A Myth On the Wrong Continent
The focus on geography starts with the subtitle of the book A World Treasury of Myths, Legends, and Folktales: Stories from Six Continents. So, I may be seeming picky, but my criticism is from the standard set by the publishers.
Toward the end of the book, there is a story called The Snake’s Arrow, which is about a younger brother who defeats a pair of demon monkeys and marries a magical toad woman. It’s an interesting story, but it’s quality is damaged for me by a set of illustrations by Mikhail Fiodorov.
The problem is that the illustrations get the monkeys wrong. The folktale is set in South America, but the monkeys are mandrills. Mandrills are Old World monkeys. Furthermore, the mandrills are shown having tails. Mandrills don’t have tails.
I know that some imagination is allowed in mythological illustrations, but the imagination ought to take place from within the cultural area from which the story comes. Fiodorov might as well have had maple trees in the background, with a man in a plaid shirt collecting syrup for his pancakes.
In general, I’ve enjoyed sharing this book with my son, but I won’t be able to read this story again without suppressing a grimace.
« Wha Happened? Inspired To Write Like McClellan
Writers Sell Out Dirt Cheap At Get A Freelancer »
