Customer Reviews

Layla and Majnun: The Classic Love Story of Persian Literature

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I hate being negative; but I have to in this case. I have been a student of epic literature for a long time and I particularly enjoy the early Islamic/Persian poems in the genre. Nizami tops the list of these poets with the likes of Omar Kayyam and Farid uddin al Attar. So, I was particularly happy to discover this translation of the Majnun and Layla and ordered it from Amazon.com. My joy quickly turned to disappointment. There is so much compression, so much excision of the philosophical and allegorical content of the work, it becomes little more than a 3rd rate Romeo and Juliet. In fact, it is much much more than that. Three stars because it is great to have a translation, any translation. But now (2000), one of the great modern classic translations, first made available from Shambala press (1978), is available again and you should get that one. Translated by Omid Safi and reprinted by Omega Publications. The work, particularly in this guise, will knock your socks off.

The tale of Majnun (whose real name was Qays ibn al Mulawwah and who lived in the latter half of the 7th century) and Layla, his beloved, of the Banu Amir tribe is based on true events which have become legendary in the whole of the Islamic world to the extent that their names have become parts of common and everyday sayings and proverbs to do with love.

The most famous retelling of their love story is this one by Nizami Ganjavi, a Persian Sufi, of the 12th (?) century. He correctly understood that Majnun's love for Layla was a metaphor for his of God--in other words by loving Layla he was actually loving God as he totally consumed his ego into nothingness through his love for Layla so that he didn't percieve himself and her as separate entities but as One; in other words this story is an allegory for the Sufi's journey towards, and eventual annihilation, in the Divine.

He has described it in wonderful poetical rhyme and rhythm and although this translation changes his poetic form into prose, the rich metaphors and exquisite descriptions are kept and so the prose also reads like poetry. The central plot, in addition to being based on real-life incidents, is also very interesting and there are a host of wonderful characters too who play a part in this tale.

A must read: not only a classic love story but also a classic text of Sufism and one of the world's great literary masterpieces of poetry.

I have owned a copy of this book since 1991 and I have read and re-read it many times. This is one of those rare books which get better each time you read it. This is the most moving and dramatic lovestory I have ever read and ever will read. Romeo and Juliet to the power of ten!! The emotions portrayed here are so intense and real. It is my advise to everybody to read this book and enjoy it as much as I do.

This is a beautiful story about what love is capable of doing to the human person. Majnun was driven mad by his hopeless longing for Layla, but his longing also drove him to a transendance of human weakness and petty desire. This is a story about a love that is so all consuming that it completely transforms you. Majnun and Layla were so enraptured with their love for one another that they became one another. He is Layla and she is Majnun. They suffered agonizing sorrow from being parted, but they are never truly seperated becuase they exist for and within one another. This is the comforting aspect of the story, that love could burn so brightly even when the lovers are forced to be apart. Brilliant work about the beautiful and terrifying power of love.

From the very first paragraph you learn that this book will be a treat. It is full of intoxicating prose. Even though it is essentially about Majnoun and his deep longing, dare i say insanity over the beautiful Layla, I walked away with a much more intricate meaning. That is to say, that love," ishq" is an all consuming quest to find God. During Majnoun's exile in the desert and through his encounters with other humans, he is fully aware of his love for Layla, and that he has rejected a life among others, in the comfort of good food, friends and family, to lament Layla.

Layla and Majnoun were never actually together in the book, they are childhood friends who fall in love, but are kept apart. Majnoun takes the route of solitude and reflection, while Layla is basically forced into a loveless marriage. Although she never even consumates the marriage. Majnoun's sacrifice is the ultimate, his sanity and piece of mind, but he seems to come away with the greater gift of knowledge. In the Middle East today, Majnoun has come to mean someone who is crazy, and this tale of Layla and Majnoun is the western equivalent of Romeo and Juliet.

I've had this book for some years now and it is one of most romantic books ever written. Every time I read it again, it just gets better and better.

Simply stated, I loved reading this book even though it was a college course requirement. One of the best love stories I've ever read.

This tale of romance was one that was recommended to me by a friend in Azerbaijan, a place that holds this story very close to its cultural heritage.
The book is a excellent tale that has even been theorized as the inspiration behind Romeo and Juliet, and I can see why.

I bought this book thinking that it would be quite plainly a middle eastern Romeo and Juliet but it was much more than that. There were lines of text that rang with such truth you would have sworn they were from some Holy book. When I picked up this book I couldn't put it down until I finished it which wasn't hard to do with it being such an easy read. The story itself is so tragic and truly speaks to the human emotions of unrequited love and desires that we are denied but can never fully let go of. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who has ever had another touch your heart only to lose that person for one reason or another. Oh and one last thing Layla means night, beauty of the night, or dark beauty (depending on interpretation) and Qays (Majnuns birth name) means moon, they were destined to be lovers. Shalom and Salaam my friends.

I was very excited when I ordered this book but found it not as good as the original work in Farsi. I admit it's difficult to capture the same essence in a translation but it's a good attempt nevertheless.