Reviews

The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman: The Arabic Epic of Dhat Al-Himma by Melanie Magidow

ipanzica's review

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

alihashemah's review

4.0

Pure Arabian Epic absolutely hilarious. As with many pioneers in Conservative cultures, execptionalism rules the day when someone overcomes set social structures. Fatima might have broken down barriers, yet they were reconstructed straightaway after her.

t33_'s review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

4.0

𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝙂𝙄𝙍𝙇 𝙋𝙊𝙒𝙀𝙍 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐘 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 ♡

i didn’t think i was going to like this story but i was very wrong. 

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️= 4 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜

beththeawkward's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

dasnet's review

adventurous slow-paced

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

4.0

Its really great to have access to this source text at all! The mythology that's learned is great. The stories remind me a lot of the mythos from arabian nights, but the female center focus is great. 

mgrue's review

adventurous inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

efell00's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

literaryinluv's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

nessieread's review

adventurous inspiring fast-paced

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

3.75

coriandercake's review

3.0

This was readable and fun. My issues with the book stem from translation choices. My first gripe is that it is so short. In the introduction, Magidow mentions that she chose stories from over 6000 pages of Arabic and the final product is only a measly 160. If this was a side project, I could maybe understand but Magidow mentioned receiving several endowments to work on this. I expect more from the final product. I am also not the biggest fan of "modernized" translations although this isn't as bad as some. I read these to get a feel for the historical period and deciding to brush over misogyny and descriptions of gore and violence isn't doing anyone any favors.