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florismeertens's review
De Hoepoe is een streng vogeltje, maar hij zegt wel mooie dingen. Doet op sommige momenten Boeddhistisch, Christelijk en Stoïcijns aan, maar dat ligt meer aan dat dat meer mijn aanknopingspunten zijn.
afreen7's review
3.0
Conference of the Birds is the story of a group of birds who lead by the Hoopoe seek to find their leader the Simorgh. In order to reach this magnificent king, they must journey through valleys and face many dangers on the Way to the mysterious island of Qaf.
The poem in its entirety is allegorical. It's Sufism and spiritualism and about letting go of earthly materials rather than any specific theology, in order to achieve enlightenment and oneness with God (which is within). Its deeply philosophical and I'm sure I didn't get many of the stories that are interspersed within the journey of the birds with the journey itself being a representation of the steps of Sufism. Despite that, I thought the translation of the poem and some of the stories were beautiful.
I didn't wholly like the representation of women (with the exception being Rabe'eh), or the old-timey notions of beauty, class, etc but it WAS written at different times. And I know I'm being a little nitpicky when I say I didn't like some of the stories such as the one where the dervish thinks his sadness is greater than that of a grieving mother who had just lost her child. But I'm sure there's a much deeper meaning to this and some other stories. And the stories themselves are vague enough that different people could take different messages from them.
The poem in its entirety is allegorical. It's Sufism and spiritualism and about letting go of earthly materials rather than any specific theology, in order to achieve enlightenment and oneness with God (which is within). Its deeply philosophical and I'm sure I didn't get many of the stories that are interspersed within the journey of the birds with the journey itself being a representation of the steps of Sufism. Despite that, I thought the translation of the poem and some of the stories were beautiful.
I didn't wholly like the representation of women (with the exception being Rabe'eh), or the old-timey notions of beauty, class, etc but it WAS written at different times. And I know I'm being a little nitpicky when I say I didn't like some of the stories such as the one where the dervish thinks his sadness is greater than that of a grieving mother who had just lost her child. But I'm sure there's a much deeper meaning to this and some other stories. And the stories themselves are vague enough that different people could take different messages from them.
msgtdameron's review
5.0
The sections Valley of Love, The Birds Encounter the Great Simorgh and the last four pages of the Epilogue touched me deeply. This work helps me find peace in a hectic and scary world. It will help you also.
rosie_khan's review
5.0
"This book is an ornament for the ages." Poetic and without equal. Epic.
I loved it! The parables are memorable. The writing is beautiful, and the translation is wonderful.
I've made a list of page numbers and quotes that must be dozens of entries long, so clearly it was good because I can't choose a favorite line at all.
(Recommended last year by a family friend, read just now for my World Lit class.)
I loved it! The parables are memorable. The writing is beautiful, and the translation is wonderful.
I've made a list of page numbers and quotes that must be dozens of entries long, so clearly it was good because I can't choose a favorite line at all.
(Recommended last year by a family friend, read just now for my World Lit class.)
bookish_bullsh_t's review
4.0
Personal Rating- 9/10
An allegory for "enlightenment" from an Islamic perspective. Amazing rhythms of poetry- and certainly inspirational. It convinced me to try out writing some poetry (mine are shitty of course) and imitation is the best compliment.
The Birds set out on an allegorical journey to find the Simorgh, their King (metaphorically representing the Almighty Allah swt), and thus in a journey for Enlightenment. It also heavily relies on some complicated concepts in Islam, and some other concepts/stories shared among the Abrahamic religions. So this will certainly be a complicated read for some. thankfully, there is an appendix explaining all the references in the poems.
What I was pleasantly surprised by, was the LGBT rep. This was written in an Islamic world (or rather in Persia before western colonization). And for a book glorifying the purity of love (sometimes between two men) and to be considered a guide to enlightenment really puts things to perspectives-culturally speaking- on how the people of earlier times were more open-minded and accepting than they are today. It reminded me that even though Arabs/Persians/Desis are stereotyped to be grossly homophobic; homophobia (and transphobia in desi culture- I do not know enough to speak for other cultures) came from the Colonizers, and specifically the anti-sodomy laws in the British Empire.
This was not the focus of the book, but it was something to think about.
That's about it from me, if you're interested I definitely recommend checking it out. Happy Reading!
An allegory for "enlightenment" from an Islamic perspective. Amazing rhythms of poetry- and certainly inspirational. It convinced me to try out writing some poetry (mine are shitty of course) and imitation is the best compliment.
The Birds set out on an allegorical journey to find the Simorgh, their King (metaphorically representing the Almighty Allah swt), and thus in a journey for Enlightenment. It also heavily relies on some complicated concepts in Islam, and some other concepts/stories shared among the Abrahamic religions. So this will certainly be a complicated read for some. thankfully, there is an appendix explaining all the references in the poems.
What I was pleasantly surprised by, was the LGBT rep. This was written in an Islamic world (or rather in Persia before western colonization). And for a book glorifying the purity of love (sometimes between two men) and to be considered a guide to enlightenment really puts things to perspectives-culturally speaking- on how the people of earlier times were more open-minded and accepting than they are today. It reminded me that even though Arabs/Persians/Desis are stereotyped to be grossly homophobic; homophobia (and transphobia in desi culture- I do not know enough to speak for other cultures) came from the Colonizers, and specifically the anti-sodomy laws in the British Empire.
This was not the focus of the book, but it was something to think about.
That's about it from me, if you're interested I definitely recommend checking it out. Happy Reading!
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