stars