Damascus Nights [Paperback]

Rafik Schami (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0684802651 | ISBN-13: 978-0684802657 | Publication Date: August 1, 1995

It is 1959, Damascus. The most famous storyteller in Damascus, Salim, the coachman, has mysteriously lost his voice. For seven nights, his seven old friends gather to break the spell with their seven different, unique stories -- some personal, some modern, some borrowed from the past. Against the backdrop of shifting Middle Eastern politics, Schami's eight characters, lost to the Arabian nights, weave in and out of tales of wizards and princesses, of New York skyscrapers and America. With spellbinding power, Schami imparts a luscious vision of storytelling as food for thought and salve for the soul, as the glue which holds our lives together.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This wonderful book is enlightening and endearing, witty and wise. Salim the coachman tells enchanting tales, but suddenly he is struck dumb. Just as Scheherazade told tales to save her life, Salim's friends must spin yarns to save his speech. Set in Damascus in 1959, the novel alternates the real lives of our storytellers with stories from the distant past. These are neither fables nor fairy tales with everlasting, happy endings, and they often require readers to suspend their disbelief. Each chapter is preceded by a one-line hint of what is to come, such as "How one person's true story was not believed, whereas his most blatant lie was." The author ( A Hand Full of Stars , Dutton Children's Books, 1990), who is a professional storyteller in Germany, has written a book appropriate for both adults and young adults. It is also a terrific book to read aloud. Highly recommended for all fiction collections.
- Olivia Opello, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Damascus-born, Germany-based children's writer Schami delivers an occasionally charming but more often unmoving tale of Arabian nights and a determined effort to help a master yarnspinner regain his lost ability to speak. In 1950's Damascus, Salim the old coachman had a well-earned reputation as a fabulous storyteller--before his good fairy deserted him and left him mute and inconsolable. His friends rally around to find a cure, proposing that he drink seven wines and cross seven mountains to sleep in seven foreign cities, but to no avail, before hitting on a plan to spend seven evenings together, with each of them telling Salim his own tale. Teacher Mehdi speaks of Shafak the carpenter's helper, who once told him of why he faithfully watched two stars chasing each other; Junis the caf‚ owner recounts his wondrous childhood, and his sadness at having betrayed a good-hearted benefactor who minted his own money; Tuma the emigrant shares some of his adventures in America, which included trying to barter in a New York department store; Faris the ex-minister puts his listeners to sleep with a tale of a king who wanted a son and who lost his hearing because of his single- mindedness. Finally, the locksmith brings his wife to speak in his stead, and Fatmeh's story of a woman whose voice enchanted a monster in his lair proves the charm that breaks Salim's silence. The magic of the various tales is undermined when the speakers revert to their ordinary selves--but the moments when the spell holds are binding indeed. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684802651
• ISBN-13: 978-0684802657
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #554,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a cpativating book, July 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Damascus Nights (Hardcover)

I received this book as a gift from a german friend living in the Us. She had recieved it as a gift (The german edition) from her sister living in Germany. I have since given several copies of it as gifts. A great story good for children of all ages 4-94 y/o

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book for all ages, May 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Damascus Nights (Paperback)

Damascus nights is indeed written like a delightful story based on the ancient 1001 nights. There are however some dark under-currents and echoes of other important pieces of literature. Do you not hear the echoes of other horsemen, of the darkness of the Apocalypse in the distance? Like Gullivers Travels this book can be read on so many levels. Enjoy it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, April 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Damascus Nights (Paperback)

I loved this book. It kept me engaged from start to end - it was so delightful. This is for all ages.