The Original Bambi

Felix Salten (1869–1945) was an Austrian novelist, journalist, and critic. Jack Zipes has written, translated, and edited dozens of books, including The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (both Princeton). He is professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota. Alenka Sottler is an award-winning painter and illustrator who lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

"A magnificent achievement. . . .a timely warning from the past, and a welcome restoration of an important European novel."---Paul Quinn, Gramarye --- "Explanatory and illumintating. . . . Zipes’s new translation . . . give[s] us back the whole rich, multilayered complexity of Salten’s story."---Francesca Arnavas, Marvels & Tales --- "[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."---Jill O'Neill, The Scholarly Kitchen --- "The Original Bambi is a poignant story of youth, growth, and humans’ complicated relationship with nature; an enjoyable read for its own sake."---Ceri Houlbrook, Folklore --- "Zipes’s translation of Bambi reflects Salten’s descriptive prose, bringing the animals and their challenges to life for the reader."---Miriam Kates Lock, Jerusalem Post --- "Substantive and thought provoking. . . . Bambi’s well-written particularity offers readers universal relatability."---Melissa Langsam Braunstein, The Dispatch --- "This handsomely illustrated unabridged edition of an enchanting and moving fable for adults (and older children) belongs in every library." --- "With captivating drawings by award-winning artist Alenka Sottler, The Original Bambi captures the emotional impact and rich meanings of a celebrated story." --- "[Zipes] makes a persuasive argument for rediscovering ‘The Original Bambi.’"---Nan Cohen, Electric Literature --- "Informative. . . . A powerful tale of the destructive side of human nature and our despotic relationship to the environment."---GrrlScientist, Forbes --- "A new, more precise translation of [Felix] Salten’s original."---Andrew Stuttaford, Spectator World --- "A new translation . . . it's a dark story of brutality, loss and, ultimately, loneliness."---Richard Chin, Star Tribune --- "Elegant [and] uncompromising."---Piers Torday, The Spectator --- "A lovely new hardback edition."---Ron Charles, Washington Post --- "Wonderful black-and-white illustrations. . . . Zipes is knowledgeable about his subject matter."---Kathryn Schulz, The New Yorker --- "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."---Meghan Cox Gurdon, Wall Street Journal --- "Bambi is quite remarkable: a meditation on powerlessness and survival told with great economy and sophistication."---Bill McKibben, New York Times