Stranger Magic: Charmed States and the Arabian Nights

by Marina Warner

Our foremost theorist of myth, fairytale, and folktale explores the magical realm of the imagination where carpets fly and genies grant prophetic wishes. Stranger Magic examines the profound impact of the Arabian Nights on the West, the progressive exoticization of magic, and the growing acceptance of myth and magic in contemporary experience.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Mythology, Fairy Tales, Literature, Literary Criticism, Folklore

577 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2011

About the author

Marina Sarah Warner is a British novelist, short story writer, historian and mythographer. She is known for her many non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth.

She is a professor in the Department of Literature, Film and Theatre at the University of Essex, and gave the Reith Lectures on the BBC in 1994 on the theme of 'Managing Monsters: Six Myths of Our Time.'

Reviews

[Zanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that celebrates, with a strong critical eye, the complex and ongoing life, mainly in European culture, of the stories known by various names including the Arabian Nights. Marina Warner states her overall interpretation of the Arabian Nights (as a feminist text) at the outset and repeatedly, but she is rarely concerned with arguing for her interpretation and many of the reflections in this book are not related to it; it is not a persuasive text with a central thesis and it has no central focus. Rather, it is a collection of patterns or themes woven out of multiple threads or trains of thought that flow out in all directions from the stories and the words of their tellers / writers, hearers / readers, re-tellers, editors, imitators, detractors, advocates, misrepresenters etc. Selected stories from the Arabian Nights are taken as thematic starting points for discussions of, for example, the portrayal of King Solomon in Muslim literature, flight, the lives and voices of objects, the role of the carpet in psychoanalysis.

I don't know of many books like this, but it reminded me of The Hindus: An Alternative History because the loving engagement with the material here echoes Wendy's passion for, in particular, the Mahabharata, in its multiplicity, its alive-ness as it is retold and reinterpreted throughout its history, belonging to all hearers. The Arabian Nights has lived the same kind of life, only a large portion of it in "Western" culture.

This appropriation of the tales has often been highly Orientalist (Warner's quite extensive drawing on Edward Said is not limited to applying his critique of Orientalism) in character. Attention is drawn particularly to numerous early versions of the tales in the UK and other European countries which presented the material (heavily edited and supplemented with extra tales fabricated by their authors, who claimed to be mere translators) as a guide book or accurate portrait of "the East", suggesting people read them to learn about "the manners and customs of the Orientals" from Egypt to India. This is absurd, because they were translating 14th century manuscripts which talked about the 8th and 9th centuries, ancient times, and magical fantasy lands. Such advertising plays directly into the Orientalist line that "the Orient" is frozen in time, or degenerate, fallen from its glorious past. Warner also critiques the use of the Arabian Nights in satire and parody where contemptuous attitudes towards "the Orient" are exploited, and the progressive orientalising of all kinds of magic, especially during "the Enlightenment". European culture was thus sanitised with fantasy steeped in foreignness. Thinking beyond the core topic, but almost always thinking through or about stories and texts, Warner also wanders into reflections on colonial projects such as the Description de l'Egypt Napoleon employed hundreds of savants and draughtspeople to produce.

Criticism of such racist and colonialist attitudes comes up throughout the text, most often alongside appreciation of other aspects of the same material. But it is appreciation, especially of cross-cultural exchange, that sounds loudest for most of this text. Revelling in, retelling, reinterpreting, adding to, drawing inspiration from the Arabian Nights are all acts that Warner celebrates from Goethe's West-Eastern Divan to the shadow theatre of Lotte Reiniger. Even more so she celebrates the stories themselves, often while critiquing their misogyny, lazy plotting and other shortcomings, always finding value and pleasure. The only person safe from criticism is that preeminent heroine, Sharazad, who saves herself and all women from the murderous king with her art of remembering and retelling a dazzling profusion of tales. Perhaps stories crossing borders are what save the world...

[Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

السحر الأغرب: مشاهد فاتنة من وحي ألف ليلة وليلة...

كتاب عظيم، جامع بسلاسة بين الأساطير والخرافات وعلاقتها بالأدب من خلال المنبت الأول للخيال الأدبي وهو ألف ليلة وليلة، ومش بس كدا، الكتاب يعد دراسة في غاية اللطف عن الحضارات القديمة واتصالهم ببعض بداية من الإغريق والفرس ولاهند وصولا للحضارة الأوروبية بشكلها المتعارف عليه، مرورا بالحضارة العربية، وازاي كان وصول ألف ليلة وليلة في عصر النهضة للأوروبين كان عامل مؤثر في إثراء الثقافات الشعبية والأدبية للمجتمعات الأوروبية واللي لمسناها من خلال أشياء عدة، أبسطها التأثر الأدبي المباشر.

الكتاب كنز أدبي رفيع، هيكون مهم جدا لأي اديب أو محب للكتابة، وهيجد فيه أبواب كثيرة تستحق أن يطرق عليها ويستلهم منها، وكنز أدبي لأي محب للدراسات الأدبية الرصينة، واللي يعتبر درس فذ فيها، والاهم إنه بيحاول يكشف لنا سر أعظم عمل أدبي معروف، واللي اعترف بأهميته وأسبقيته السابقون واللاحقون وهو الليالي العربية أو ألف ليلة وليلة.

الكتاب صادر عن مشروع كلمة للترجمة أبو ظبي، وترجمة عبلة عبود، واللي للصدفة البحتة لسا مخلص كتاب الحزن الخبيث وطلع ترجمتها بردو، والترجمة كانت محترمة وموفقة جدا.

[Brian Griffith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warner explores the legacy of perhaps the greatest female literary hero of all time, Shahrazad, a woman who reportedly saves herself from a murderous king through the astoundingly creative feat of presenting an enchanting story every evening for a “Thousand and One Nights.” Actually, she saves perhaps hundreds of other women as well, because she volunteers to marry a king who has vowed to kill all his brides after their wedding nights, and she manages to stop him by the power of words alone. In spinning her tales night after night, she casts a spell like a snake charmer, giving him the kinds of stories he enjoys—of strong men, magical marvels, and women who play temptress. But she also weaves in tales of female heroes, as Warner reports:

"Her stories will gradually introduce maltreated wives, subjugated daughters, faithful female lovers, clever and courageous slavegirls, … loving mothers, intelligent teachers, loyal sisters and devoted peris or fairies in an increasingly shining procession of women: refracting the virtues of the storyteller herself … —but not so undilutedly or obviously that her purpose shows too much." (p. 4)

The Thousand and One Nights draws on a sea of pre-existing legends, from lands stretching from Egypt to China. Shahrazad reportedly had a library of a thousand books, knew all their stories, and wove them together like a classic bard. The tyrant who reportedly commands her love while threatening her life is a typical ancient warlord, who assumes that mercy is weakness. In countering his murderous egotism, she wields the power of myth and the beauty of empathy. It's a powerful book, despite being extraordinarily long and detailed.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The influence of Arabian Nights is far more enduring than one would at first think. In this book, Warner not only shows how the West adapted, changed, the tales but also suggests that in some ways the tales were feminist before the invention of the word. Sherazade who tells stories to educate her husband could also be seen as educating the male reader/listener. Perhaps this is why the tales were so popular among the French salon writers.
What is also interesting is how the echoes of the tales can be seen today in the world as the Arabian spring. Does embracing the tales indict a view or an ability to change? I’m not sure but after reading Warner’s work, I think it might. This could possibly tie into the Arab Spring, something that is briefly touched upon (and look at the publication date of the book before you blame Warner). I would be interested to see what an update version in a few years looks like.

[aljouharah · Rating 4 out of 5]

قرأت الكتاب حتى يكون "مقدمة " تذكيريه قبل أن أبدأ بقراءة نسخة الليالي التي وجدناها في مكتبة والدي.
الكتاب يتحدث عن الليالي بنظرة غربية \ وغالباً \ استشراقية المنظور: لذا ستجد بعض المعلومات التي وضعت كمُسلمات خاطئة تماماً عن الحقيقية التي نعرفها عن نفسنا كعرب\مسلمين.
لكن هذا بالطبع لايقلل من متعة وأهمية وجمال الكتاب وتحليلاته. شخصياً صُدمت بمعرفة الكثير من المعلومات وتواريخ بعض الموتيفات القصصية التي ازدهرت ونضجت بعد تعريف القارئ الغربي على الليالي وقصصها الغرائبية!

[Shaikha Alkhaldi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and enjoyable book..

[Katarzyna Bartoszynska · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was alternately frustrated and enthralled with this book. It's an impressively exhaustive discussion of themes in the Arabian Nights and later adaptations of the text, and at its best, it draws out these threads into surprising and illuminating connections between disparate materials. However, it often feels like a catalogue or encyclopedia: lengthy descriptions of other books or films, but not much in the way of analysis. I mostly felt like I'd prefer to just read those books (or watch the films) myself. I appreciated the invitation to 'ride along' with Warner's thoughts, as it were, but would have preferred to do it for less than 400+ pages.

[Erich · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dazzling, deeply human exploration of enchantment and belief. If you’ve ever felt that fairy tales, myths, and legends are somehow more “true” than cold hard facts — Strange Magic will feel like coming home.

Marina Warner is a master at weaving together folklore, history, and personal memory into something utterly mesmerizing. This isn’t a dry academic survey; it’s a living, breathing tapestry of how human beings make sense of the world through story. Whether she’s exploring djinns, witches, saints, or modern myths, Warner treats all forms of enchantment with deep respect — not as childish superstitions, but as serious ways people have grappled with mystery, pain, hope, and transformation.

There’s a real generosity to her vision. She isn’t trying to debunk or deconstruct; she’s trying to understand why we need stories of strange magic in the first place. (And honestly — isn’t it a relief to read someone who thinks imagination is a strength, not a flaw?)

Because it’s drawn from decades of essays and reflections, it can occasionally feel a little uneven — but honestly, that’s part of its charm. It’s less a straight path than a winding, enchanted forest, and getting a little lost is part of the magic.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took a long time over this book, reading various others in and between. It is quite dense and scholarly, but I found it very interesting. Marina Warner covers an amazingly wide range of topics in her examination of the influences of "The Thousand and One Nights" on Europe and beyond, from the Enlightenment to Walt Disney, and from Harry Potter to Douglas Fairbanks. Sigmund Freud's couch covered in a Middle Eastern rug is in there, as is Rudolf Nureyev's tomb with its mosaic carpet and many other artefacts and works of art.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all Marina Warner's work, this is rich, fabulous, erudite - and enchanting. Although it's nominally about the Arabian Nights, Warner ranges over a huge range of European culture, showing how Islamic culture has enriched Western ideas and aesthetics. If you've never made the connection between the Freudian couch and Turkish carpets, you need to read this book!

[Faiqa Mansab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning, erudite and absorbing. It is a book to savour and to return to often.

[هشام العبيلي · Rating 4 out of 5]

تتبعت المؤلفة الخيوط العريضة التي نُسجت منها ألف ليلة وليلة، ثم قامت بنقض فتيل تلك الخيوط والتأمل في تفاصيلها البديعة.

[Pedro Pascoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't 100% sure what to expect from this book.

At first glance it was some kind of commentary on 'The Arabian Nights', and to some extent it was just that. The opening part gave a sweeping overview of themes and tropes of the more magic-orientated elements of The Arabian Nights, and was enjoyable reading.

The book then proceeded to examine, in various degrees of depth, the impact The Arabian Nights has had on the West, with particular focus on key aspects of culture from the time it was introduced (and expanded) in the West, to present day. This was more or less relevant, depending on the particular aspect focused upon, and an interesting read on the immense impact these tales have had on the multi-media, multi-generational culture in the West. The brief re-telling of particular stories serving as preludes to chapters, in ordere to highlight the following commentary, added a bit of spice to the narrative, which did get a bit dry at times, and sometimes seemed to steer away from The Arabian Nights.

The focus of the entire book, as stated, was about charmed and magical states in the Arabian Nights, but by and large dealt with the cross-cultural impact of the stories. It was only in the short conclusion that we finally reached anything like the beginnings of an analysis on the paradox of magical thinking in rational times, and could have been a great book if teased out and commented upon at length.

An enjoyable read, nonetheless, and a good companion-piece to reading The Arabian Nights themselves.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was quite a bit of useful information in this book, though I still couldn't tell you what the thesis of the book is. The chapters are pretty disorganized and move from subject to subject without any real focus or overarching idea. If your interested in learning a bunch of random knowledge about how various writers, film makers, playwrights, and other individuals responded to the 1001 Nights (as well as some summaries of several of the stories) and you're not really interested in a well argued or focused contention, this may be the book for you.

[Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been chipping away at this one for months. It's a wide-ranging and magnificent work that delves into the 1,001 Nights itself and its complicated history and influence, but links it to all sorts of cultural and historical moments, including perceptions of magic, dreams of flight, talismans and even Freud's couch. Absolutely stunning.

[كتابك التالي · Rating 3 out of 5]

مراجعتي للكتاب على يوتيوب
https://youtu.be/fiTg12LXER8

[Celia Moontown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rich and informative introduction to the culture of Arabian Nights.

[HadiDee · Rating 2 out of 5]

And odd book, not quite a retelling and no quite an analysis or discussion of the stories.

[Mohamed Janahi · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب جميل يتميز باسلوب سردي شاعري يحاول ان يستعيد السحر الذي يميز حكايات الف ليلة وليلة. فيه بعض التسرع اتمنى لو ركز المؤلف على مزيد من العمق في بعض القصص.

[doreflux · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book interesting but frustrating. First the criticisms: Warner drifts into related and unrelated areas without always returning to tie up the loose ends. Perhaps she's trying to imitate the structure of the book she writes of, but it doesn't work, at least for me. Secondly, the book lacks scholarly specificity (and looking in the notes doesn't help much-very bare bones). Thirdly, at times Warner uses unnecessarily florid terms without defining them, which makes the prose feel forced. The net result is 400 pages of rumination. A good editor is needed to shape the prose and define the goal of each chapter. Now the positives: it's an interesting idea for a book--I like the structure of interweaving the stories into the scholarly text. Secondly, Warner opens up the Arabian Nights to an array of cultural influences (including cross-cultural but also feminist). Lots of interesting material but difficult to make sense of it all.

[Raul Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read to take your time reading. Warner retells several tales and recounts an almost comprehensive accout of all the Arabian Nights translations, retellings and paths the book has journeyed in literature and the many various arts, media, psychology and phiilosopy practioners it has influenced. I took a long time reading it because the book inspired me to reread those parts of the Arabian Nights I had read before (more than one-half to two-thirds of it) And to read for the first time those parts she discusses that I hadn't read yet. Magic and reality. Reasoned imagination. A flying carpet of thoughts.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would not have read this book except that I have to lead the discussion of the Arabian Nights for my book group. This is a wonderful read. How has the Arabian Nights influenced our western world? So well researched and considered by the author, it gives so much insight into the west's interpretations of the mysterious east and our fascination with it. She begins each section with a pithy, yet satisfying, version of a tale from the Nights (without Dunyasad's interruptions at the end of each chapter) and then discusses aspects of it.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting - really long, and I think the copy editor must have been asleep when going over the proofs - Marina Warner is too smart to write a sentence saying "... the much so sought-after" artist or architect or whatever was being talked about - either of those words is fine but you don't need both!

I know very little about the Arabian Nights, it was interesting not only to find out that the stories we most associate with it (Aladdin, Ali Baba) are not part of the original, and to see how the stories as we know them are filtered through the translators in the 18th century.

[Beth Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely worth reading. Some of the connections she finds between the Arabian Nights and other segments of the culture are too much of a post-modern stretch for me, but they are always worth considering. And, most important, I now have a much clearer understanding of what the 1001 Nights were, and are. The reader who comes to the end of the 1001 Nights will die -- because there is no end to the 1001 Nights.

[Clive Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful collection of commentaries on some of the better known tales from the "Nights" (as well as some of the least). Organised by subject area, this is a useful reference for study, as well as offering thought-provoking interpretations for the casual reader. If not comprehensively, Warner provides insight into many of the metaphors, motifs and symbols that appear throughout the "Nights".

[Jenine]

Not meeting my present needs. Good info about the history of the stories. Great to close read these fantastical tales. But that's enough for now.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the first half more than the second, but generally admire Warner's books a great deal.

[Douglas Sharp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming and resonant with the original material. Given the author's vast erudition it is sad she has not explored certain themes in greater depth. Perhaps she's leaving the exploring for us?

[Mark Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, miraculous Book! Rich, scintillating, visionary, I wish I could read it again for the first time.