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Scorpion Soup
Inspired by a book his grandfather wrote eighty years ago, master storyteller and author Tahir Shah set about creating SCORPION SOUP, an intense experience of interlinked and overlapping tales.
Having been raised on stories from both East and West, Shah believes that tales work on numerous levels, subtly influencing the way we see the world, and the way we learn from it.
Magical instruments, and secret machineries in their own right, stories are within us all. And, the way we appreciate them, from the cradle is, Shah believes, part of the default setting of Mankind.
Introduced in early childhood to the wonders of A Thousand and One Nights, Shah learned to receive and appreciate complex structures and storytelling devices. These have been used throughout history to pass on ideas, cultural values and information, as well as, of course, to entertain.
Having been inspired by The Nights, especially in the way that one story leads into another, and yet another, Shah used this technique (known as the “frame story”) in SCORPION SOUP.
An interwoven and intoxicating collection of tales, the book descends down through many layers, as one story progresses into the next, and eventually brings us back to the first.
There is the tale of the Capilongo, a sophisticated bird-like creature that lives in the jungle with sloth-servants, who invites his would-be assassin to dine before allowing himself to be killed. And there is the tale of the Clockmaker who harnesses the soul of a Jinn, in the guise of a hoopoe, and uses it to travel back in time to the realm of Harun Al-Rachid. There is the cautionary tale, too, of the Man Whose Arms Grew Branches, and the story of the Fish’s Dream.
Unlike anything that has been published in the Occidental world before, SCORPION SOUP is a rich and diverse feast for the senses, and a book that instructs as much as it does entertain.
Having been raised on stories from both East and West, Shah believes that tales work on numerous levels, subtly influencing the way we see the world, and the way we learn from it.
Magical instruments, and secret machineries in their own right, stories are within us all. And, the way we appreciate them, from the cradle is, Shah believes, part of the default setting of Mankind.
Introduced in early childhood to the wonders of A Thousand and One Nights, Shah learned to receive and appreciate complex structures and storytelling devices. These have been used throughout history to pass on ideas, cultural values and information, as well as, of course, to entertain.
Having been inspired by The Nights, especially in the way that one story leads into another, and yet another, Shah used this technique (known as the “frame story”) in SCORPION SOUP.
An interwoven and intoxicating collection of tales, the book descends down through many layers, as one story progresses into the next, and eventually brings us back to the first.
There is the tale of the Capilongo, a sophisticated bird-like creature that lives in the jungle with sloth-servants, who invites his would-be assassin to dine before allowing himself to be killed. And there is the tale of the Clockmaker who harnesses the soul of a Jinn, in the guise of a hoopoe, and uses it to travel back in time to the realm of Harun Al-Rachid. There is the cautionary tale, too, of the Man Whose Arms Grew Branches, and the story of the Fish’s Dream.
Unlike anything that has been published in the Occidental world before, SCORPION SOUP is a rich and diverse feast for the senses, and a book that instructs as much as it does entertain.
462 pages, Hardcover
First published January 7, 2013
13 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Tahir Shah
153 books625 followersTahir Shah was born in London, and raised primarily at the family’s home, Langton House, in the English countryside – where founder of the Boy Scouts, Lord Baden Powell was also brought up.
Along with his twin and elder sisters, Tahir was continually coaxed to regard the world around him through Oriental eyes. This included being exposed from early childhood to Eastern stories, and to the back-to-front humour of the wise fool, Nasrudin.
Having studied at a leading public school, Bryanston, Tahir took a degree in International Relations, his particular interest being in African dictatorships of the mid-1980s. His research in this area led him to travel alone through a wide number of failing African states, including Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Zaire.
After university, Tahir embarked on a plethora of widespread travels through the Indian subcontinent, Latin America, and Africa, drawing them together in his first travelogue, Beyond the Devil’s Teeth. In the years that followed, he published more than a dozen works of travel. These quests – for lost cities, treasure, Indian magic, and for the secrets of the so-called Birdmen of Peru – led to what is surely one of the most extraordinary bodies of travel work ever published.
In the early 2000s, with two small children, Tahir moved his young family from an apartment in London’s East End to a supposedly haunted mansion in the middle of a Casablanca shantytown. The tale of the adventure was published in his bestselling book, The Caliph’s House.
In recent years, Tahir Shah has released a cornucopia of work, embracing travel, fiction, and literary criticism. He has also made documentaries for National Geographic TV and the History Channel, and published hundreds of articles in leading magazines, newspapers, and journals. His oeuvre is regarded as exceptionally original and, as an author, he is considered as a champion of the new face of publishing.
www.tahirshah.com
www.twitter.com/humanstew
www.facebook.com/TahirShahAuthor
http://www.youtube.com/user/tahirshah999
www.pinterest.com/tahirshah
Along with his twin and elder sisters, Tahir was continually coaxed to regard the world around him through Oriental eyes. This included being exposed from early childhood to Eastern stories, and to the back-to-front humour of the wise fool, Nasrudin.
Having studied at a leading public school, Bryanston, Tahir took a degree in International Relations, his particular interest being in African dictatorships of the mid-1980s. His research in this area led him to travel alone through a wide number of failing African states, including Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Zaire.
After university, Tahir embarked on a plethora of widespread travels through the Indian subcontinent, Latin America, and Africa, drawing them together in his first travelogue, Beyond the Devil’s Teeth. In the years that followed, he published more than a dozen works of travel. These quests – for lost cities, treasure, Indian magic, and for the secrets of the so-called Birdmen of Peru – led to what is surely one of the most extraordinary bodies of travel work ever published.
In the early 2000s, with two small children, Tahir moved his young family from an apartment in London’s East End to a supposedly haunted mansion in the middle of a Casablanca shantytown. The tale of the adventure was published in his bestselling book, The Caliph’s House.
In recent years, Tahir Shah has released a cornucopia of work, embracing travel, fiction, and literary criticism. He has also made documentaries for National Geographic TV and the History Channel, and published hundreds of articles in leading magazines, newspapers, and journals. His oeuvre is regarded as exceptionally original and, as an author, he is considered as a champion of the new face of publishing.
www.tahirshah.com
www.twitter.com/humanstew
www.facebook.com/TahirShahAuthor
http://www.youtube.com/user/tahirshah999
www.pinterest.com/tahirshah
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
January 25, 2013
An innocent man finds himself incarcerated in a grim prison cell and knows he may never leave it alive. He also knows that, although his body is confined, his spirit is not bounded by time or place, and his imagination is not confined to the physical forms of the familiar world. To survive he tells himself stories, each linked to the next; and, when the last story has been told, he starts again.
Through his stories the prisoner travels to places as distant as Senegal, Iceland and China. But, a storyteller need not remain on the surface of the globe. The stories also take him into a realm of dreams and visions, where he meets a previously unkown creature, half boar, half bird, with the hands of a monkey and the intelligence of a child, who stands upright, smokes a pipe, drinks brandy and has a story to tell, one that takes the prisoner, and us, a little closer to the heart of the world.
On our journey towards the core we travel through Frogland and the Forest of Empty Souls, discover children who can achieve what is impossible to adults, and fools with the audacity to show a king his folly. We witness the vanquishing of a formidable jinn and meet tyrannical mice, and cats, wise and otherwise.
This is an astonishingly original and superbly crafted collection of stories, which not only entertains, but also empowers. I have no doubt that it ranks among the best World Literature has ever produced, while also being tailored to the needs of our time.
Through his stories the prisoner travels to places as distant as Senegal, Iceland and China. But, a storyteller need not remain on the surface of the globe. The stories also take him into a realm of dreams and visions, where he meets a previously unkown creature, half boar, half bird, with the hands of a monkey and the intelligence of a child, who stands upright, smokes a pipe, drinks brandy and has a story to tell, one that takes the prisoner, and us, a little closer to the heart of the world.
On our journey towards the core we travel through Frogland and the Forest of Empty Souls, discover children who can achieve what is impossible to adults, and fools with the audacity to show a king his folly. We witness the vanquishing of a formidable jinn and meet tyrannical mice, and cats, wise and otherwise.
This is an astonishingly original and superbly crafted collection of stories, which not only entertains, but also empowers. I have no doubt that it ranks among the best World Literature has ever produced, while also being tailored to the needs of our time.
January 9, 2013
Scorpion Soup: Dancing to a different drum
Tahir Shah has been steeped in traditional storytelling, folklore, legend and creative mythology from an early age and he was brought up in a family gifted in the art and possessing vivid creative imagination. This shines through in the interlinked short stories which comprise Scorpion Soup: A story in a story, which was inspired by the One Thousand and One Nights.
As each tale is recounted and segues into the next -- as if hinting at and mimicking the world itself emerging and blossoming in a stream of consciousness -- the reader is tantalized by what he has read and drawn into and drawn along by what "moreish" tale might come next. Tales not only of creative imagination, but also -- as is the way of the world -- partly-cautionary tales about its wayward cousin, spurious imagination; at times recurring tales of wondrous destiny and also of less happy fate; tales whose apparently-opposing warp and weft are craftily and necessaily woven together to augment the rich tapestry of life.
As a Westerner, brought up with the literary and technical products of the modern Western world and -- alas -- possessed of an all-too-analytical mind, I would have liked to have seen more clearly delineated dénouement along the way, and I must admit that I felt a certain discomfort and sadness in leaving behind one, not as yet fully resolved, story and moving onto the next. But the Eastern realm, in which these tales are set, dances to a different drum, has its own technical ways of operating and appeals to altogether different and more subtle faculties, and the world is that much richer as a consequence.
I think the whole point is that this is a never-ending tale, with 1,001 possibilities and that it rightly leaves much to the reader to exercise their own imagination so that he or she may fill in the gaps. "What happened to the old witch?", they might ask, and yet another vivid story might be invoked in response, and this can happen because this fairytele framework is inherently open, fertile and liberating, rather than the often closed system, paradigm or prison to which we in the West are, alas, more accustomed.
All in all, then, I heartily recommend Scorpion Soup to both the young and the young at heart.
Tahir Shah has been steeped in traditional storytelling, folklore, legend and creative mythology from an early age and he was brought up in a family gifted in the art and possessing vivid creative imagination. This shines through in the interlinked short stories which comprise Scorpion Soup: A story in a story, which was inspired by the One Thousand and One Nights.
As each tale is recounted and segues into the next -- as if hinting at and mimicking the world itself emerging and blossoming in a stream of consciousness -- the reader is tantalized by what he has read and drawn into and drawn along by what "moreish" tale might come next. Tales not only of creative imagination, but also -- as is the way of the world -- partly-cautionary tales about its wayward cousin, spurious imagination; at times recurring tales of wondrous destiny and also of less happy fate; tales whose apparently-opposing warp and weft are craftily and necessaily woven together to augment the rich tapestry of life.
As a Westerner, brought up with the literary and technical products of the modern Western world and -- alas -- possessed of an all-too-analytical mind, I would have liked to have seen more clearly delineated dénouement along the way, and I must admit that I felt a certain discomfort and sadness in leaving behind one, not as yet fully resolved, story and moving onto the next. But the Eastern realm, in which these tales are set, dances to a different drum, has its own technical ways of operating and appeals to altogether different and more subtle faculties, and the world is that much richer as a consequence.
I think the whole point is that this is a never-ending tale, with 1,001 possibilities and that it rightly leaves much to the reader to exercise their own imagination so that he or she may fill in the gaps. "What happened to the old witch?", they might ask, and yet another vivid story might be invoked in response, and this can happen because this fairytele framework is inherently open, fertile and liberating, rather than the often closed system, paradigm or prison to which we in the West are, alas, more accustomed.
All in all, then, I heartily recommend Scorpion Soup to both the young and the young at heart.
January 8, 2013
I absolutely loved Scorpion Soup. It's a wonderful collection of eighteen nested stories, each one seamlessly leading into the next. In this work, the author's background from a family rich in storytelling tradition shines. It has all the magic of In Arabian Nights, and yet is so much richer. It's a book that I've already recommended to friends, and I will continue to do so. As another reviewer commented, Scorpion Soup is a feast for the mind and for the soul.
I'd be at a loss if I had to choose a favorite of the eighteen tales. They were all memorable, each one a gem in its own way. The magical beast of the capilongo, the mystery of the shrine that held the mysterious box, and The Shop That Sold Truth are all magical. Each story has a message that will stay with you long after you've finished reading. Each one is of a different length: some very short, others several pages long. The book itself is just over 30,000 words, but like The Book of the Book, written by Idries Shah, the content is so rich that the length is perfect.
The content is appropriate for young adults and for adults. This book will appeal to anyone who has enjoyed the author's previous work, especially In Arabian Nights. Fans of The Thousand and One Nights and of all kinds of magical stories will also love Scorpion Soup. I cannot wait for the limited edition hardcover to come out in March.
Disclaimer: I know the author personally and work with him through my company, Tribal Publishing, which helps authors build their online platform using social media. I was a reader of this author's books before working with him, and our professional relationship did not affect this honest review.
I'd be at a loss if I had to choose a favorite of the eighteen tales. They were all memorable, each one a gem in its own way. The magical beast of the capilongo, the mystery of the shrine that held the mysterious box, and The Shop That Sold Truth are all magical. Each story has a message that will stay with you long after you've finished reading. Each one is of a different length: some very short, others several pages long. The book itself is just over 30,000 words, but like The Book of the Book, written by Idries Shah, the content is so rich that the length is perfect.
The content is appropriate for young adults and for adults. This book will appeal to anyone who has enjoyed the author's previous work, especially In Arabian Nights. Fans of The Thousand and One Nights and of all kinds of magical stories will also love Scorpion Soup. I cannot wait for the limited edition hardcover to come out in March.
Disclaimer: I know the author personally and work with him through my company, Tribal Publishing, which helps authors build their online platform using social media. I was a reader of this author's books before working with him, and our professional relationship did not affect this honest review.
January 8, 2013
What a book! What a journey! In the tradition of the Arabian Nights and the great storytellers that the Shah surname has crafted, Tahir Shah, once again, surprises me with an invention worthy of the 1001 Nights. Of course, not THAT long but nevertheless as imaginative and full of wisdom and secret hints that show us that always, the connection with other realms is here, now, in everything and everybody. When I was reading such feast for the mind and the soul, I felt that this Soup has all the ingredients that somehow had been present in both his father's work and his grandfather's. In my humble opinion, this is the author's best book yet.
March 6, 2013
A magical tale told majestically by a consummate teller of tales. The sort of story that enriches the reader and enables them to reconnect with their imagination. Highly recommended.
January 9, 2013
The first thing to be said is that Scorpion Soup is very funny. (I will count myself lucky if I laugh as deeply in the rest of the month as I did at certain junctures in these stories.) Not scorpion soup itself, I hasten to add: 'funny' would not be the right word for such a soup as that. (What would the right word be for the taste of such an until-now unheard-of soup?)
I downloaded the book this morning, early, and finished it just as the twelve o'clock signal sounded out from downtown Vancouver (we live by the harbour, where ships dock from all over the world, and on those ships, naturally, there are sailors with tales to tell - but that's another story - or is it?) A short book, then... (No, not really: how can a story that is endless be regarded as short?)
This morning, as far as I can recall, began like any other. But then I started reading Scorpion Soup and was unwilling to stop until... Of course, I told myself that I could stop whenever I wished. But that was not the wish that was with me as I read.
(Rejuvenating - that would be a good word for it.)
And so the second thing that could be said about Scorpion Soup is that it is rejuvenating.
The third thing - there is always a third, don't you find?- is that if one wished for a story, because one had read many, many stories, many of such stories having been written, containers crafted and woven, by those who are, and have been, very kings (and queens) among storytellers, and yet some days, somehow one wished for a story that knew those stories: if one wished such a wish, one would now be able to find out what one form of that wish looks like.
And what does it look like?
It looks like...
Scorpion Soup
I downloaded the book this morning, early, and finished it just as the twelve o'clock signal sounded out from downtown Vancouver (we live by the harbour, where ships dock from all over the world, and on those ships, naturally, there are sailors with tales to tell - but that's another story - or is it?) A short book, then... (No, not really: how can a story that is endless be regarded as short?)
This morning, as far as I can recall, began like any other. But then I started reading Scorpion Soup and was unwilling to stop until... Of course, I told myself that I could stop whenever I wished. But that was not the wish that was with me as I read.
(Rejuvenating - that would be a good word for it.)
And so the second thing that could be said about Scorpion Soup is that it is rejuvenating.
The third thing - there is always a third, don't you find?- is that if one wished for a story, because one had read many, many stories, many of such stories having been written, containers crafted and woven, by those who are, and have been, very kings (and queens) among storytellers, and yet some days, somehow one wished for a story that knew those stories: if one wished such a wish, one would now be able to find out what one form of that wish looks like.
And what does it look like?
It looks like...
Scorpion Soup
January 24, 2013
A true masterpiece is what Tahir Shah has given us with this masterful tour-de-force of the human story. In these tales-within-tales Tahir has woven nothing less than the essentials of life. Part of the mastery of what he has accomplished is that the reader doesn't even have to have a clue that anything important is contained within the story. It is sufficient unto itself in that it is immensely entertaining to read and experience - similar to a white-water rapids ride that is perilously close to getting out of control.
Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a fun and wild ride: read Scorpion Soup :)
Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a fun and wild ride: read Scorpion Soup :)
January 13, 2013
Read Scorpion Soup and enter a waking dream...wondrous and horrendous... with a magical non-linear quality that takes you on your journey through the stories-within-stories all the way to...the end? As always, the author's writing is energized and full of vivid color, wide-ranging dynamics, and fascinating imagery. Absorbing and delightful reading, with the added enchantment of being like a 'dream' you can go back and experience again..and again...and again.
January 10, 2013
Scorpion Soup: A story in a story
I was wondering how Tahir Shah would follow Travels with Myself and he switched direction and produced Timbuctoo. Now another switch, a book that he himself describes as " a hymn to The Thousand and One Nights". It is much shorter than that classic , around 33,000 words but it is so rich and multi-layered that it feels so much longer. A hymn yes, but a choir of angels,grotesques, hermits, princesses, children and all sorts of magical creatures to sing it.
Here we can see echos of his grandfather Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah, his father Idries Shah, his aunt Amina Shah as well as Sufi masters and tales of wisdom. They are all told with typical Shah energy and understanding, one tale leading to another to provide a deeply satisfying soup.
"Let me tell you a story," he said, "a story that has no end."
"I was rather hoping it had no beginning, too." Jeanette Winterson Lighthousekeeping
Here in Scorpion Soup we get that story with no beginning and no end, round and round it goes to provide what is virtually an instruction manual for living that can be read by young adults too. It works on many levels, probably more than my understanding allows but here there is fantasy, humour, magic, even puzzles, deep understanding of the human condition, wisdom to be absorbed and used and the list goes on just like the stories which echo and sometimes rewrite Sufi tales.
It is a wonderful, in every sense, distillation of much of what Tahir Shah must have learned from his father's storytelling and from many other sources too. With typical generosity it is both beautifully packaged, the container, and full of riches, the contained, and available for next to nothing.
I feel sure this book will be read and re-read by many and it fully deserves to be, indeed it needs to be. Scorpion Soup
I was wondering how Tahir Shah would follow Travels with Myself and he switched direction and produced Timbuctoo. Now another switch, a book that he himself describes as " a hymn to The Thousand and One Nights". It is much shorter than that classic , around 33,000 words but it is so rich and multi-layered that it feels so much longer. A hymn yes, but a choir of angels,grotesques, hermits, princesses, children and all sorts of magical creatures to sing it.
Here we can see echos of his grandfather Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah, his father Idries Shah, his aunt Amina Shah as well as Sufi masters and tales of wisdom. They are all told with typical Shah energy and understanding, one tale leading to another to provide a deeply satisfying soup.
"Let me tell you a story," he said, "a story that has no end."
"I was rather hoping it had no beginning, too." Jeanette Winterson Lighthousekeeping
Here in Scorpion Soup we get that story with no beginning and no end, round and round it goes to provide what is virtually an instruction manual for living that can be read by young adults too. It works on many levels, probably more than my understanding allows but here there is fantasy, humour, magic, even puzzles, deep understanding of the human condition, wisdom to be absorbed and used and the list goes on just like the stories which echo and sometimes rewrite Sufi tales.
It is a wonderful, in every sense, distillation of much of what Tahir Shah must have learned from his father's storytelling and from many other sources too. With typical generosity it is both beautifully packaged, the container, and full of riches, the contained, and available for next to nothing.
I feel sure this book will be read and re-read by many and it fully deserves to be, indeed it needs to be. Scorpion Soup
January 10, 2013
A brilliant multilayered and spiralling reading experience. In the tradition of the Arabian Nights and of Kalila and Dimna. I read the nested stories in one evening and will read it many times more. The stories transport you out of the everyday and must reawaken even the most jaded imagination. Tahir Shah has always produced excellent work and this book maintains his very high level art of storytelling. I look forward to the hard copy version later this year.
April 28, 2013
A story within a story within story. I never wanted to put it down. It is such a fascinating way to explore the world. As a teacher I read stories for children daily, but these Eastern style stories are so much more. Beautifully written, and an original idea that can be a light read or a deep exploration of the fundamentals of being human. I really enjoyed reading this book.
May 14, 2013
These stories come alive in a way that makes it difficult to put the book down! Tahir Shah is a master storyteller. Much wisdom to be found in these pages.
May 20, 2013
Like a string of pearls- no, no, that's an imprecise description. Like matryoshka (Russian nesting dolls), each tale within Scorpion Soup draws itself into another, leading the reader further and further down the rabbit hole until you find that you've been looped back to the beginning, where the first story took off. (Not unlike how some say time itself may behave.) Rich and lush, ensnaring the entire range of the human senses through Shah's skillful descriptions, Scorpion Soup invites you to sink into its silk-covered, spice-scented, desert wind-warmed embrace and forget your troubles for a spell.
Reading this collection of interlinked stories might confound some people as they do not follow the typical 'beginning, middle, end' format. Instead, just as one story reaches what would be its climax, it becomes instead the introduction for the next tale. And so on and so on. What is created is a patchwork of ambiguity – fluid, imprecise, unbounded. One might even say sensual. Yet for all their freeform nature, the stories do contain lessons and morals. Nothing strictly defined as one might find in, say, Aesop's Fables; instead, the lessons contained within must be teased out, mulled over, perhaps even come at as though they were epiphanies, scintillating through the mind in brilliant 'ah ha!' moments.
Part of the appeal and success of Scorpion Soup must go, if I'm honest, to the publisher, Secretum Mundi Publishing. As with the other book of Shah's I've read, Timbuctoo, they've crafted a marvelous tome, harkening back to the books published 100 and more years ago. The cover is printed with an antique map of Africa, in all its fantastic “Here be Dragons” glory, with embossed gold lettering on the front and spine detailing the book title and author. Inside, the pages are sewn in (sewn in!) with a burgundy satin ribbon (which matches the burgundy end papers) for a bookmark. As a bonus, with nearly each story a fold-out map has been provided illustrating a piece of geography matching that which is in the story. However, these are no ordinary maps. Instead, as Shah explains in his afterword, the selection of maps are replicas of those conceived and completed by the father and son duo of Willelm and Joan Blaue of Amsterdam in 1665, maps which were light-years ahead of any other cartography of the time. Maps which still contained elements of fantasy in the form of mythical creatures and expanses of empty space representing that which had yet to be explored. As Shah says, each map walks the tightrope between fact and fantasy and, as such, provide the perfect accompaniment to his tales.
Born of a culture renowned for its rich history of fables and legends and raised in a family of master storytellers, not to mention gifted personally with a vivid imagination, Shah has taken all the gifts his heritage, family, and talent have bestowed upon him and put them to excellent use in his writing career. His latest effort is no exception, weaving together fantastical, ingenious, and sumptuous stories into a single elegant and highly readable tale.
Disclaimer: I was given a hardcover copy of Scorpion Soup by the author in exchange for an honest review of his work. I am not acquainted with him in any professional capacity, nor I am affiliated with his publisher, agent, or any other entity associated with him.
Reading this collection of interlinked stories might confound some people as they do not follow the typical 'beginning, middle, end' format. Instead, just as one story reaches what would be its climax, it becomes instead the introduction for the next tale. And so on and so on. What is created is a patchwork of ambiguity – fluid, imprecise, unbounded. One might even say sensual. Yet for all their freeform nature, the stories do contain lessons and morals. Nothing strictly defined as one might find in, say, Aesop's Fables; instead, the lessons contained within must be teased out, mulled over, perhaps even come at as though they were epiphanies, scintillating through the mind in brilliant 'ah ha!' moments.
Part of the appeal and success of Scorpion Soup must go, if I'm honest, to the publisher, Secretum Mundi Publishing. As with the other book of Shah's I've read, Timbuctoo, they've crafted a marvelous tome, harkening back to the books published 100 and more years ago. The cover is printed with an antique map of Africa, in all its fantastic “Here be Dragons” glory, with embossed gold lettering on the front and spine detailing the book title and author. Inside, the pages are sewn in (sewn in!) with a burgundy satin ribbon (which matches the burgundy end papers) for a bookmark. As a bonus, with nearly each story a fold-out map has been provided illustrating a piece of geography matching that which is in the story. However, these are no ordinary maps. Instead, as Shah explains in his afterword, the selection of maps are replicas of those conceived and completed by the father and son duo of Willelm and Joan Blaue of Amsterdam in 1665, maps which were light-years ahead of any other cartography of the time. Maps which still contained elements of fantasy in the form of mythical creatures and expanses of empty space representing that which had yet to be explored. As Shah says, each map walks the tightrope between fact and fantasy and, as such, provide the perfect accompaniment to his tales.
Born of a culture renowned for its rich history of fables and legends and raised in a family of master storytellers, not to mention gifted personally with a vivid imagination, Shah has taken all the gifts his heritage, family, and talent have bestowed upon him and put them to excellent use in his writing career. His latest effort is no exception, weaving together fantastical, ingenious, and sumptuous stories into a single elegant and highly readable tale.
Disclaimer: I was given a hardcover copy of Scorpion Soup by the author in exchange for an honest review of his work. I am not acquainted with him in any professional capacity, nor I am affiliated with his publisher, agent, or any other entity associated with him.
November 30, 2014
Märchenerzähler – gibt es das noch? Sie sind rar geworden, und vielleicht lassen sich die Menschen nicht mehr ganz so leicht verzaubern, oft übersättigt mit Events und Terminen, mit GeTwitter und dem Strom der SMS- und Facebook-Nachrichten…
Und doch! Es gibt noch Erzähler von Märchen, die es vermögen, uns tausend Nächte und noch eine mit wundersamen Gedanken und Vorstellungen füllen können und uns zum Zuhören oder Mitlesen verlocken. Wie ein blanker Kieselstein, der in einen spiegelglatten See fällt und dort weite Wellen verbreitet und immer größere Kreise zieht, märchenhaft in Flüsse wandert und weiter zum Meer, so sind diese Märchen über Jahrhunderte lebendig geblieben. Wertvoll waren Märchen und Geschichten immer schon, sie wurden erzählt und weitererzählt und so bewahrt vor dem Vergessen, lange ehe das Schreiben weit verbreitet war.
Haben wir dann also heute noch Freude am Fabulieren? Am Versinken in Märchen, am Verfolgen von traumhaften Geschichten? Früher bewahrten Geschichtenerzähler mündlich Überliefertes, das seinen Ursprung in wahren Begebenheiten findet, sie trugen Legenden und Moralgeschichten vor. Märchenerzähler hingehen bedienten die Elemente der Fantasie, des Zaubers und des Fabelhaften. Magisch wurde man in den Strudel der Erzählung gezogen, eine Begebenheit versteckte sich in der anderen, Wege und Seitenwege taten sich auf und führten auf verschlungenen Pfaden zu einem unvorhersehbaren Ende – oder einem neuen Anfang?
"Scorpion Soup“ von Tahir Shah ist ein Märchenbuch in bester Erzähltradition, das alle Erwartungen erfüllt. Bei Tahir Shah ist das opulente Fabulieren der Ausdruck seiner Persönlichkeit und seiner Familientradition, er lebt in seinen Erzählungen und Büchern und lässt uns durch seine meisterhafte Erzählkunst mühelos in seine Fantasiewelt folgen. Man möchte meinen, dass er zum Erzählen geboren sei…
Wie soll man dieses vielteilige Märchen in seiner Mannigfaltigkeit in wenigen Worten bewerten? Fast scheut man sich davor, die Kapitelinhalte schnöde in ein paar Sätze zusammenzufassen, wie bei einem Sachbuch oder einem Reiseführer, einem Buch aus der realen Welt.
"Scorpion Soup“, das sind achtzehn kunstvoll ineinandergeschachtelte märchenhafte Begebenheiten, spannungsreich geschrieben, brillant und fantasievoll erzählt, man wird fast unmerklich von Kapitel zu Kapitel geführt. Jedes der Kapitel schlägt den erwartungsvollen Leser erneut in den Bann und verleitet ihn zum Weiterlesen, man wird zum staunenden Kind, erlebt aufs Neue die Freude am Zu-Hören von geschriebenen Worten, und wie in vielen Märchen bleiben in Tahir Shahs Buch Freiräume für eigene Ideen und ausufernde Fantasien, für endlose Spekulationen über den Ausgang der Erzählung oder über das weitere Schicksal der beschriebenen Personen. Ein Buch ganz zweifelsohne für Kinder und für Erwachsene, ein Buch zum Abschalten und Träumen, zum Vergessen der Alltagsrealitäten, oder einfach zum Freuen.
(also see: http://miracledesign.blogspot.fr/2013...)
Und doch! Es gibt noch Erzähler von Märchen, die es vermögen, uns tausend Nächte und noch eine mit wundersamen Gedanken und Vorstellungen füllen können und uns zum Zuhören oder Mitlesen verlocken. Wie ein blanker Kieselstein, der in einen spiegelglatten See fällt und dort weite Wellen verbreitet und immer größere Kreise zieht, märchenhaft in Flüsse wandert und weiter zum Meer, so sind diese Märchen über Jahrhunderte lebendig geblieben. Wertvoll waren Märchen und Geschichten immer schon, sie wurden erzählt und weitererzählt und so bewahrt vor dem Vergessen, lange ehe das Schreiben weit verbreitet war.
Haben wir dann also heute noch Freude am Fabulieren? Am Versinken in Märchen, am Verfolgen von traumhaften Geschichten? Früher bewahrten Geschichtenerzähler mündlich Überliefertes, das seinen Ursprung in wahren Begebenheiten findet, sie trugen Legenden und Moralgeschichten vor. Märchenerzähler hingehen bedienten die Elemente der Fantasie, des Zaubers und des Fabelhaften. Magisch wurde man in den Strudel der Erzählung gezogen, eine Begebenheit versteckte sich in der anderen, Wege und Seitenwege taten sich auf und führten auf verschlungenen Pfaden zu einem unvorhersehbaren Ende – oder einem neuen Anfang?
"Scorpion Soup“ von Tahir Shah ist ein Märchenbuch in bester Erzähltradition, das alle Erwartungen erfüllt. Bei Tahir Shah ist das opulente Fabulieren der Ausdruck seiner Persönlichkeit und seiner Familientradition, er lebt in seinen Erzählungen und Büchern und lässt uns durch seine meisterhafte Erzählkunst mühelos in seine Fantasiewelt folgen. Man möchte meinen, dass er zum Erzählen geboren sei…
Wie soll man dieses vielteilige Märchen in seiner Mannigfaltigkeit in wenigen Worten bewerten? Fast scheut man sich davor, die Kapitelinhalte schnöde in ein paar Sätze zusammenzufassen, wie bei einem Sachbuch oder einem Reiseführer, einem Buch aus der realen Welt.
"Scorpion Soup“, das sind achtzehn kunstvoll ineinandergeschachtelte märchenhafte Begebenheiten, spannungsreich geschrieben, brillant und fantasievoll erzählt, man wird fast unmerklich von Kapitel zu Kapitel geführt. Jedes der Kapitel schlägt den erwartungsvollen Leser erneut in den Bann und verleitet ihn zum Weiterlesen, man wird zum staunenden Kind, erlebt aufs Neue die Freude am Zu-Hören von geschriebenen Worten, und wie in vielen Märchen bleiben in Tahir Shahs Buch Freiräume für eigene Ideen und ausufernde Fantasien, für endlose Spekulationen über den Ausgang der Erzählung oder über das weitere Schicksal der beschriebenen Personen. Ein Buch ganz zweifelsohne für Kinder und für Erwachsene, ein Buch zum Abschalten und Träumen, zum Vergessen der Alltagsrealitäten, oder einfach zum Freuen.
(also see: http://miracledesign.blogspot.fr/2013...)
May 20, 2019
'My form may have changed once, and then again, but I contain the wisdom of all Men.'
This book is a story with a story and then in that story comes another story... and so forth.
The author says that these short stories are a small hymn to the Thousand and One Nights.
From all the short stories I enjoyed the most: The Shop That Sold Truth, Frogland, The Book of Pure Thoughts, The Most Foolish of Men (this one was funny), The Man Whose Arms Grew Branches, and The Singing Serpents.
Tahir Shah created something extraordinary here with an usual writing plot/style and certainly something you can't forget that easily! Recommended to everyone who loves fairytales with a china doll writing plot.
This book is a story with a story and then in that story comes another story... and so forth.
The author says that these short stories are a small hymn to the Thousand and One Nights.
From all the short stories I enjoyed the most: The Shop That Sold Truth, Frogland, The Book of Pure Thoughts, The Most Foolish of Men (this one was funny), The Man Whose Arms Grew Branches, and The Singing Serpents.
Tahir Shah created something extraordinary here with an usual writing plot/style and certainly something you can't forget that easily! Recommended to everyone who loves fairytales with a china doll writing plot.
April 11, 2015
Alas, I finished this book too quickly! I really tried to take my time, trying to read each story and savor it before moving on to the next but that was almost impossible.
What a great book. Most stories make you think yet they are wildly entertaining. I'm glad I decided to purchase the book instead of borrowing it from the library. I actually got it for 2 bucks for my kindle. These are the type of stories I want to read to my kid when he gets older.
One story leads to the next so, as though by instinct, I continued on to the first story as soon as I finished the last. A complete circle! The book ends where it begins!
What a great book. Most stories make you think yet they are wildly entertaining. I'm glad I decided to purchase the book instead of borrowing it from the library. I actually got it for 2 bucks for my kindle. These are the type of stories I want to read to my kid when he gets older.
One story leads to the next so, as though by instinct, I continued on to the first story as soon as I finished the last. A complete circle! The book ends where it begins!
April 12, 2013
I received a package today from London, only to open it and find one of the most stunning books I have ever seen! I won this book from the Goodreads First Reads giveaway, and I am so glad that I did. My son (14) and I couldn't stop turning the pages. Thank you Tahir Shah for writing this amazing, beautiful, stunning, thrilling book! You are a master story teller, one for the ages. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Now I need to try and get this book back from my son, and put it in a special place in my library...
April 14, 2013
I enjoyed all the tales in this book and the lessons they taught. Definitely something I will be reading again.
~EDIT~
Just received my signed copy of Scorpion Soup in the mail today! It is beautiful <3 I would like to thank the author Tahir Shah for sending me this lovely book. The maps in it help bring the stories to life.
~EDIT~
Just received my signed copy of Scorpion Soup in the mail today! It is beautiful <3 I would like to thank the author Tahir Shah for sending me this lovely book. The maps in it help bring the stories to life.
April 18, 2013
This book reminds me of why I love reading and takes me back to fairy tails and myths I read when I was young. A story within a story within a story. Fantastical far away lands. Magic and wonder. Over way too soon.
March 31, 2013
I wish that Western culture had the tradition of stories that the East has. I guess then it wouldn't be the West, would it? But it's hard for me to read books like the Arabian Nights and the ones that Tahir Shah writes and not wish I had grown up with that tradition. There is poetry in the language that doesn't exist in the West. Words flow together in a tapestry, rich with color and meaning, and the meanings need to be teased out of the warp and woof. No straight forward morals - don't mess around with gingerbread houses, don't go visit grandma without taking along a weapon - just the tantalizing hint which must get into your brain and "worm" around until it is absorbed, finally solved.
Shah captures this Eastern mystic in his works, fiction and nonfiction. Of course, that is partly because he IS Eastern and partly because he grew up in a story-telling family. But background does not always "stick"; many people come from writing or musical families and can't put a sentence together or carry a tune. Somehow the magic has permeated Shah and made him a master storyteller, like his father.
This book is fiction, based on the Arabian Nights idea of the story in a story. I love this type of writing. It keeps your mind active, traveling down further and further. And it's always startling when you return to the surface. Because it is fiction, this book allows Shah's true storytelling abilities to shine. Everything he writes is a story - his nonfiction carries the same mindfulness as the Arabian Nights. But allowing himself to write fiction has released his inner jinn and I hope he makes a habit of it.
If I had my way, Shah would write forever.
Shah captures this Eastern mystic in his works, fiction and nonfiction. Of course, that is partly because he IS Eastern and partly because he grew up in a story-telling family. But background does not always "stick"; many people come from writing or musical families and can't put a sentence together or carry a tune. Somehow the magic has permeated Shah and made him a master storyteller, like his father.
This book is fiction, based on the Arabian Nights idea of the story in a story. I love this type of writing. It keeps your mind active, traveling down further and further. And it's always startling when you return to the surface. Because it is fiction, this book allows Shah's true storytelling abilities to shine. Everything he writes is a story - his nonfiction carries the same mindfulness as the Arabian Nights. But allowing himself to write fiction has released his inner jinn and I hope he makes a habit of it.
If I had my way, Shah would write forever.
March 31, 2013
This isn't the kind of story that you need to read front to back. It's exactly what the title says - a story in a story. Before one of the short tales ends, Shah begins another, thoroughly whirlpooling you through a web of ideas.
In some ways: I loved it. It was a way to experience a lot of stories and ideas in a little amount of time. It's something to unwrap and discover. It's a book to keep on your shelf and look at again and again. And it's unique - it's a fresh take on something old; a book.
In some ways: It bothered me. There's one key problem with a story within a story - the stories don't finish. Some of them have pretty distinct endings but some really end halfway through. They may have gotten their points across but I don't like loose ends. There are certain stories in particular that I would have really liked to have wrapped up.
I was given an advanced e-book copy for this and I am extremely grateful. Overall I really love Shah's writing and intend to read all his works. For me, though, he's not an e-book kind of writer. I think my experience with this book was muffled by the format. I wanted to page through, go back easily, really physically see the transitions. If you want to pick this up, and I do suggest you read Shah if you haven't before, go for the physical copy!
In some ways: I loved it. It was a way to experience a lot of stories and ideas in a little amount of time. It's something to unwrap and discover. It's a book to keep on your shelf and look at again and again. And it's unique - it's a fresh take on something old; a book.
In some ways: It bothered me. There's one key problem with a story within a story - the stories don't finish. Some of them have pretty distinct endings but some really end halfway through. They may have gotten their points across but I don't like loose ends. There are certain stories in particular that I would have really liked to have wrapped up.
I was given an advanced e-book copy for this and I am extremely grateful. Overall I really love Shah's writing and intend to read all his works. For me, though, he's not an e-book kind of writer. I think my experience with this book was muffled by the format. I wanted to page through, go back easily, really physically see the transitions. If you want to pick this up, and I do suggest you read Shah if you haven't before, go for the physical copy!
March 1, 2013
I WAS Theseus entering into the maze without my ball of thread, that what I felt while reading this, but the only difference was instead of the Minotaur, I faced an EPIC,BRILLIANT ENDING.
this is the 2nd book I read for Tahir Shah, the first was "In Arbian Nights", and I can say out loud that
this man is bringing the traditional story-telling back to life, If I ever was in a Caravan and setting by the fire in the harsh cold of the desert,I would want Tahir Shah to be our companion to listen to his magic tales through out the chilly nights.
about the Scorpion Soup, it is like the Matryoshka doll, every story has another one within it, and you will be involved within them too, non was boring, and each had its own share of MAGIC,and you will had to check under your feet from time to time making sure that the carpet beneath you is not already flying.
LOVED IT, ENJOYED IT, and I liked the hidden wisdom within it, and I am sure, if I re-read it again some time later from now, I will be more drown in the meaning, it is the kind of thing you understand more with age.
this is the 2nd book I read for Tahir Shah, the first was "In Arbian Nights", and I can say out loud that
this man is bringing the traditional story-telling back to life, If I ever was in a Caravan and setting by the fire in the harsh cold of the desert,I would want Tahir Shah to be our companion to listen to his magic tales through out the chilly nights.
about the Scorpion Soup, it is like the Matryoshka doll, every story has another one within it, and you will be involved within them too, non was boring, and each had its own share of MAGIC,and you will had to check under your feet from time to time making sure that the carpet beneath you is not already flying.
LOVED IT, ENJOYED IT, and I liked the hidden wisdom within it, and I am sure, if I re-read it again some time later from now, I will be more drown in the meaning, it is the kind of thing you understand more with age.
March 23, 2015
The book is not only a good read, but much can be obtained from it on different levels.
The story features recurrent themes that run through the book – one story is tied to the next rather like the flow of life itself.
The story is cyclic in nature – the end is also the beginning. Not only
was the story sequential in the forward direction, but the cause of the sequence of events can be read in reverse too, meaning we can deduce what led up to the next story from the previous one.
I found that the story is useful in reminding one to notice recurring themes in one's own life that need attending to, perhaps on a higher turn of the spiral.
The story features recurrent themes that run through the book – one story is tied to the next rather like the flow of life itself.
The story is cyclic in nature – the end is also the beginning. Not only
was the story sequential in the forward direction, but the cause of the sequence of events can be read in reverse too, meaning we can deduce what led up to the next story from the previous one.
I found that the story is useful in reminding one to notice recurring themes in one's own life that need attending to, perhaps on a higher turn of the spiral.
June 11, 2022
The stories, the one dragging into the other are as multifarious as the other reviews suggest. We are again in Arabian Nights, beautifully written, beautifully presented. 'A chair, ' he went on, 'that is powered by clock work and that can travel through time. 'Page Sixty Four of the hardback edition. Let the quote serve for travel through time, if that is what time is. Look up or down through floors and ceiling of glass, the reference to Troyes haunting. The beginning is the end, the end the beginning. There is a new edition. This review revised 28 06 21.
August 28, 2014
Tahir Shah has become one of my favorite authors. This story-within-a-story is wonderfully structured--faithful to 1001 Nights, but innovative in its approach. I was immersed in each portion--a delightful read!
August 23, 2023
This is a really good book. I also really hated this book. Last week I found a message on Goodreads offering me this book from just before it was released to public. A message from 2013. I had read and loved In Arabian Nights so much that I actively remember parts today, a literal decade later. I stand by that love. I stand by that I fully endorse Tahir Shah's writing style because honestly it is engrossing and wonderful and I greatly enjoy it. I really enjoyed many of the stories in this book and I actively wanted more in a few of them, but I need endings. I need a final culmination. I am the type of person who is more likely to watch a movie or show when someone tells me about the twist or ending and that makes me want to see for myself how it plays out. This book was incredibly difficult for me to read. This is a good book. It's just really not for me.
February 6, 2019
I came across this book while browsing Kindle books on Amazon. I like the notion of a story in a story and so bought the book. I read the book in a single sitting and I am glad that I bought it. Eighteen interlinked stories make the Scorpion Soup and when it ends it brings you back to the beginning and you want read it again. That’s why I said I read the book and did not say that I finished it. I will certainly read it again; probably more than once. For me, some of the eighteen stories are fables, some are cautionary tales, some are just fantastic tales and some are all of those. I invite you to decide for yourself as the book will move each individual differently. That’s the power of a great story. I will certainly explore more works by Tahir Shah; this was a fortunate find indeed.
January 9, 2015
Scorpion Soup: A Story in a Story is a book of short stories published in January of 2013 by author Tahir Shah. It becomes clear into the first few stories that Mr. Shah it quite the masterful storyteller who's inspiration comes from A Thousand and One Nights. You may recognize Tahir Shah through some of his other titles such as, Casablanca Blues (which I hope to review at a later date), In Arabian Nights (another work I'd love to review), and Eye Spy (a book I will be reviewing soon).
First and foremost, I'd like to thank Mr. Shah for allowing me the opportunity to review his book Scorpion Soup. This work is just one of many other books published my Mr. Shah; one other such work is titled Eye Spy which will be reviewed by me next week.
In Scorpion Soup, the book is comprised of 18 short stories (spanning 128 pages) that range from 2 pages to a dozen or more. One thing that I will disagree with was how Mr. Shah describes Scorpion Soup on his website. While he may describe this work as a small hymn to A Thousand and One Nights, I consider it a masterpiece on it's own that should stand tall next to Nights.
Tahir Shah lists 8 story excepts on his website for Scorpion Soup, so I'm going to review two stories that are not featured there.
Scorpion Soup. I was a little surprised this story wasn't featured on the website since it shared the name with the book's title. However after reading it I could understand why because it would have a hard time standing alone. One thing that is to be remembered about this book, the stories are often interwoven and what happens in one story ends in another.
This short story starts off with four old witches boiling ingredients for a spell they're concocting. "Blood from a murdered child", "Pickled eye of an ostrich", and "egg of an albino crocodile" are but a few of the ingredients I'm sure are in this witch's brew contains. Stirred with a dead mans hand they cup the hands dead palm and spoon a handful of the brew into one of the witch's mouth. Almost instantly, when the potion touched the witches lips she collapses on the floor presumably dead in front of her witch sisters.
But she isn't dead dead, as her flesh, tendons, and muscles fall away from her body only her leach white skeleton remains. She's dead, but yet alive or "reborn" as the witches call it because soon after her flesh is gone the skeleton stands up and proclaims the potion a success.
The skeleton witch wastes no time and uses her newfound "purity" to open a supernatural doorway that only the pure can see. What does she find when she enters the doorway? I can't say, but if you want to find out you're going to have to read the short story Scorpion Soup in the collection of stories entitled Scorpion Soup.
The Most Foolish of Men. This second story that I'll be reviewing and I have to say it contains quite a valuable lesson if you're willing to look for it.
The story starts off with a prophesy told to a king about his newborn son. "... he is prophesied to drown." is what the soothsayer says to the king and to the best of his ability the king does a remarkable job protecting his son from the perils of his fate. Between sponge baths with a damp sponge, constant overseeing by guards, and hastened retreats from rain storms, the young prince actually proved the prophesy wrong by living to an old age and having children of his own. However the lesson from this first part, as I see it, is you cannot escape your fate no matter how hard you try.
In his old age, the now wizened king lies dying in his bed from the very prophesy that plagued his youth, his lungs will with water and he is drowning. Within a day the king was dead and his imbecilic son, Shah's description not mine, takes the thrown much to the peoples chagrin. How does young imbecile govern his kingdom after the death of his father? How does he prove to the people that he isn't a complete moron sitting on a comfy seat? What is the lesson learned for the end of the story? I'll leave that to Tahir Shah to tell because this story continues into the next one titled "The Man Whose Arms Grew Branches".
As I've said before, a reviewer should never reveal too much of a story's (or in this case multiple stories) plot to the point that people would rather read my review than buy the book. If at any point in this review you thought to yourself that this is the kind of story that you'd get into, I recommend that you pick this book up and give it a good read. To be honest, if this is what I can expect from Eye Spy when I read it I'll likely recommend you pick up any of Mr. Shah's books but we'll have to see when the time comes.
To Mr. Shah, I loved your collection of stories in Scorpion Soup and will be selecting this book for my suggested reading list. I think the only recommendation I can make for your work is don't change a thing. The cover is immaculate, the stories are well structured, and every page makes you want to know more of what's on the next. I look forward to reviewing Eye Spy in the next week and hope that you keep me in mind for your next publication.
First and foremost, I'd like to thank Mr. Shah for allowing me the opportunity to review his book Scorpion Soup. This work is just one of many other books published my Mr. Shah; one other such work is titled Eye Spy which will be reviewed by me next week.
In Scorpion Soup, the book is comprised of 18 short stories (spanning 128 pages) that range from 2 pages to a dozen or more. One thing that I will disagree with was how Mr. Shah describes Scorpion Soup on his website. While he may describe this work as a small hymn to A Thousand and One Nights, I consider it a masterpiece on it's own that should stand tall next to Nights.
Tahir Shah lists 8 story excepts on his website for Scorpion Soup, so I'm going to review two stories that are not featured there.
Scorpion Soup. I was a little surprised this story wasn't featured on the website since it shared the name with the book's title. However after reading it I could understand why because it would have a hard time standing alone. One thing that is to be remembered about this book, the stories are often interwoven and what happens in one story ends in another.
This short story starts off with four old witches boiling ingredients for a spell they're concocting. "Blood from a murdered child", "Pickled eye of an ostrich", and "egg of an albino crocodile" are but a few of the ingredients I'm sure are in this witch's brew contains. Stirred with a dead mans hand they cup the hands dead palm and spoon a handful of the brew into one of the witch's mouth. Almost instantly, when the potion touched the witches lips she collapses on the floor presumably dead in front of her witch sisters.
But she isn't dead dead, as her flesh, tendons, and muscles fall away from her body only her leach white skeleton remains. She's dead, but yet alive or "reborn" as the witches call it because soon after her flesh is gone the skeleton stands up and proclaims the potion a success.
The skeleton witch wastes no time and uses her newfound "purity" to open a supernatural doorway that only the pure can see. What does she find when she enters the doorway? I can't say, but if you want to find out you're going to have to read the short story Scorpion Soup in the collection of stories entitled Scorpion Soup.
The Most Foolish of Men. This second story that I'll be reviewing and I have to say it contains quite a valuable lesson if you're willing to look for it.
The story starts off with a prophesy told to a king about his newborn son. "... he is prophesied to drown." is what the soothsayer says to the king and to the best of his ability the king does a remarkable job protecting his son from the perils of his fate. Between sponge baths with a damp sponge, constant overseeing by guards, and hastened retreats from rain storms, the young prince actually proved the prophesy wrong by living to an old age and having children of his own. However the lesson from this first part, as I see it, is you cannot escape your fate no matter how hard you try.
In his old age, the now wizened king lies dying in his bed from the very prophesy that plagued his youth, his lungs will with water and he is drowning. Within a day the king was dead and his imbecilic son, Shah's description not mine, takes the thrown much to the peoples chagrin. How does young imbecile govern his kingdom after the death of his father? How does he prove to the people that he isn't a complete moron sitting on a comfy seat? What is the lesson learned for the end of the story? I'll leave that to Tahir Shah to tell because this story continues into the next one titled "The Man Whose Arms Grew Branches".
As I've said before, a reviewer should never reveal too much of a story's (or in this case multiple stories) plot to the point that people would rather read my review than buy the book. If at any point in this review you thought to yourself that this is the kind of story that you'd get into, I recommend that you pick this book up and give it a good read. To be honest, if this is what I can expect from Eye Spy when I read it I'll likely recommend you pick up any of Mr. Shah's books but we'll have to see when the time comes.
To Mr. Shah, I loved your collection of stories in Scorpion Soup and will be selecting this book for my suggested reading list. I think the only recommendation I can make for your work is don't change a thing. The cover is immaculate, the stories are well structured, and every page makes you want to know more of what's on the next. I look forward to reviewing Eye Spy in the next week and hope that you keep me in mind for your next publication.
June 28, 2019
Surreal entrapment. I liked this book however some of the short stories were for children some for adults. Beautifully entwined and arabesque in places a joy to read.
December 10, 2019
Great story telling.
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