Reviews

The Arabian Nights Entertainments; Volume 1 of 4 by Jonathan Scott

umrah's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Such classic tales, some of which I’ve been told in my childhood, and which have given me much joy in discovering them again. And this is only the first volume! The Arabian Tales feel somewhat magical and enchanting, and you can’t help feeling enthralled in its midst. I absolutely adored it.

However, I did find some racist undertones and such in some tales, but I ticked it off as a tale of its time. What can you expect, they still had slaves in those times!

Not exactly 5 stars, but close to.

paul_cornelius's review against another edition

5.0

Magic seems to come off the very pages of The Arabian Nights. You can taste the exotic foods, the peppers, spices, and nuts. Then, there are the scents, the smell of rare woods and furnishings, and the feel of luxurious silks and dazzling brocades. All that comes through this early translation by Jonathan Scott. As is my wont, I usually seek out early translations, in this case from the first decade of the nineteenth century, on the supposition that being closer in time to the original work, the better and more familiar a translator will be with archaic terms, phrases, and expressions. That is true, here, I think, with Scott, whose very style and written manner seems to coincide with the labyrinth-like telling of these Arab folk tales. On and on it goes, stories nested in stories, which in turn are nested and layered in other stories. It's all rather reminiscent of an Arab mosaic in its complexity and hypnotizing shape.