The Pomegranate Princess: And Other Tales from India

The Pomegranate Princess: And Other Tales from India is a collection of folk/”fairy” tales from India. The stories vary in length from 2-7 pages and predominately easy to read. Some of the stories can be dark and unsuitable for young children. The “evil” or “disobedient” women in the tales often receive cruel fates. One is sealed alive into the palace walls. Others are buried alive in a jungle. Most of the women in these stories are servants to men. It's a stark contrast to modern culture.

The book overall was very enjoyable. I was unfamiliar with most of the tales and found them to be an interesting glimpse into ancient indian culture. They were short enough to read in between other tasks, and each began with an image to accompany the story.

I would have liked the author to expand more upon the stories. Some transitions felt rather abrupt. At the end, the book contains and appendix that cross references Types of Indic Oral Tales, by Stith Thompson and Warren E. Roberts. I'm interested to see how that compares.