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alanmichael's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
rubyeple_y's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pato_myers's review against another edition
3.0
These are stories I've heard about because they are so popular but never got around to reading before. Characters are quick to murder, but otherwise good stories.
ithaca's review against another edition
3.0
The audiobook narrator was great, but some of the stories were kind of rambling. Nice to listen to on my commute though since it is short stories.
whimsicallymeghan's review against another edition
4.0
The Talking Bird, the Singing Tree and the Golden Water: The first story in this collection was entertaining; I liked it and thought the quest aspect was the best part. The Story of the Fisherman and the Genie: This was a story of a vengeful genie, who after being imprisoned for 400 years wants to kill whoever releases him. I liked this story too because I never knew where it was going to go. Would the genie or the fisherman come out on top. The History of the Young King of the Black Isles: This was a tragic story, yet had a happy ending. Revenge strikes again and even through all the cheating, lies and deception this came out with the town living happily ever after. It wasn’t an ending I was expecting to happen but it sure made things interesting. The Story of Gulnare and the Sea: I like that every story so far as had a happy ending in this collection, despite the harshness of what characters have to go through. This story was no exception where it blended sea people with the land people, love and loss and young royalty. The plot was entertaining but the writing made it hard to follow along.
The Story of Aladdin: As only knowing the Disney movie in reference to this story, this was, as to be expected different. The premise is that Aladdin uses a magic lamp to become rich so that he can marry the sultan’s daughter. The original tale is gritty, with a lot of deceit (and even had me believing in the deceit at times), yet I still enjoyed it all. It was a little on the longer side, I feel like so much happened in this, but it kept you on your toes, which I liked. The Story of Prince Agib: The first story in this collection not to have a happy ending. In this one, it’s all about temptation and giving into it. Will the prince fall to temptation, like everyone else before him. I found this story short but very compelling with a very good lesson to be learnt. The Story of the City of Brass: This story was on the long side and felt like it took a few detours. I didn’t really care for this one but the concept of being careful for what you wish for was good and interesting.
The Story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves: This is probably the most well known story next to Aladdin, and I really enjoyed this. This had many elements all tied together to create a complex tale in a short amount of time. Again, the lessons to be learnt in this are well established. This might be my favourite so far. The History of Codadad and his Brothers: I found this story slightly confusing, which didn’t help me enjoy it. A lot of deception and lying about who was who happened in this one all because of money and power. The Story of Sinbad the Voyager: This was a fun tale of the different adventures of Sinbad, some voyages were more exciting than others but all of them came together for a really nice ending and made all of them worth reading.
I’ve now begun the second version of the Arabian Nights and I have to say, I’m liking this translation better - it’s just easier to understand. The first story, The Story of King Shahryar and His Brother which then leads into The Tale of the Bull and the Ass was captivating, if a little gruesome. There was a lot of killing because of jealousy and anger. This did open the book up to how we get to the 1001 tales where the wife of King Shahryar tells a story every night, but stops mid-way to keep the King in suspense and helps her stay alive. I’m almost intrigued to see where the poor wife will end up by the end of this book, like what will happen to her once all her stories have been told. I guess I gotta read and find out.
The Tale of the Three Apples had a lot going on in a short amount of time - it had my head spinning, where the apples came from, who stole one from who, a young woman is murdered, a man confesses, a slave is accused. The slave then tells a story in order to spare his life and so that leads into The Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son Badr Al-Din Hasan. This was a story within a story, as this didn’t have anything to do with the previous story, other than it being so riveting that they decide to spare the slave’s life. In this story we meet two brothers who want to do everything together - they have it all planned out; they’ll marry on the same day, have children on the same day and then marry them off together. The only thing they can’t agree on is the dowry and so the two get into a disagreement and separate. The way this story goes was actually really entertaining to watch the one brother’s son, find the daughter of the other’s and how it all unfolds was so interesting. Despite the weird incest, this was a decent and well told story.
Some of these stories are better than others and some are catching my attention more. For the most part I enjoyed The Porter and the Three Ladies. The concept was so intriguing because all these men find themselves at this mansion and are not to ask questions about what they see - it all sounds so secretive and mysterious. When one of them gets too curious his life is threatened but is spared by the Porter. It’s there the women want to know who these men are and so we get stories on how they got to be there, blind in one eye. There were parts that dragged more than others, but it was quite engaging and could be sorta gruesome at times.
I’m about 40% of the way through this. Some stories are longer than others and what I’m finding is that the shorter stories hold my interest more and I get more value out of them - the longer ones feel so drawn out and I feel like I’m reading in circles a bit. I’m still enjoying this and I’m going to read through to the end (even rereading the stories I’ve already read). I’ve also been enjoying reading the notes while I read, too. It’s helped to give me more insight into the stories and to give more context to the text itself. It’s been an experience… and a long one. I do have to say - I can’t wait to get to the end because I feel like I’ve been reading this for years!
Tale of Ghanim Bin Ayyub, the Distraught, the Thrall O’Love. I find it so fascinating that all these stories have stories within them. This was no different - it starts with a man being locked out of a city during a funeral when he meets 3 slaves carrying a chest, this then goes into each of them telling a tale about themselves. I also don’t get how some of these stories can be for children, because they have a lot of adult themes, like sex and murder. It was entertaining but definitely had mature themes. The Tale of the Bird and Beasts and the Carpenter. This story was so short, yet it was so metaphorical that its meaning was lost on me. I had to look up its meaning because there was a lot happening - we have talking animals who are fleeing humans and a talking duck who meets a carpenter and tricks the other animals into getting inside a wooden box so she can burn them. The duck soon learns her lesson when a ship comes and she’s captured by them. It’s a good lesson on not doing harm, since it will come back to you, karma.
The Hermits felt like an interlude of a story because it was so short, but it had a nice moral about being thankful for what you have. The way this flows into the next story has the reader wondering if it will be about the same moral as well. The Tale of Kamar Al-Zaman felt like it went in a bit of circles, but it was a good story nonetheless. It didn’t have the same moral as the previous story but dealt with two people who didn’t want to marry… who eventually marry. It was interesting to watch the story progress and get to see how these characters got to that place in the end. Hatim of the Tribe of Tayy felt like another interlude story because it was even shorter and it doesn’t really give much. A short fable on generosity. The Tale of Ma’an Son of Zaidah I’m not really sure what to make of this story because all I got out of it was haggling where they went from 1000 to 30, which seems crazy to me. The ending did surprise me because I didn’t see the man being as generous as he was. The City of Many-Columned Iram and Abdullah Son of Abi Kilabah is a very short tale about a lost city; it was interesting but totally engaging. The Sweep and the Noble Lady was a short tale on revenge. When a woman’s husband cheats on her, she conducts her own affair with the lowest man she can find - pretty petty if you ask me, also, the woman doesn’t win in this, she 100% gets the short end of the stick.
In Ali the Persian we get a short funny tale of a man who told of what’s in his bag. Even though this was short, it got tedious about what was in the bag… although the ending was really good - so it did pay off. The Man Who Stole the Dish of Gold Wherein the Dog Ate the title alone is wild, but it’s an interesting tale of stealing from the rich, to get rich… only to make the rich poor. A fascinating tale of roles reversal and in such a short amount of time too. I think the shorter stories have been having more value than the longer ones, recently. The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream this story was by far the shortest story yet of a poor man who dreamt of how to become rich, but it wasn’t in the way he thought, which made it an interesting story.
The Ebony Horse was a very different but captivating read. It’s about a horse that can fly and all the trouble that ensues because of it. You never knew where this story was going because one minute one thing was happening; the next another. It did end up happily ever after, which was nice because it really didn’t feel like it was going that way. The Abu Hasan Brake Wind has got to be the silliest story yet. It’s literally about a man who farted and was embarrassed about it so he fled the country. It was short and sweet, completely random but I needed something like this to break up all these stories - to keep me going. The Angel of Death With the Proud King and the Devout Man this felt like a very simple story; it was short and to the point, about the Angel of death who comes to both a wealthy king and a devout man and how their approaches to death differ. This was plain and very to the point, which I liked, but there was also not much to this.
The Lady and her Five Suitors was basically a story of what a woman would do for her lover, the lengths she would go to set him free. It was captivating with the deceiving because you’re like why is she doing this, and when you find out, it’s really sweet. Judar and his Brethren this was long, but it wasn’t bad. It was about brother rivalry and how bad it can get. Again, with the longer stories they start to feel repetitive and I lose interest. Julnar the Sea-Born and Her Son King Badr Basim of Persia this story had a lot going on, but I really liked the turning people into animals part, that was really entertaining and kept my interest. The rest of the story didn’t hold as much investment. Khalifah the Fisherman of Baghdad started off interesting, then it it kinda lost me. A poor man becomes rich, gets in over his head, loses everything, but in the end still gets a happy ending. It was bizarre and slightly entertaining. Abu Kir the Dyer and Abu Sir the Barber this was a twisted tale of two men who go against each other for profit. Just when you thought you knew who the good guy was, that ending swiped you off your feet. I didn’t see it coming, and I liked that. This was a little on the long side, but all the different plots were entertaining and kept me guessing what would happen. The Sleeper and the Waker this story was so weird! Essentially the whole point is to gain money and they do it in the most bizarre way. Like the routes the one character takes to get there, even to the point of faking his and his wife’s death and I think what’s the craziest, is it works! Baffling, interesting and entertaining story. Ma’aruf the Cobbler and His Wife Fatimah there was so much going on in this, but I loved it. Ma’aruf’s different adventures were so interesting - they weren’t completely different from other stories in this but something about it didn’t leave me feeling confused or taken out of the story. If anything, I wanted to keep reading it, it was so engrossing. This could be my favourite story of all the tales. Well told, with a lot of deception and twists.
I’ve reached the end and this turned out a happy ending. I was worried about the wife of King Shahryar because she was telling these tales to stay alive, and she got to. I guess the King was really into her stories. They marry and have children, just as her sister marries the King’s brother and they live in happiness. I couldn’t help thinking in the back of my mind that something was going to happen, like a major plot twist would turn up and the king would change his mind. I’m kinda glad that didn’t happen, but I wouldn’t have been too disappointed if it did, just to throw it off one last time. Overall, I enjoyed reading this, even if it did take a long time to get through. Some stories were better than others, but that’s to be expected and even though they followed similar themes and plots, they were all pretty different in their own ways. I’m glad I read this.
The Story of Aladdin: As only knowing the Disney movie in reference to this story, this was, as to be expected different. The premise is that Aladdin uses a magic lamp to become rich so that he can marry the sultan’s daughter. The original tale is gritty, with a lot of deceit (and even had me believing in the deceit at times), yet I still enjoyed it all. It was a little on the longer side, I feel like so much happened in this, but it kept you on your toes, which I liked. The Story of Prince Agib: The first story in this collection not to have a happy ending. In this one, it’s all about temptation and giving into it. Will the prince fall to temptation, like everyone else before him. I found this story short but very compelling with a very good lesson to be learnt. The Story of the City of Brass: This story was on the long side and felt like it took a few detours. I didn’t really care for this one but the concept of being careful for what you wish for was good and interesting.
The Story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves: This is probably the most well known story next to Aladdin, and I really enjoyed this. This had many elements all tied together to create a complex tale in a short amount of time. Again, the lessons to be learnt in this are well established. This might be my favourite so far. The History of Codadad and his Brothers: I found this story slightly confusing, which didn’t help me enjoy it. A lot of deception and lying about who was who happened in this one all because of money and power. The Story of Sinbad the Voyager: This was a fun tale of the different adventures of Sinbad, some voyages were more exciting than others but all of them came together for a really nice ending and made all of them worth reading.
I’ve now begun the second version of the Arabian Nights and I have to say, I’m liking this translation better - it’s just easier to understand. The first story, The Story of King Shahryar and His Brother which then leads into The Tale of the Bull and the Ass was captivating, if a little gruesome. There was a lot of killing because of jealousy and anger. This did open the book up to how we get to the 1001 tales where the wife of King Shahryar tells a story every night, but stops mid-way to keep the King in suspense and helps her stay alive. I’m almost intrigued to see where the poor wife will end up by the end of this book, like what will happen to her once all her stories have been told. I guess I gotta read and find out.
The Tale of the Three Apples had a lot going on in a short amount of time - it had my head spinning, where the apples came from, who stole one from who, a young woman is murdered, a man confesses, a slave is accused. The slave then tells a story in order to spare his life and so that leads into The Tale of Nur Al-Din Ali and His Son Badr Al-Din Hasan. This was a story within a story, as this didn’t have anything to do with the previous story, other than it being so riveting that they decide to spare the slave’s life. In this story we meet two brothers who want to do everything together - they have it all planned out; they’ll marry on the same day, have children on the same day and then marry them off together. The only thing they can’t agree on is the dowry and so the two get into a disagreement and separate. The way this story goes was actually really entertaining to watch the one brother’s son, find the daughter of the other’s and how it all unfolds was so interesting. Despite the weird incest, this was a decent and well told story.
Some of these stories are better than others and some are catching my attention more. For the most part I enjoyed The Porter and the Three Ladies. The concept was so intriguing because all these men find themselves at this mansion and are not to ask questions about what they see - it all sounds so secretive and mysterious. When one of them gets too curious his life is threatened but is spared by the Porter. It’s there the women want to know who these men are and so we get stories on how they got to be there, blind in one eye. There were parts that dragged more than others, but it was quite engaging and could be sorta gruesome at times.
I’m about 40% of the way through this. Some stories are longer than others and what I’m finding is that the shorter stories hold my interest more and I get more value out of them - the longer ones feel so drawn out and I feel like I’m reading in circles a bit. I’m still enjoying this and I’m going to read through to the end (even rereading the stories I’ve already read). I’ve also been enjoying reading the notes while I read, too. It’s helped to give me more insight into the stories and to give more context to the text itself. It’s been an experience… and a long one. I do have to say - I can’t wait to get to the end because I feel like I’ve been reading this for years!
Tale of Ghanim Bin Ayyub, the Distraught, the Thrall O’Love. I find it so fascinating that all these stories have stories within them. This was no different - it starts with a man being locked out of a city during a funeral when he meets 3 slaves carrying a chest, this then goes into each of them telling a tale about themselves. I also don’t get how some of these stories can be for children, because they have a lot of adult themes, like sex and murder. It was entertaining but definitely had mature themes. The Tale of the Bird and Beasts and the Carpenter. This story was so short, yet it was so metaphorical that its meaning was lost on me. I had to look up its meaning because there was a lot happening - we have talking animals who are fleeing humans and a talking duck who meets a carpenter and tricks the other animals into getting inside a wooden box so she can burn them. The duck soon learns her lesson when a ship comes and she’s captured by them. It’s a good lesson on not doing harm, since it will come back to you, karma.
The Hermits felt like an interlude of a story because it was so short, but it had a nice moral about being thankful for what you have. The way this flows into the next story has the reader wondering if it will be about the same moral as well. The Tale of Kamar Al-Zaman felt like it went in a bit of circles, but it was a good story nonetheless. It didn’t have the same moral as the previous story but dealt with two people who didn’t want to marry… who eventually marry. It was interesting to watch the story progress and get to see how these characters got to that place in the end. Hatim of the Tribe of Tayy felt like another interlude story because it was even shorter and it doesn’t really give much. A short fable on generosity. The Tale of Ma’an Son of Zaidah I’m not really sure what to make of this story because all I got out of it was haggling where they went from 1000 to 30, which seems crazy to me. The ending did surprise me because I didn’t see the man being as generous as he was. The City of Many-Columned Iram and Abdullah Son of Abi Kilabah is a very short tale about a lost city; it was interesting but totally engaging. The Sweep and the Noble Lady was a short tale on revenge. When a woman’s husband cheats on her, she conducts her own affair with the lowest man she can find - pretty petty if you ask me, also, the woman doesn’t win in this, she 100% gets the short end of the stick.
In Ali the Persian we get a short funny tale of a man who told of what’s in his bag. Even though this was short, it got tedious about what was in the bag… although the ending was really good - so it did pay off. The Man Who Stole the Dish of Gold Wherein the Dog Ate the title alone is wild, but it’s an interesting tale of stealing from the rich, to get rich… only to make the rich poor. A fascinating tale of roles reversal and in such a short amount of time too. I think the shorter stories have been having more value than the longer ones, recently. The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream this story was by far the shortest story yet of a poor man who dreamt of how to become rich, but it wasn’t in the way he thought, which made it an interesting story.
The Ebony Horse was a very different but captivating read. It’s about a horse that can fly and all the trouble that ensues because of it. You never knew where this story was going because one minute one thing was happening; the next another. It did end up happily ever after, which was nice because it really didn’t feel like it was going that way. The Abu Hasan Brake Wind has got to be the silliest story yet. It’s literally about a man who farted and was embarrassed about it so he fled the country. It was short and sweet, completely random but I needed something like this to break up all these stories - to keep me going. The Angel of Death With the Proud King and the Devout Man this felt like a very simple story; it was short and to the point, about the Angel of death who comes to both a wealthy king and a devout man and how their approaches to death differ. This was plain and very to the point, which I liked, but there was also not much to this.
The Lady and her Five Suitors was basically a story of what a woman would do for her lover, the lengths she would go to set him free. It was captivating with the deceiving because you’re like why is she doing this, and when you find out, it’s really sweet. Judar and his Brethren this was long, but it wasn’t bad. It was about brother rivalry and how bad it can get. Again, with the longer stories they start to feel repetitive and I lose interest. Julnar the Sea-Born and Her Son King Badr Basim of Persia this story had a lot going on, but I really liked the turning people into animals part, that was really entertaining and kept my interest. The rest of the story didn’t hold as much investment. Khalifah the Fisherman of Baghdad started off interesting, then it it kinda lost me. A poor man becomes rich, gets in over his head, loses everything, but in the end still gets a happy ending. It was bizarre and slightly entertaining. Abu Kir the Dyer and Abu Sir the Barber this was a twisted tale of two men who go against each other for profit. Just when you thought you knew who the good guy was, that ending swiped you off your feet. I didn’t see it coming, and I liked that. This was a little on the long side, but all the different plots were entertaining and kept me guessing what would happen. The Sleeper and the Waker this story was so weird! Essentially the whole point is to gain money and they do it in the most bizarre way. Like the routes the one character takes to get there, even to the point of faking his and his wife’s death and I think what’s the craziest, is it works! Baffling, interesting and entertaining story. Ma’aruf the Cobbler and His Wife Fatimah there was so much going on in this, but I loved it. Ma’aruf’s different adventures were so interesting - they weren’t completely different from other stories in this but something about it didn’t leave me feeling confused or taken out of the story. If anything, I wanted to keep reading it, it was so engrossing. This could be my favourite story of all the tales. Well told, with a lot of deception and twists.
I’ve reached the end and this turned out a happy ending. I was worried about the wife of King Shahryar because she was telling these tales to stay alive, and she got to. I guess the King was really into her stories. They marry and have children, just as her sister marries the King’s brother and they live in happiness. I couldn’t help thinking in the back of my mind that something was going to happen, like a major plot twist would turn up and the king would change his mind. I’m kinda glad that didn’t happen, but I wouldn’t have been too disappointed if it did, just to throw it off one last time. Overall, I enjoyed reading this, even if it did take a long time to get through. Some stories were better than others, but that’s to be expected and even though they followed similar themes and plots, they were all pretty different in their own ways. I’m glad I read this.
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
lex6819's review against another edition
5.0
I actually listened to the audio version of this book. At first I thought the voiceover artist was Claire Bloom, but I think in fact it was Johanna Ward. The ISBNs of the audio book are ISBN-10: 0786117982 and ISBN-13: 978-0786117987. It is available through Audible.com.
siobhansinnamon's review against another edition
4.0
Aladdin had won the hearts of the people by his gentle bearing. He was made captain of the Sultan's armies, and won several battles for him, but remained as courteous as before, and lived thus in peace and content for several years
alex2739's review against another edition
5.0
“People need stories more than bread itself.
They tell us how to live, and why.”
They tell us how to live, and why.”