Customer Reviews

Yusuf and Zulaikha

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Pendlebury has taken a classical Persian poem and turned it into a highly readable novel. The poem is based on a story from Islamic folklore, which is itself based on the chapter about Joseph in the Quran. It takes off from the part of the story where the master's wife tries to seduce Joseph and tells "the story behind the story." Zulaikha is the name Islamic folklore gives to the master's wife (known as Potiphar's wife in the Bible). This Sufi classic humanizes her and makes us more sympathetic to her desire. I have used this book semester after semester in my courses on the literature of the Middle East. My students mostly find it delightful, after they get used to the way the Persian poet revels in piling metaphor upon metaphor, hyperbole upon hyperbole. I tell them not to expect realism; we are in the realm of the mythical here, where every maiden is a "moon-faced beauty" and every pair of pursed lips is "tight as a rosebud."

One of the best explorations into the mysteries of the divine. A truly excellent read, let down only in one place where the translator was obviously limited by the english language. A heart moving story for all generations.