Tales from the Thousand and One Nights

by N.J. Dawood (Translator), William Harvey (Illustrator)

The tales told by Shahrazad over a thousand and one nights to delay her execution by the vengeful King Shahriyar have become among the most popular in both Eastern and Western literature.

From the epic adventures of 'Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp' to the farcical 'Young Woman and her Five Lovers' and the social criticism of 'The Tale of the Hunchback', the stories depict a fabulous world of all-powerful sorcerers, jinns imprisoned in bottles and enchanting princesses. But despite their imaginative extravagance, the Tales are anchored to everyday life by their realism, providing a full and intimate record of medieval Islam.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Literature, Mythology, Middle East

420 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1775

About the author

Nessim Joseph Dawood (Arabic: نعيم جوزيف داوود) was born in 1927 in Baghdad, Iraq. He emigrated to England in 1945 as an Iraq State scholar, and settled there. He graduated from the University of London. He is known for his English translations of the Qur’an, Tales from the One Thousand and One Nights (Penguin Classics) and his edition of the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun. (from Wikipedia).

Reviews

[Samichtime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid collection of once in a century classics! 🧞‍♂️Many are great for the campfire. Dawood once again does a great translation. 🐐

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every one should have read at least one or two of these books ( I have six volumes )

[Sunitha Prabhu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember growing up with these stories and it always fascinated me - kings, queens, prince, princesses, kingdoms, wishes coming true, genie's, magic, kind people, evil people, being true to yourself, determination, raising above expectations, .... , endless possibilities.

All the stories are lovely and well written. Highly recommended - Must read. Suitable for all ages.

[The Immersion Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

💫Immerse Yourself in Tales from the Thousand and One Nights💫
🎶Listen | 🌙 Arabian Nights: Focus & Ambience

Tales incomparably imaginative, wildly entertaining and fun!

I think these stories are best described as literary grunge. In nearly every aspect of their subjects and telling they defy the established order. Historically, the Arabic canon denounced The Tales because of their vulgar components. Neatly wrapped in Shahrazad's mission to save the virgin girls of Shahriyar's kingdom, these stories profess powerful jinnees, laymen rising to power which would humble royalty, men becoming beasts and seafaring adventure all under the sovereign eyes of Allah. Yet Shahrazad herself embodies the rise against power.

Instead of wielding a sword, the weapon of choice is storytelling. The antagonist: the cock-wounded king Shahriyar who, at a word, rains death on those he wishes. Who can defend against such an unchecked power? The protagonist: a woman named Shahrazad. Of course, many have bemoaned the sexist implication, if not the outright encouragement of the heathenish practices of sexism within the stories. Yet culturally, let us consider the woman's plight of the time, not her inherent value, but her lot. None were lowlier. Yet this David courageously meets this Goliath in battle. And with stories?!?!? But of course, the greatest literature of any culture is cultivated under tyrannical regimes and oppressive social circumstances as if they were bloating remainders in a long division equation the establishment attempts to arithmetically weed out; adding power and determination at every squeeze. Yet in this case, the literary weapon is propped in defense rather than aggression. Nevertheless, it proves an unforgiving weapon.

The stories themselves will likely remain absent from my young children's bedtime routines since fallic dismemberment and wild romp-fests wouldn't suit the occasion. What would suit people of all ages and persuasions is the overarching theme of Fate, under the strict sovereignty of God/Allah, which guides nearly all of these characters (perhaps with the exception of the ass ripper) and the perspective they hold of that sovereignty. Rarely does a character curse Allah for misfortunes incurred and rather lays blame at his own feet. Nearly always do they bless Allah for their deliverance and eventual fortune. Because Alexandre Dumas alluded to this compilation dozens of times in The Count of Monte Cristo, I am inclined to collaborate the two depictions of justice. Characters of benign heart, who albeit stumble in action from time to time, eventually meet their fortunes after suffering dire misfortune while those employing malice, who may be "correct" about things, suffer greatly after being held high in social and economic regard. They invest faith in Allah's timing for retribution without claiming merit for it. Dumas' credo of "Wait and hope!" thematically pervades these tales as it does in Shahrazad's predicament.

Nevertheless, The Tales are lavish and entertaining full of wonder and laughter; vulgarity and dread. Everything one would hope for in great literature!

[Ryan Winfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many have read or are at least familiar with some of these fables, but you owe it to yourself to read the entire work. I was surprised at how many modern idioms and Hollywood storylines owe their origins to this interesting collection. Calls to mind the line "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."

[Lotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I chickened out of reading the whole Thousand and One Nights and just read a selection, translated by N.J. Dawood. I had a blast, but just realised Ali Baba was not in it, so I might come back to this work and read the whole damn thing and the extra stories (Ali Baba, Aladin, Sindbad) that have been added by Antoine Galland and other European translators.

Things I learned reading this book:
- Aladin lived in China and princess Jasmin was called Badr-al-Budur.
- The Vogel Rok (an attraction in the Dutch action park De Efteling) is actually based on Sindbad's story.
- There is quite some sexism, but in other tales, women are quite empowered. They outwit men or can be outwitted in turn.

Some of the tales predate the common era, some of which stem from Medieval times. The oldest manuscript fragments are Arabic and were published in the 9th Century. This collection contained the following tales:

- The Tale of the Hunchback - Gives an idea about how different social/religious group were living together at the time.
- The donkey - Funny
- The Fisherman and the Jinnee - First jinnee story, Frame story
- The Young Woman and her Five Lovers - The cunning of a woman
- Sindbad the Sailor and Sindbad the Porter - For all you travelers out there, but beware of Rocs
- The Historic Fart - The only tale I was able to recount, or when your fart becomes a date to remember
- Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp - Is not at all like the Disney story, becomes a bit boring at the end with all the descriptions of riches
- The Tale of Kafur the Black Eunuch - Tale about a slave who has one flaw: he tells one lie a year. How bad can that be?
- The Porter and the Three Girls of Bagdhad - My favourite: full of deceit, humour, traveller's stories and mystery
- The Tale of Khalifah the Fisherman - A tale about a guy who "who was so poor that he could not afford to take even one woman in marriage." and who is a fool. Also humourous and intriguing.
- The Dream - Meh, but short
- The Tale of Judar and his Brothers - Or, why not to trust your next of kin. Falls into the same kind of poor man encounters a jinn and gets rich in the end-structure which a lot of tales share.
- The Tale of Ma'aruf the Cobbler - "Where candour fails, cunning thrives."

There's some lovely, sometimes surprising quotes in these tales.

‘My story is very strange; if it were written with a needle on the corner of an eye, it would yet serve as a lesson to those who seek wisdom.’

This one gets repeated quite some time, but I find the image very intriguing.

...so that tongue met tongue in that hour when men forget their mothers. He slipped his hands under her armpits and strained her to his breast, squeezing all the honey and setting the dainties face to face. Then, threading the needle, he kindled the match, put it to the priming, and fired the shot. Thus the citadel was breached and the victory won.

Funniest sex description I've read in a while.

The translation by N.J. Dawood is extremely readable.

[Catriona Wightman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The next on the list of 100 novels to read was this - and frankly, it was far more fun than I was expecting. It’s ridiculously problematic - misogynistic, racist, anti-Semitic - so I didn’t in all conscience feel I could rate it high without having to take a look at myself. But it’s of course a product of its time, and taking those aspects away, a lot of it is just a complete riot.

There’s far more sex than I was expecting (and quite explicit, too; it took me rather by surprise). And who knew there was a story about a massive fart in there, or one about unlucky tricked men weeing on each other in a cupboard?

There aren’t any real moral lessons, either; people are rewarded for tricksiness and brass often more than those who are honest. And I lost patience for Sinbad, who couldn’t stop going on voyages even though they went wrong all the blooming time.

Some of it could be mind bending - at one point I think I was reading a story within a story within a story within a story - but some of them were just really fun yarns. Definitely glad I took the time to read it - quite an eye opener...

[daksha · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I swear by Allah, Shahrazad, that you were already pardoned before the coming of these children. I loved you because I found you chaste and tender, wise and eloquent. May Allah bless you, and bless your father and mother, your ancestors, and all your descendants. O, Shahrazad, this thousand and first night is brighter for us than the day!"

such crazy and funny little stories that i recognized and loved so much, definitely word heavy and some aspects are iffy, this was very enjoyable and i had lots of fun reading it!

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read the whole thing but I did read a few stories from it that were both pretty good and hilarious. You'll know why if you decide to read one particular one.

[Nick Carraway LLC · Rating 5 out of 5]

1) "Suddenly the waves of the sea surged and foamed before them, and there arose from the deep a black pillar which almost touched the sky. Struck with terror at the sight, they climbed into the tree. When they reached the top they were able to see that it was a jinnee of gigantic stature, carrying a chest on his head. The jinnee waded to the shore and walked towards the tree which sheltered the two brothers. Then, having seated himself beneath it, he opened the chest, and took from it a box, which he also opened; and there rose from the box a beautiful young girl, radiant as the sun."

2) "At last came the day when the Vizier roamed the city in search of a virgin for the King, and could find none. Dreading the King's anger, he returned to his house with a heavy heart.
Now the Vizier had two daughters. The elder was called Shahrazad, and the younger Dunyazad. Shahrazad possessed many accomplishments and was versed in the wisdom of the poets and the legends of the ancient kings.
That day Shahrazad noticed her father's anxiety and asked him what it was that troubled him. When the Vizier told her of his predicament, she said: 'Give me in marriage to this King: either I shall die and be a ransom for the daughters of Moslems, or live and be the cause of their deliverance.'"

3) "He went round the outskirts of the town, and, as he sat down to rest at the door of a hut, he heard the voice of a young girl within, saying: 'Please, mother, what day was I born on? One of my friends wants to tell my fortune.'
'My daughter,' replied the woman solemnly, 'you were born on the very night of Abu Hasan's fart.'
When he heard these words, he got up and fled. 'Abu Hasan,' he said to himself, 'the day of your fart has become a date which will surely be remembered till the end of time.'
He travelled on until he was back in India, where he remained in exile until his death. May Allah have mercy upon him."

4) "Then Aladdin took her into his arms and kissed her, and they loved each other more than ever.
At that moment the Sultan arrived. They related to him all that had happened, and showed him the sorcerer's body. The Sultan ordered that he should be burnt and his ashes scattered to the winds, like his brother's.
Aladdin dwelt with the Princess in serenity and joy, and thenceforth escaped all dangers. When the Sultan died he inherited his throne and reigned justly over the kingdom. All his subjects loved him, and he lived happily with Badr-al-Budur until they were visited by the Destroyer of all earthly pleasures, the Annihilator of men."

5) "'My lord,' he replied, 'we have been drifting off our course these twenty days and there is no favouring wind to carry us back. Tomorrow we shall come to a cliff of black rock called the Magnetic Mountain, against which the headlong current will hurl our ship and shatter it to pieces. All her nails will dart from her and cling to the Magnetic Mountain, for Allah has endowed its stone with such power that it draws all things of iron to itself. He alone knows what mass of wreckage lies scattered among its rocks. On its summit there is a dome of brass held up by ten pillars, and upon this dome stands a horseman on a brazen steed, with a spear of brass in his hand and a leaden tablet on his breast, inscribed with talismanic names. Know, great King, that so long as this rider stays upon his horse, all ships that pass below shall be destroyed and all their sailors drowned. Until he has fallen from his horse no mariner can be safe."

6) "Near the couch I also saw lighted candles and, inferring that some human hand must have lit them, went on searching through the other halls. I was so enraptured with the splendour of all I beheld that I forgot my sisters, the ship, and the voyage which brought me to that city. When night came I tried to leave the palace, but, unable to find my way, retraced my steps to the hall with the lighted candles. There I lay down on the couch and, covering myself with a silken quilt, recited some verses from the Koran and endeavoured to compose my mind for sleep.
But I could not sleep, and at midnight I suddenly heard a low, melodious voice intoning the Koran. I rose at once and, hastening in the direction from which the sound proceeded, came to a chamber with an open door. I entered softly, and found that the room was a shrine of worship. It was lighted by lamps and candles and on the floor lay a prayer-rug upon which a handsome young man was reading the Koran aloud. Marvelling how he alone could have escaped the fate of all the city, I walked towards him and wished him peace. He turned his eyes upon me and answered my greeting."

7) "The King embraced his three sons, and his eyes filled with tears as he answered: 'I swear by Allah, Shahrazad, that you were already pardoned before the coming of these children. I loved you because I found you chaste and tender, wise and eloquent. May Allah bless you, and bless your father and mother, your ancestors, and all your descendants. O, Shahrazad, this thousand and first night is brighter for us than the day!"

[Whitney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am reviewing the translation by N.J. Dawood.

Tales from the Thousand and One Nights was the first book on my list of "classic" books to read. There are a myriad of reasons I chose this specific translation, by Baghdad-Born Dawood, and I suggest reading up on the history and differences of each of the translations (for there are many) before you decide which one is best for you personally. With Dawood's translation there are some iconic stories that you don't get, like "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" because that story, and others, were added by European translators, like Antoine Galland. Thought stories like that are Middle Eastern in origin, were not part of the original One Thousand and One Nights.

Now, it should be noted that if one reads the entirety of Tales from the Thousand and One Nights without large breaks in between each story, one is likely to become very bored. It's important to remember that the framing device for the stories told within the book come from a woman trying to postpone the death that awaits her at the orders of the king come morning. I can see why people willingly choose to read the abridged version of these tales; you can read the abridged and get just as much information and probably much more enjoyment.

Writing-wise I don't think I can say much because I read a translated version. But I think the translation was written very well. The text has been translated straight from Arabic, which means a lot of things are kept that other translations (that go from Arabic, to a second language, and then to English), leave something to be desired, from what I've heard. That being said, the translation, being a relatively modern one, do not make use of "thou", "thee", and such, and the tales read as if from a more modern book.

Some of stories are quite interesting, I must admit. Unfortunately they tended to run on the long side, with thing being repeated multiple times and the story dragging on and on with, what felt like, no end in sight. There are multiple stories, however, that felt like the same tale told again, just with different characters and in a different country. It felt like in about every other story a jinnee was involved to whisk away the problems that particular protagonist faced.

I must admit that I was thoroughly bored with any story longer than fifteen pages. They tended to drag on and on. I would suggest reading one tale per day, for maximum enjoyment. It's doubtful the book would be as boring if you read the tales in a spread out fashion.

All in all, this translation wasn't terrible. I should have paced myself, and for that I give the book three stars for my fault instead of the two I wanted to. It was and interesting book to read, to say the least.

Here is a link to my notes.

[Martin Garrod · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review is of the translation by N.J. Dawood published by Penguin as ISBN 978-0-14-044289-2

I cannot recommend this as a book to buy unless you want to read it to young children. If you really want to try it get it from the library or borrow it from a friend.

The framing device is well known - King Shahriyar is deceived by his wife and after killing her he takes revenge on women in general by taking a new bride each day and killing her in the morning. In time, the Vizier's daughter Shahrazad, volunteers to put a stop to this by marrying the king herself. On her wedding night she invites her sister in to the palace to tell her a story while her new husband listens. The idea is that she leaves off the story at a cliff-hanger moment so that the wicked king dare not kill her because he wants to hear how the story ends. The clever girl, however, weaves her story into another story and into yet another story so that the king is kept on tenterhooks for eventually one thousand nights at which point he relents and lets her live.

The trouble is that the stories she tells do not have cliff-hanger moments of unbearable tension but are very formulaic re-tellings of the same basic ideas over and over again. The Last Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor is very like each of the six voyages that precede it; Sindbad goes off on a ship that is lost or sails away from him and he unexpectedly becomes hugely rich and returns home to give lavish alms to the poor. Similarly, the Barber tells us the tales of his five brothers but they are equally formulaic; the brother goes away only to suffer some misfortune and when the Barber learns of this he brings his brother home and cares for him for the rest of his life. And so on.

The tales do race along and are told in a way that children will find entertaining but the characters are thinly drawn stereotypes - the rich merchant, the sea captain, the wicked old crone - and I found that I really didn't care very much what happened to any of them. The only virtue this collection has is the way in which the stories are woven into each other so that a story of unrequited love becomes a tale of how a man almost managed to get his hair cut which becomes the story of a lame tailor who was tricked by a wicked but beautiful woman and so on. If it were not for this unique point I doubt very much that adults would ever read these stories.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did you know Ali Baba and Ala-Ed-Din were not actually part of the original Tales of the Thousand and One Nights? They were glommed in by the original French translator.

Anyway, I finally finished this up. What an odd read. Half the stories at the beginning had a repetitive plot element of husband comes home to find wife sleeping with "black" slaves (this was always an emphasized point) and husband decapitates them both.

After we got past this element, there were some interesting nesting elements to the stories but so many of them are bogged down with such trivialities like describing every element of someone's breakfast and then skipping over things quickly like being carried by a giant bird.

Ali Baba, I read, is rumored to have been a European tale retold in the eastern setting and added to these collections. I can believe it as the narrative fit much more with the Grimm/Perrault kind of linear fairy tale. Some of the Arabian Nights stories had very unexpected plots, like the tale of a happily married couple that you kept expecting there to be some conflict but it never materialized and then the story ended.

[wordsthatdance · Rating 4 out of 5]

It would be impossible to censor these tales as the driving force of most of them is sex. I am fine with this, I love the darker side of folk tales. However,there are a lot, a LOT of female characters who are apparently insatiable in their sexual appetites and therefore constantly unfaithful, and they are always married to apparently saintlike men. Their husbands usually end up killing their wives in rage and then go off and meet a princess and a magic genie. Not a criticism just observation, there is no point in getting mad at a misogynist from hundreds of years ago. The stories are mainly lessons, to men, don't marry an unfaithful or nagging woman, to women, don't be that women or else you and your many lovers will be brutally murdered.
I would love to see an adult adaptation of these on netflix, they bear a resemblance to Game of Thrones #sexandviolenceandmagic

Anyway, that's the end of my review which will remain here "until the destroyer of delights and the severer of societies comes"

[Raymond Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though i give many books that i review four stars, i tend only to review books that i love and so... "Tales from...." Just sparkles for me. I find it ever renewing, the tales of a smart woman in arabian literature. It has fallen from fame now both here and there yet it means much still in both domains as it should and as it shall for many years. I look to arabian sense often. Even as the teachers of the greeks but these prophets of wisdom seem to have lost their way or is that just my silly thoughts coloured by western journalism? I do not believe that the teachers have become fools.
I do not believe that knowlege of god denies us wisdom. (lol- and i say that as an unbeliever)

[Altaf Hussain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The tales from the thousand and one nights are my most favourite tales of Arabic/Persian Literature. I don't know but I go crazy everytime I see the different editions of this amazing book. This was my second book of Arabian Nights. The tales of Hunchback and voyages of Sindbad were my most favourite from this edition. Already, I am having two more editions of this book with totally different tales. So, already excited

[Spartacus7 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining selection of tales from the large quantity of possibilities generated over the centuries of Arabic fable-making. N.J. Dawood's translation is very pleasant to read. His Introduction puts the tales nicely in context, including the attributes of various translations *.

Scheherazade is to be executed at the king's command, and to put off the fateful day, she tells a new tale each night: Jinnees, magic, wild new lands, treasures, sultans and kings, the beggarly poor, deception, blackguardly behaviour, high morals and death compete across a bewildering landscape of religious proclivity and rule breaking.

Sindbad is here, and Aladdin, the Tale of the Hunchback, The Historic Fart, and much more.

Thus, the tales are a mix of exuberant nonsense, fantasy, myth and whimsy and they are, for the most part, good-natured fun.

However, even the best translation, can't fulfil the full potential of these stories since they are written versions of an oral tradition: They are meant to be told to a willing, gullible, awe-inspired live audience. As such, the written tales would appear to be slimmed-down versions, much like the script of a movie or play.

Their real power only comes to the fore from a combination of spontaneous elaboration, carefully thought out delivery style, and the subtle and brazen departures from the core story lines delivered by a well-practiced story-teller. In particular, humour is much more often alluded to than actually written into the stories - and a great story teller will bring out the full flavour of the comedy in all these tales.

Of note is the fact that inflation doesn't seem to have been an issue at the time of these stories. Whole treasuries are emptied and the money scattered willy-nilly among the poor and rich alike but the price of bread and other essentials seems unaffected. Perhaps it's only with the invention of economic science in more modern times that the scourge of inflation dogs our economies. What a shame.

Marvellous fun with a little imagination and willingness to believe.

3.5 stars

* I've long hankered to read Richard Burton's translation of the Arabian Nights, but with Dawood's summation of his "excessive weaknesses for the archaic", I don't think I'll bother now.

[Aaron White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This classic set of tales contains much that is narratively familiar, from the epic seven journeys of Sindbad the Sailor to the story of Aladdin and the Genies of the Lamp. It also contains much that is difficult to read. It has some passing similarities to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in the structure of interlocking tales (especially in the story of the Hunchback and of the Porter and the Three Girls of Baghdad), and in the surprising bawdiness of the stories. There is much description of assault and infidelity and beautiful scheming women and dangerous slaves and even more dangerous Jinni. Slavery is a given in these stories, as it was in the society that produced the stories, but I was saddened at how there was special scorn and suspicion heaped upon black slaves in particular. The tales aren’t morality plays, at least so far as I understand that genre. They are comic stories, meant to dazzle with the depiction of wealth and grandeur (this got quite repetitive), titillate with the description of beauty and sex and debauchery, and entertain with tales of calamity and ruin. One such tale - short and designed to be humorous - ends abruptly with the castration of a slave. Ha Ha. I didn’t love this book, but I did enjoy the Sindbad stories, and the tale of the Historic Fart was pretty great. And I suspect they give a relatively accurate account of Middle Eastern life and common worldviews during their time setting (which is a fairly long scope). They can't be judged based on today's morality of course, and they are the basis for many of the stories we still consume today.

[Dariel Quiogue · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Thousand and One Nights is a seminal influence for sword and sorcery, my favored genre. Every would-be writer and lover of good tales should read at least some of the Nights tales. This I think is one of the best-retold versions, so I'm very glad I got my first copy as a birthday present sometime in the late seventies or early eighties.

N.J. Dawood is a real Arab, from the city of Haroun al-Rashid himself, and he curated and translated a very nice selection of tales that gives you a taste of the surprising spirit of the medieval Arab world and its colorful folklore. Given the current puritanical image of Islam nowadays it's surprising how rollickingly earthy some of these tales are. I still remember thirteen-year-old me goggling at the The Porter and the Three Girls of Baghdad.

Dawood chose to retell the stories in a voice that's easily readable yet conveys the flavor and idioms of the medieval Arab world, which is why I so highly recommend this version.

[Christy Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

The various Tales weave together nicely, and come in varying lengths and depths. There's a certain culture element to them, and unlike in Western stories, there doesn't appear to be a need to teach a life lesson or have an outcome seemingly driven by some force of justice/righteous that oversees the universe. Characters can get lucky, be greedy, and still end up with untold riches at the end of each tale. Certain elements of the tales seemingly link to other tales (such as the one eyed apes or the finding of marble slabs) without forming an explicit connection. There is a disproportionately high number of tales of a character finding an object with a jinni in it and using said jinni to become the wealthiest man alive and subsequently marrying the king's daughter.

[Shokoofeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

With more than 2000 years old of Persian stories combined with Indian and Arabic tales, this book is unique. Fantasy and true stories mixed together to make it incomparable with any other ancient story. Iranian researcher and writer Bahram Beyzaee in his important book "Where is Hezar - Afsan", shows the true Persian historical core of this tale. If you recognize yourself as a literary writer and analyser, this is a book that you need read and keep in your bookshelf.

[lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

"O, Shahrazad, this thousand and first night is brighter for us than the day!"

[Scruffie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what I expected. This is a medieval book, after all, whatever that means.

[Jackie M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I really wanted to like it but it was SOOO long and never got better

[Stephen Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the kind of book one hears about long before one actually reads it. I saw it in the library and thought such a book of short stories would be nice to read before going to bed.

I'd read bowdlerised versions of some of them as a child, such as the story of Aladdin and the magic lamp, which has found its way into children's anthologies of short stories, as have some of the others, such as those concerning Sindbad the Sailor; actually he wasn't a sailor, he was a businessman who chartered ships to carry his merchandise, but the ships invariably got wrecked, casting him up on a strange shore, where after some hardships he usually acquired more merchandise, and restored to prosperity, returned home.

Most of the stories have the same or similar tropes, which can be summarised by the song from Gilbert & Sullivan's comic opera "The Mikado" --

Taken from the county jail
By a set of curious chances
Liberated then on bail
On my own recognizances
Wafted by a favouring gale
As one sometimes is in trances
To a height that few can scale
Save by long and weary dances
Surely never had a male
Under such-like circumstances
So adventurous a tale
Which may rank with most romances.

And many of the romances that it may rank with are those in this book.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming. Now I’ll understand the countless references made by 19th century authors.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
I love books like this because you think it's going to be so detached from the modern world that it'll be boring. But, as with the Canterbury Tales, these stories are full of humanity and timeless emotions, as well as exciting adventures and exotic settings.
The Historic Fart was actually hilarious, and I enjoyed The Woman with Five Lovers too. I liked the sets of stories that ran together, or became multi-layered, like the barber and the eventual stories of his brothers. And there was also Sinbad and his endless tales of sea journeys that start with disaster and end up with him being given loads of gifts and the sultan's daughter in marriage every single time! I'd say that the story of Aladdin was a bit of a long-winded one, though.
Definitely worth a read if you want some non-European focused classic reading.

[Lachlan Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

hard to read as a sequence because of the (surely intentional) repetition of like elements, and amusing for its Matryoshka story structure (I think we go like six narrators deep at one point)

a bit of a slog, but worth of seeing the root of the influence on all it's imitators

everything about Sinbad absolutely slaps

[Maytal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect bedtime stories. Also my first time reading about Sinbad the Sailor and Aladdin's original story. There is also a hilarious two page story entitled "The Historic Fart" which had me loling.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a classic. While some stories can be a little predictable in their story arc it was magical to read and I found myself laughing or cheering out loud. I would suggest taking your time with this read and spacing it out so as to properly enjoy and absorb each tale.