2 Stars

One Liner: Works more like an index 

So, the blurb says that the book is a collection of beautiful images and fascinating tales about fairies from various lands and cultures. 

Hardly surprising that I requested it right away. I love reading about fairies and mythical creatures (good, bad, and ugly). When I saw the long list in the table of contents, I was delighted. Given the page count and the extensive work involved, I knew it wouldn't be in-depth. I don’t need it to cover everything. 

However, the content is really sparse. Moreover, the focus is more on pop culture usage or appearance of the creatures than their original tales. 

Each fairy gets this - One para about the creature. A short snippet (3-5 lines) about where it was used in fiction, origin in one line, presence in popular culture and an illustration/ photo, and a quote by the authors, actors, etc., about fairies. 

That’s it. Rinse and repeat for all of them. 

While the list is lengthy and includes flower and plant fairies, tinker bell, ariel (not mermaid Shakespeare’s from Tempest), fairies from folklore, leprechauns, and even plant devas and yakshas from Hinduism, it doesn’t do anything else much. 

We at least get a visual representation of the said fairy – sometimes a painting, some pencil sketches, and some pictures (photographs). I didn’t mind the lack of consistency as it seems that they picked the best possible option available on the internet. However, I did very much mind the lack of detail. The ‘tales’ are not even tales, TBH. I’d find more content on online blogs (and I did too). 

I’m not annoyed (just disappointed) since I got the ARC for free but I don’t think people would be too happy if they paid for it and found barely any useful information. 

To summarize, Fairies is an index of the mythical creatures that broadly come up under the tag of the term fairies. It might work as a starting point (to find a fairy or see if it is what you want) but does nothing beyond that. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Amber Books, for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. 

#NetGalley #Fairies