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emmandm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Nineteen fairy tales.
My Take
Said to be a re-telling of the original Scheherazade stories without the Western twist, although it does remind me of morality tales such as Uncle Remus and Bre'r Rabbit. It is being promoted as being sexual, or at least having sexual episodes, but don't get excited. It's only likely to be a concern for parents in bits and pieces. If anything, I'd say it was more of an adult read simply because of the "more elevated" language and a certain lack of fun.
Mary Gaitskilll's foreword is curious reading with her assessment of the tales' theme being one of betrayal and/or trickery. Betrayal is a dominant theme in almost every book I read, so I wouldn't read too much into that. She does point out that while the "attitude is dark toward women" (too true), the women are "resourceful and witty". That certain actions can be forgiven while others cannot.
It's cute enough. I'd like to re-read a Western version just to enjoy the differences more. From what I do remember---and it's been decades since I last read it---there was more of a transition between stories. One in which there was more interaction between the sultan and Scheherazade as day followed a night of storytelling. More of a sense of escaping death one more time.
Instead, there is a dinner party which fuels the journey into many of the tales (and is my greatest disconnect), and it feels separate from the original premise, that of a woman telling stories, wanting to rescue her "sisters" from death.
I don't remember these adventures as beginning with the two royal brothers, and it's an intriguing idea as the kickoff for these stories.
That said, open this book with the sense of reading it for the first time, leave your expectations and memories at the foreword, and ride into a set of tales that felt Middle Eastern to me in spite of the author's disclaimer. If Hanan al-Shaykh had wanted to reinforce the idea of the stories' origins as being more Chinese or Indian, then she should have created more of a sense of this in the background.
The Cover
I adore the cover! It feels like an older book with its crisp, hard cover and the intricate font styling used for the title. Of course, I could wish the title were easier to read...
The title is simple enough to explain the story, I should say stories, for it is One Thousand and One Nights: A Retelling of the stories I read as a child.
My Take
Said to be a re-telling of the original Scheherazade stories without the Western twist, although it does remind me of morality tales such as Uncle Remus and Bre'r Rabbit. It is being promoted as being sexual, or at least having sexual episodes, but don't get excited. It's only likely to be a concern for parents in bits and pieces. If anything, I'd say it was more of an adult read simply because of the "more elevated" language and a certain lack of fun.
Mary Gaitskilll's foreword is curious reading with her assessment of the tales' theme being one of betrayal and/or trickery. Betrayal is a dominant theme in almost every book I read, so I wouldn't read too much into that. She does point out that while the "attitude is dark toward women" (too true), the women are "resourceful and witty". That certain actions can be forgiven while others cannot.
It's cute enough. I'd like to re-read a Western version just to enjoy the differences more. From what I do remember---and it's been decades since I last read it---there was more of a transition between stories. One in which there was more interaction between the sultan and Scheherazade as day followed a night of storytelling. More of a sense of escaping death one more time.
Instead, there is a dinner party which fuels the journey into many of the tales (and is my greatest disconnect), and it feels separate from the original premise, that of a woman telling stories, wanting to rescue her "sisters" from death.
I don't remember these adventures as beginning with the two royal brothers, and it's an intriguing idea as the kickoff for these stories.
That said, open this book with the sense of reading it for the first time, leave your expectations and memories at the foreword, and ride into a set of tales that felt Middle Eastern to me in spite of the author's disclaimer. If Hanan al-Shaykh had wanted to reinforce the idea of the stories' origins as being more Chinese or Indian, then she should have created more of a sense of this in the background.
The Cover
I adore the cover! It feels like an older book with its crisp, hard cover and the intricate font styling used for the title. Of course, I could wish the title were easier to read...
The title is simple enough to explain the story, I should say stories, for it is One Thousand and One Nights: A Retelling of the stories I read as a child.
florasin's review against another edition
4.0
I went in with fairly limited knowledge of the stories - just North American pop culture references, really.
Some stories are more enjoyable than others, but I enjoyed that they were all woven together and interconnected.
I feel like it does a good job of keeping the themes and dynamics across stories in a way that still feels like they are all being told by the same person and that person is on a mission.
I really appreciate this work being made accessible to folks like me who weren't raised with it.
Some stories are more enjoyable than others, but I enjoyed that they were all woven together and interconnected.
I feel like it does a good job of keeping the themes and dynamics across stories in a way that still feels like they are all being told by the same person and that person is on a mission.
I really appreciate this work being made accessible to folks like me who weren't raised with it.
myworldtoread's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
mikaelaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
whitjones1's review against another edition
3.0
One Thousand and One Nights is a book that weaves classic Indian, Persian, and Arabic stories into modern English. The stories are at times laugh out loud funny but more often sorrowful and brutal.
I struggled what to rate this book. While reading it I was mesmerized but when I put it down I found I had to talk myself into picking it back up. So many of the stories treat women as second class to their husbands and only really good for having sex with. As a self proclaimed feminist I struggled with that narrative even though I know that this is how the stories were told. I am glad that I read this version though as I found it easy to follow and the writing style is soooo well done. I do wish the author would have cut back and forth a bit more with Shahrazad as she was the most intriguing to me.
I struggled what to rate this book. While reading it I was mesmerized but when I put it down I found I had to talk myself into picking it back up. So many of the stories treat women as second class to their husbands and only really good for having sex with. As a self proclaimed feminist I struggled with that narrative even though I know that this is how the stories were told. I am glad that I read this version though as I found it easy to follow and the writing style is soooo well done. I do wish the author would have cut back and forth a bit more with Shahrazad as she was the most intriguing to me.
lsparrow's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this translation/adaptation - especially the focus on the female perspective.
neilblahblah's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pizzamyheart's review against another edition
3.0
Note: This is the first version (retelling, translation, etc) that I have read of One Thousand and One Nights. Before reading this I knew:
- It revolves around a woman named Shahrazad
- To escape death she tells a new story every night
- A lot of classic stories came from this.
- Bugs Bunny did an episode about this a long long time ago
That's it. How does it end? I don't know. What are the stories? Aladdin? Sinbad? Some other smaller ones?.... basically, I was in the dark.
I decided to read this as part of a group read here on Goodreads. It had high praise, so why not? It surprisingly wasn't that long either.
Let me start with the good.
- Lots of original stories.
- updated with some modern language
- writing style flowed nicely.
Now the problems.
- What happened to Shahrazad?... She starts the first few "chapters", then disappears until the very very end. If she's telling a new part of the story every night, then shouldn't she appear a little more often.
- The ending... Um... So what DID happen to her? Again, this is my first time reading One Thousand and One Nights. Since the whole point is to escape death, I assume she survive. Was she happy? How long did all these stories take her? hello??
Basically, I enjoyed the story, but I felt let down. For someone who is unfamiliar with the original tale, this leaves too many unanswered questions. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they were familiar with the original tale.
- It revolves around a woman named Shahrazad
- To escape death she tells a new story every night
- A lot of classic stories came from this.
- Bugs Bunny did an episode about this a long long time ago
That's it. How does it end? I don't know. What are the stories? Aladdin? Sinbad? Some other smaller ones?.... basically, I was in the dark.
I decided to read this as part of a group read here on Goodreads. It had high praise, so why not? It surprisingly wasn't that long either.
Let me start with the good.
- Lots of original stories.
- updated with some modern language
- writing style flowed nicely.
Now the problems.
- What happened to Shahrazad?... She starts the first few "chapters", then disappears until the very very end. If she's telling a new part of the story every night, then shouldn't she appear a little more often.
- The ending... Um... So what DID happen to her? Again, this is my first time reading One Thousand and One Nights. Since the whole point is to escape death, I assume she survive. Was she happy? How long did all these stories take her? hello??
Basically, I enjoyed the story, but I felt let down. For someone who is unfamiliar with the original tale, this leaves too many unanswered questions. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they were familiar with the original tale.