EAST OF THE SUN, WEST OF THE MOON

A memento of the large, sumptuous Asbjornsen and Moe collection which Kay Nielsen illustrated in 1914 in the form of six stories with color and line illustrations--indicative of his sinuous, highly theatrical style but indifferently reproduced and, as depictions, artificial and esoteric. Under the best of circumstances, Nielsen's manner ill suits these earthbound tales--six of which, in any case, don't make much of a showing. Only incidentally a book for children, then, and with its brief, fulsome introduction, merely a pendant to the several recent Nielsen studies for connoisseurs.