The House of the Cats: And Other Tales from Europe

“Well,then,tomorrow is All Hallows Eve when the ghosts of dead men rise from their graves to walk among the living and witches ride the wind.Good people bolt their doors and keep the fire burning bright till morning.”

In 1992, 12 countries of the European continent gathered in beautiful Maastricht and signed the European Treaty that would officially establish the European Union as we know it today and most importantly, the European Citizenship.What had started several decades ago was now ripe and ready to lead the European citizens to a new reality of shared aspirations, leaving the atrocities of the two World Wars behind.

The years passed and the family acquired more members,reaching the number 28.This beautiful anthology by Maggie Pearson includes 28 tales,each one belonging to the tradition and lore of every EU member.So,let's start our journey...

“The Soldier's Bride” from Austria - A haunting version of the well-known legend of the dead fiancé.
“The Traveller from Paradise”from Belgium- Well, it's not that difficult to confuse Paradise with Paris....
“The Fish That Flew and the Hare That Swam”from Bulgaria- When the ones we regard as mad are actually the only people who know best.
“The White Wolf”from Croatia- A beautiful version of the Selkie myth.
“Why Dogs Hate Cats”from Cyprus- Or why cats are majestic and sassy....
“The Mandrake Child”from the Czech Republic - A tale that is a mix between Pinocchio and the plant from The Little Shop of Horrors and yes, it is as crazy fun as it sounds.
“Peter Bull”from Denmark- Or what happens when we try to play it smarter than we should.
“The Three Sneezes”from Estonia- The funniest tale of the anthology with a hypochondriac protagonist who lied down waiting to die....
“The Fox and the Bear”from Finland- A tale that makes use of the beautiful nature of Finland.
“The Pope' s Mule”from France- This tale takes us back in the era of the two Popes. As if one wasn't enough....
“Mannikin Spannalong”from Germany- A cozy tale that brings the theme of women's independence into focus.
“The House of the Cats”from Greece- Let me busk in a moment of national pride here,because this story lends its title to Pearson's collection.This tale shows clearly how much we Greeks adore cats.
“The Magical Fiddle”from Hungary- When one has the chance to listen to the distinctive sound of the Hungarian violins (preferably in a traditional inn in Budapest), then it is understood that its music comes from the violinist's heart.
“Munachar and Manachar”from Ireland- Or how the Irish spirit is always an effective way to overcome traps.
“A Very Expensive Omelette”from Italy- A tale that reminded me of Portia from Shakespeare's ‘'The Merchant Of Venice''
“Misery”from Latvia- Lovely Latvia sends a clever tale that talks about persistence and social inequality.
“The Amber Princess”from Lithuania- Beautiful Lithuania takes pride in the quality of its amber and rightfully so.This tale reminded me of Wilde's story ‘‘The Fisherman and His Soul.'‘
“Melusina”from Luxembourg- A sad,haunting version of the popular myth.
“The Happy Man”from Malta- A strange king who simply asked too much...
“Tyl Uilenspiegel, Painter”from the Netherlands- It's only natural to have a painter in focus when the tale comes from one of the most magical countries of Europe.
“The Glass Mountains”from Poland- Beautiful imagery in this lovely version of a famous tale.
“The River”from Portugal- A lovely,bittersweet myth.
“The Voice of Death”from Romania- An eerie,dark story.
“Violets in January”from Slovakia- The wintry story of the collection.With an evil stepmother nonetheless....
“The Most Beautiful Flower”from Slovenia- A beautiful tale that shows how spoiled princesses are taught a lesson of humility.
“Half-Chick”from Spain- An interesting story that explains the origins of the weathervane.
“Lars,my Lad”from Sweden- A Swedish kind of djinn that wasn't as clever as it should have been (unintentional rhyme success)....
“Tam Lin”from the United Kingdom - A tale of undying love and devotion that reminded me of ‘‘The Snow Queen''.


The motto of the European Union is “In Varietate Concordia”.There is a reason it was chosen to represent the members.The tales in the collection are diverse,each one bringing into focus certain characteristics of its homeland but without any traces of stereotypes.”Ode To Joy” became our anthem.But these tales aren't all happy.Some are dark,some sad, some funny, others a bit weird, but isn't this what happens in every family in the world?Diversity and shared dreams bring us together and I can think of no better way to demonstrate this than through fairy tales and tradition.

Still,every tale has its darkest moments.In 2016, a member of the family decided to walk away.No relationship of any kind is ever easy.There are moments full of difficulties and strife, moments when bitter words are unreasonably exchanged and yet, the strong bonds that keep us united have the tendency to hold no matter the temporary tensions.Or do they? If nothing else,many of these tales show us that one person alone isn't able to turn the tide.Is walking alone a solution? Time will tell and History has taught us that we can create something special through unity and acceptance, no matter how mundane and detrimental it may sound.So, until Lady History provides some kind of answer to the question,we have collections like this one to look upon as an album full of photographs that remind us of a time when the family was together in combined diversity and unity....