THE BEAUTIFUL BLUE JAY and Other Tales of India

by John W.-Ed. Spellman ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 20, 1967

Universal themes in very particular settings and a few distinctive concerns characterize these twenty-five short tales collected in India by the Head of the Department of Asiatic Studies at the University of Windsor, Ontario. Mr. Spellman credits the many individuals who contributed stories; he does them credit by the simplicity and directness of the presentation. Indicatively Indian is the story for the Brahman Yatnakant who was pleased to be ""learned, pious and poor"" and would accept nothing from the king that the king had not earned for himself, and--especially affecting--the account of the woman too poor to feed herself who prayed for one more child whose leavings she might share. Others tell in familiar patterns of tricksters outwitted, of hospitality rewarded, of pride humiliated, and often of the cleverness of tiny creatures--the mouse who sets off a chain of terror, the frog who outlives the smug fish and tortoise. Most are not readily available, some are tellable, and all tell something of the Indian ethos.

Pub Date: July 20, 1967

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION