Most of us think we know the story of Bambi鈥�but do we? The Original Bambi is an all-new, illustrated translation of a literary classic that presents the story as it was meant to be told. For decades, readers鈥� images of Bambi have been shaped by the 1942 Walt Disney film鈥攁n idealized look at a fawn who represents nature鈥檚 innocence鈥攚hich was based on a 1928 English translation of a novel by the Austrian Jewish writer Felix Salten. This masterful new translation gives contemporary readers a fresh perspective on this moving allegorical tale and provides important details about its creator.
Originally published in 1923, Salten鈥檚 story is more somber than the adaptations that followed it. Life in the forest is dangerous and precarious, and Bambi learns important lessons about survival as he grows to become a strong, heroic stag. Jack Zipes鈥檚 introduction traces the history of the book鈥檚 reception and explores the tensions that Salten experienced in his own life鈥攁s a hunter who also loved animals, and as an Austrian Jew who sought acceptance in Viennese society even as he faced persecution.
With captivating drawings by award-winning artist Alenka Sottler, The Original Bambi captures the emotional impact and rich meanings of a celebrated story.
"Bambi is quite remarkable: a meditation on powerlessness and survival told with great economy and sophistication."鈥擝ill McKibben, New York Times
"In The Original Bambi, the distinguished translator Jack Zipes, has sought to restore both the dignity and the relevance of Salten’s vision; to rescue it, in a manner of speaking, from Disneyfication. . . . [The book is] bracingly free of the encrustation of sugar that the tale has accumulated over the past 100 years."鈥擬eghan Cox Gurdon, Wall Street Journal
"Wonderful black-and-white illustrations. . . . Zipes is knowledgeable about his subject matter."鈥擪athryn Schulz, The New Yorker
"A lovely new hardback edition."鈥擱on Charles, Washington Post
"Elegant [and] uncompromising."鈥擯iers Torday, The Spectator
"A new translation . . . it's a dark story of brutality, loss and, ultimately, loneliness."鈥擱ichard Chin, Star Tribune
"A new, more precise translation of [Felix] Salten’s original."鈥擜ndrew Stuttaford, Spectator World
"Informative. . . . A powerful tale of the destructive side of human nature and our despotic relationship to the environment."鈥擥rrlScientist, Forbes
"[Zipes] makes a persuasive argument for rediscovering ‘The Original Bambi.’"鈥擭an Cohen, Electric Literature
"With captivating drawings by award-winning artist Alenka Sottler, The Original Bambi captures the emotional impact and rich meanings of a celebrated story."鈥�The Bookwatch
"This handsomely illustrated unabridged edition of an enchanting and moving fable for adults (and older children) belongs in every library."鈥�Library Journal
"Substantive and thought provoking. . . . Bambi’s well-written particularity offers readers universal relatability."鈥擬elissa Langsam Braunstein, The Dispatch
"Zipes’s translation of Bambi reflects Salten’s descriptive prose, bringing the animals and their challenges to life for the reader."鈥擬iriam Kates Lock, Jerusalem Post
"The Original Bambi is a poignant story of youth, growth, and humans’ complicated relationship with nature; an enjoyable read for its own sake."鈥擟eri Houlbrook, Folklore
"[A] high quality translation. . . . [with] striking artwork. . . . [The Original Bambi is] a high-quality example of the value added to a text via an attentive publishing process."鈥擩ill O'Neill, The Scholarly Kitchen
"Explanatory and illumintating. . . . Zipes’s new translation . . . give[s] us back the whole rich, multilayered complexity of Salten’s story."鈥擣rancesca Arnavas, Marvels & Tales
"A magnificent achievement. . . .a timely warning from the past, and a welcome restoration of an important European novel."鈥擯aul Quinn, Gramarye
