Neil Philip

Com 52 narrativas de 33 países dos cinco continentes, essa coletânea inclui clássicos como "Chapeuzinho Vermelho" e histórias cuja difusão se restringiu a determinadas culturas, como "Soliday e o corvo", da Jamaica. Alguns contos pouco conhecidos no Brasil, como o tcheco "A raposa manca", assemelham-se a narrativas famosas, como "O Gato de Botas". Todas as histórias são complementadas por informações paralelas sobre sua origem, seu tema e seus símbolos, sobre locais e personagens relacionados com os protagonistas, sobre o país e a época em que teriam se desenrolado, etc. Desenhos, quadros famosos e fotografias compõem o material iconográfico e ajudam a dar a esse livro o caráter de uma "história das histórias". A pesquisa e a organização do volume são do inglês Neil Philip, especialista em mito e folclore na literatura infantil.… (más)

As a child I was obsessed with mythology, and that carried on into my teenager years. I still actually really enjoy learning about new myths and I can rattle off a good portion of Greek and Egyptian gods. I aim on reading as much as I can about Norse mythology (eventually…I have a few books I can read in my possession already). But what this book did for me and my interest in mythology is reignite it as an adult.
This book is tiny and fits in the palm of your hand, but don’t be fooled – it’s a sizeable book. Myth in Minutes really does what it claims in the title – the aim of the book is to give you a two minute read on each page about different myths from around the world, centring on different parts of the world. It goes through every continent and every major mythological ecosystem from that continent, but also introduces other minor stories that most people might not have heard of before. I know that I didn’t know as much about African and Asian mythology before I read this book.
One of the best parts about this book are the beautiful photographs that accompany each page of the book. Some pottery art, wall inscriptions, paintings, this book has it all to help you imagine and contextualize the stories that it tells you.
Honestly, I don’t have much else to say about this book, but I do highly recommend it if you’re interested in learning about myths from all over the world. It’s a quick read and also makes a brilliant coffee table book that you can have in your home or in your office if you have one of those fancy waiting rooms.
… (más)