Customer Reviews

The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 1 (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If I had known what a sexy book this is, I probably would have read it in my early teens. It also would have been a great "head trip" in the late 1960s, with its mind-blowing structure of stories within stories within stories. There's a high violence quotient, too, as the book is rife with beheadings, castrations, maimings, and mutilations. Even though some of the sex scenes are fairly graphic, I would call them sensual rather than sensational. The framework for the stories is a ruler who so distrusts women that immediately after consummating his marriage he has his wives killed. His new bride, Shahrazad, prolongs her life by telling him a fascinating story after their lovemaking, but falling asleep before the story is finished, allowing her to live yet another day. And for a thousand and one nights the scene is repeated. Shahrazad's stories cover a vast array of subjects and styles. Some are moralistic stories about animals (similar to Aesop's Fables), some are comic sketches, and some are multigenerational sagas. There's high-flown poetry juxtaposed with lowbrow comedy. (Inopportune flatulence is a big laugh-getter.)

But what this 21st Century reader found interesting were the gender roles of the two sexes. In these stories the women are far more likely to be consumed with lust than men are and men are just as apt to swoon from emotion as any damsel. Several of the female characters disguise themselves as men in order to lead armies and win contests of swordsmanship. Everyone oohs and ahs over the beauty of both males and females. Several of the characters are homosexual (but they are invariably villainous). This is really provocative material.

This is only volume one and it's 960 pages that I read very quickly. The translation by Malcolm C. Lyons is a masterpiece. Both intellectually and sensually thrilling, ARABIAN NIGHTS is engrossing reading and I look forward to reading the other two volumes. Shahrazad lives. Five stars.

It's a shame that while the tales of The Arabian Nights are still well known, they seem to be seldom-read these days. I hope this new translation corrects that at least a little bit. It's the first translation of the "complete" 1001 Nights since Sir Richard Burton's translation was published during the late Victorian period, and it's a much more readable one (although Burton's isn't without its own fascination as a baroque Victorian relic). Like all translations of the Nights, it has its flaws, and I think that there are some things that Husain Haddawy's shorter 1990 translation of the "core" Arabian Nights stories did better (in particular, I think Haddawy did a better job of glossing over some of the boring parts), but for readers new to the Arabian Nights, this is a good place to start.

When I ordered the Arabian Nights, I had this idea of how to read them: I wanted to read one night every night, so that it would take me 1001 nights, and I would know what King Shahriyar had to go through for three years.

Well, I simply wasn't patient enough. I read the story of the first night, and I had to know how it went on.

I ended up reading the first volume of this in about two weeks (roughly 70 pages a day) during finals at college. I literally could not put it down. The 1,001 Nights gave me a child-like feeling that I have not experienced since reading Mr. Popper's Penguins in second or third grade.

The 1,001 Nights are truly magical; they are filled with demons, magic, other worlds, people unintentionally marrying 'ifrits, etc. But what truly makes them magical is that, even when the stories have no elements of the supernatural, they still seem convincingly bizarre and fantastic because of the vastly different culture in which the stories takes place. This different culture is sometimes disturbing (when a mistress is unfaithful it always happens to be with a conniving black slave, and women are thought to be treacherous, libidinous creatures) but always makes for a more interesting read.

Also included in this volume is the famous story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, which is not part of the original nights, but I'm still glad they put it in.

The book itself is heavy and beautiful, the maps and index of words are very helpful (who would know that 'A'isha was the third favorite wife of the prophet without it?) and the introduction gives an important historical backdrop, as well as addressing the irritating fact that the nights contain so many events that are unexplained.

Is it complete? Well, no, but we will probably never have anything closer to complete than what we have now. I can't vouch for accuracy compared to other translations, but I can say that this book is beautiful and engaging, and will keep you up nights.

This is the Cadillac of magic carpet rides.

While I'm no authority on translations, I'm guessing that Jorges Luis Borges, who analyzed extant translations of his day, would have approved of this version. The language flows and is felicitous. The sensual - food, sex, surroundings, and character descriptions - come through here.

But the real pleasure comes in the ride. I'd not read the stories before, but the first impression is how much they influenced the works of Borges. The exotic qualities of many of his stories are derived from these stories.

For the uninitiated, these may be the most imaginative stories you will ever read. Supranatural creatures about. Spells are cast transforming characters into animals, and uncast to gain revenge. Chains of unintended consequences unfold with otherworldly consequences. The feasts, the drinking, the sex is a riot of sensuality. Love has never been richer. Conflict has never been more sweeping nor more mortal.

The stories are rhizomic, sprouting from one another endlessly, spreading in unanticipated directions. These stories have a far greater hold on my imagination than fairy tales developed in the West (not that there is anything wrong with them, but these stories are so much more compelling). I keep this on my bedside table to read when I just want to surrender my mind to purest and most enchanting entertainment. It's most difficult to put these stories down.

I have been searching for a "Complete" 1001 Night Tales or The Arabian Nights for some years and have read the Campbell version, Payne, Burton, Scott, Haddawy versions... but this is my Favorite because a) it includes all the Stories in the French Edition by Galland and b) as well the Complete Tales that are found in the extensive versions or translations for the most part.

I am Grateful to the Lyons for doing all this Work (husband & wife), and for making it available to us. This is the Edition I would use for high school, college as well as "fun" Reading. I perhaps would also use it, given that I am the moderator, with teenagers or children who are rather bright.

I have only Positive things to say and I am Grateful it is available in 3 Volumes by Penguin Books for this outstanding price. Again, I have been researching this Material for some time and now I can finally say there is a Complete Set available that is Modern, "Complete", easy to read and understand, contains the Poems, and Flows nicely with every Night accounted for until It reaches 1001 Nights! Beautiful!

Although the book is very long, most of the nights are only a couple pages long which really helps to divide up the reading. Anyway once you start reading it's very hard to stop. The book gives a lot of insight into the mystical Arab culture. You will really want to visit the countries after reading about all their riches.

Please! Include a table of contents! If the publisher is asking for $11.50 for this, I think a table of contents is a pretty reasonable request.

The book succeeds in what it sets out to do, which is to create a streamlined version of the tales. If you compare the Burton, John Payne, or Jonathan Scott translations to this one, you'll notice just how much material falls by the way side. The narrative moves very fast. You'll be covering stories in no time. This may suit a contemporary sensibility, accustomed to action, but at a cost.

The style is not luxurious, and you don't get lost in the language and descriptions, or lose the thread (to be honest). Instead, you're in the flow of the story. This is not bad. It's different, and it's well done. and the fact that it was sustained across thousands of pages, through three volumes is a testament to the talent of the translators.

But let's just forget about calling it complete.

There is no table of contents so you have to wade through to find a particular story.

I found an error at about #536 access is used instead of excess. How good canit be if they can't use gooder English than that. $11 for this?

Review for ARABIAN NIGHTS

(This review is based on the Award Books 186-page edition.)This book is light to hold and easy to read. Consisting of ten tales of varying length the collection presents the following themes: love, greed, ambition, treachery, loyalty, revenge, duty and generosity.

A distinctly Middle Eastern flavor permeates this anthology with many references to Islam, Sultans and Viziers, exotic geography, Genies from a lamp, bottle or ring, Magicians and Sorcerers, but alas--no flying carpet. Kids of all ages will enjoy these fascinating stories and long remember such vibrant characters as: Scheherazade, whose very life depends upon her storytelling skills; Sinbad who miraculously survives seven amazing voyages; Ali Baba who eventually outwits 40 thieves, and the beloved Chinese youth, Aladdin, a protagonist who matures from an indolent youth to a benevolent, responsible young husband. These pages shimmer with the glitter of literary gold!