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Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
A collection of 30 traditional Syrian and Lebanese folktales infused with new life by Lebanese women, collected by Najla Khoury.
While civil war raged in Lebanon, Najla Khoury traveled with a theater troupe, putting on shows in marginal areas where electricity was a luxury, in air raid shelters, Palestinian refugee camps, and isolated villages. Their plays were largely based on oral tales, and she combed the country in search of stories. Many years later, she chose one hundred stories from among the most popular and published them in Arabic in 2014, exactly as she received them, from the mouths of the storytellers who told them as they had heard them when they were children from their parents and grandparents. Out of the hundred stories published in Arabic, Inea Bushnaq and Najla Khoury chose thirty for this book.
While civil war raged in Lebanon, Najla Khoury traveled with a theater troupe, putting on shows in marginal areas where electricity was a luxury, in air raid shelters, Palestinian refugee camps, and isolated villages. Their plays were largely based on oral tales, and she combed the country in search of stories. Many years later, she chose one hundred stories from among the most popular and published them in Arabic in 2014, exactly as she received them, from the mouths of the storytellers who told them as they had heard them when they were children from their parents and grandparents. Out of the hundred stories published in Arabic, Inea Bushnaq and Najla Khoury chose thirty for this book.
279 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 21, 2018
Pearls on a Branch: Arab Stories Told by Women in Lebanon Today by Najla Jraissaty Khoury and translated by Inea Bushnaq is a collection of 30 Arab folktales transmitted orally through the generations by Arab women. Khoury traveled in Lebanon during the civil war, collecting stories told by women in women-only gatherings.
The folktales share many of the characteristics of Western fairy tales with some cultural variations. Pomegranate-Seed-on-a-Platter and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves resembles Snow White and the Seven Dwarves; Thuraya with the Long, Long Hair resembles Rapunzel. Ghouls and ogres make a ubiquitous presence; as do wicked step-mothers; talking animals, trees, and flowers; humans who transform into four-legged creatures and/or vegetation; peacocks that impregnate girls; and turds that sing. In some cases, a series of tasks or quests have to be performed before a marriage can take place. Also present are mnemonic devices very common to oral transmission in which a phrase or verse is repeated as an aid in memory. The virtuous are rewarded, the wicked punished and invariably meet with a dire end when they “explode in anger and die on the spot.”
The central character is a virtuous female whose beauty surpasses all others, and whose wit, intelligence, strength, and wisdom outsmart her male counterparts. In this patriarchal culture, the girl usually disguises herself as a male in order to travel freely and outfox her enemies. Through her perseverance, tenacity, smarts, and unparalleled beauty, the heroine wins the love of the handsome prince or sultan. Not surprisingly, the tale ends with the celebration of a happily ever after marriage.
This is a delightful collection, at times bawdy, at times didactic, at times funny, and always entertaining. Since oral transmission of folktales is rapidly becoming a dying art, the real value of this collection lies in its preservation of traditional Arab folktales for the enjoyment of future generations.
Recommended.
The folktales share many of the characteristics of Western fairy tales with some cultural variations. Pomegranate-Seed-on-a-Platter and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves resembles Snow White and the Seven Dwarves; Thuraya with the Long, Long Hair resembles Rapunzel. Ghouls and ogres make a ubiquitous presence; as do wicked step-mothers; talking animals, trees, and flowers; humans who transform into four-legged creatures and/or vegetation; peacocks that impregnate girls; and turds that sing. In some cases, a series of tasks or quests have to be performed before a marriage can take place. Also present are mnemonic devices very common to oral transmission in which a phrase or verse is repeated as an aid in memory. The virtuous are rewarded, the wicked punished and invariably meet with a dire end when they “explode in anger and die on the spot.”
The central character is a virtuous female whose beauty surpasses all others, and whose wit, intelligence, strength, and wisdom outsmart her male counterparts. In this patriarchal culture, the girl usually disguises herself as a male in order to travel freely and outfox her enemies. Through her perseverance, tenacity, smarts, and unparalleled beauty, the heroine wins the love of the handsome prince or sultan. Not surprisingly, the tale ends with the celebration of a happily ever after marriage.
This is a delightful collection, at times bawdy, at times didactic, at times funny, and always entertaining. Since oral transmission of folktales is rapidly becoming a dying art, the real value of this collection lies in its preservation of traditional Arab folktales for the enjoyment of future generations.
Recommended.
April 25, 2018
I enjoyed this collection of stories very much. Reading the introduction prior to the stories is what I would recommend (I'm a person who usually saves an intro until I've finished a book due to spoilers and wanting to form my own opinions, but in this case, it provided a lot of context and understanding of the texts I was about to encounter.)
These stories were collected from actual women living in Lebanon and Syria, and Najla Khoury often visited the women multiple times, because she found that the telling of the story changed based on who the audience happened to be. This was particularly the case if the audience was of mixed company, because some of these stories are really more for women, with innuendo and teasing that wouldn't be as appropriate in front of men (in these households.) So some of the stories should be seen as conglomerate rather than transcriptions, but I do think they benefit from this treatment.
I loved the pre-story that is often told in rhyme, the blessing, the rote "true or not true" statement (it made me think about when I studied Turkish and there is an entire storytelling tense to allow for fictional "truths.") Many of the stories have to do with marriage, and often deception, changing the appearance, and Sultans or Princes who marry for the wrong reasons. I was pleased to see stories where the ending was a woman getting to marry who she wanted to in the first place. There are a lot of animal stories (anthropomorphic) but one story also has a singing turd, so there is a lot of humor too.
I understand that only 30 were translated into English for this collection, and I hope they do a second volume.
Thanks to Archipelago Press who provided an eARC of this title through Edelweiss. It came out April 17, 2018.
These stories were collected from actual women living in Lebanon and Syria, and Najla Khoury often visited the women multiple times, because she found that the telling of the story changed based on who the audience happened to be. This was particularly the case if the audience was of mixed company, because some of these stories are really more for women, with innuendo and teasing that wouldn't be as appropriate in front of men (in these households.) So some of the stories should be seen as conglomerate rather than transcriptions, but I do think they benefit from this treatment.
I loved the pre-story that is often told in rhyme, the blessing, the rote "true or not true" statement (it made me think about when I studied Turkish and there is an entire storytelling tense to allow for fictional "truths.") Many of the stories have to do with marriage, and often deception, changing the appearance, and Sultans or Princes who marry for the wrong reasons. I was pleased to see stories where the ending was a woman getting to marry who she wanted to in the first place. There are a lot of animal stories (anthropomorphic) but one story also has a singing turd, so there is a lot of humor too.
I understand that only 30 were translated into English for this collection, and I hope they do a second volume.
Thanks to Archipelago Press who provided an eARC of this title through Edelweiss. It came out April 17, 2018.
May 30, 2018
It happened, or maybe it didn’t...
This collection of Lebanese and Syrian folk tales begins with an introduction from the author explaining how she came to record them. During the Lebanese civil war, Khoury travelled with a theatre group that put on shows for those dispossessed or marginalised by the conflict. As she travelled, she began to ask local women to tell her the stories they were told as children so that she could adapt them for the theatre company. She speaks very interestingly of how she went about the task of collecting the stories, sometimes from individuals, more often from groups of women, and sometimes having to find a time when their children were otherwise occupied to allow the women to relate the more bawdy tales! As with most oral traditions, she found the stories varied from telling to telling, with regional differences and also different emphases on humour and darkness. Then she discusses how she decided which stories to include, firstly in the collection of a hundred stories originally published in Arabic, and then for the thirty stories in this English translation.
This is followed by a second introduction, equally interesting, from the translator. Inea Bushnaq explains the storytelling conventions of the region, pointing out the similarities and differences to our own. She talks about the patriarchal society that has only recently begun to change. These stories are ones told by women to their daughters or amongst themselves, so they’re often about girls outsmarting men, but they also show clearly the restrictions under which women lived. Bushnaq also explains the “farsheh” - a kind of nonsense rhyme or humorous story, often involving word play, that the storyteller would use to introduce herself and get the attention of her audience before beginning the telling of the main story. Where we would begin a story “once upon a time”, the Arab convention is to begin with the less definite “there was, or maybe there was not” or “it happened, or maybe it didn’t”...
I’m not the world’s biggest fan of folk tales, so I expected to find this interesting rather than enjoyable. But I’m delighted to say I was wrong! I loved these – they’re fun, or moving, or occasionally horrifying, they’re very well written, the translation is excellent, and there’s a wide range so that they don’t begin to feel repetitive. Also, they shed a huge amount of light on a society and way of life that is so different from my own, and which is slowly passing; so that there’s an importance and even urgency to the act of gathering and recording these oral traditions before they are lost. Some are fables, like the story of the fox who turns vegetarian and goes on the Hajj, while many are stories of love and marriage, two things not always connected in a world where girls have no say over who they marry.
There are loads that got five stars from me, so here’s just a brief flavour to tempt you...
The Farsheh – in traditional fashion, the book kicks off with a farsheh, on this occasion part rhyme part prose. A deliciously wicked story about a young man who falls in love with a beautiful girl and decides he must have her for his own. But the girl isn’t quite as docile as he perhaps hoped. A great little starter, very well told with good language and rhythm and lots of humour.
A House Without Worries – a rather horrifying story (to western eyes) about a woman whose husband beats her every night for no good reason. (Not that I’m suggesting there’s ever a good reason!) But as with so many of these stories, the man gets his comeuppance in the end and the woman escapes to a better life. While these stories are quite uplifting with the happy-ever-after endings, they really show the grimmer side of a life where women have no rights. I loved the idea, though, of the kind of subversiveness of women sharing these stories as a form of mutual support.
Lady Tanaqueesh and the Eggs of the Tawawees – tawawees being peacock eggs, the eating of which makes you pregnant apparently! (There are lots of stories where women get pregnant through strange means – I’m sure there was an underlying meaning to this that I couldn’t quite grasp...) In this one, Lady Tanaqueesh has two jealous sisters who trick her into eating the eggs and the resulting pregnancy leads her father to expel her. There’s lots of rather nasty stuff in this one, including the brutal revenge Lady T considers for her sisters. But it’s very well done, with lots of rhyming and repetition – a real feat of translation, I think.
The Fly – a little kind of repetitive question and answer thing that reminded me of the style of Who Killed Cock Robin. The fly lands on a series of creatures, praising each, but each replies to the effect that yes, but I can be hurt by another creature or thing, so the fly then goes off to that creature or thing, praises it, etc., until eventually... well, that would be a spoiler, but I love the end of this – quite dark.
O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend! - First off, what a great title! I’ve included this one because it has many elements of Snow White in it, which made me realise how much crossover there is in traditional tales – it made me feel closer to the culture than some of the other tales. Plus, it has Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in it! Jealous mother, beautiful girl, poisoned apple – what’s not to love?
Oh, I want to tell you about the woman who farts in front of the cow, and the chiffchaff who wants to be Queen of the Birds, and the donkey who ate the wheat, and... but I’ve run out of room! So loads of variety, lots of interest and hugely enjoyable. Great stuff – highly recommended, and not just to folk tale fans!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Archipelago.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
This collection of Lebanese and Syrian folk tales begins with an introduction from the author explaining how she came to record them. During the Lebanese civil war, Khoury travelled with a theatre group that put on shows for those dispossessed or marginalised by the conflict. As she travelled, she began to ask local women to tell her the stories they were told as children so that she could adapt them for the theatre company. She speaks very interestingly of how she went about the task of collecting the stories, sometimes from individuals, more often from groups of women, and sometimes having to find a time when their children were otherwise occupied to allow the women to relate the more bawdy tales! As with most oral traditions, she found the stories varied from telling to telling, with regional differences and also different emphases on humour and darkness. Then she discusses how she decided which stories to include, firstly in the collection of a hundred stories originally published in Arabic, and then for the thirty stories in this English translation.
This is followed by a second introduction, equally interesting, from the translator. Inea Bushnaq explains the storytelling conventions of the region, pointing out the similarities and differences to our own. She talks about the patriarchal society that has only recently begun to change. These stories are ones told by women to their daughters or amongst themselves, so they’re often about girls outsmarting men, but they also show clearly the restrictions under which women lived. Bushnaq also explains the “farsheh” - a kind of nonsense rhyme or humorous story, often involving word play, that the storyteller would use to introduce herself and get the attention of her audience before beginning the telling of the main story. Where we would begin a story “once upon a time”, the Arab convention is to begin with the less definite “there was, or maybe there was not” or “it happened, or maybe it didn’t”...
I’m not the world’s biggest fan of folk tales, so I expected to find this interesting rather than enjoyable. But I’m delighted to say I was wrong! I loved these – they’re fun, or moving, or occasionally horrifying, they’re very well written, the translation is excellent, and there’s a wide range so that they don’t begin to feel repetitive. Also, they shed a huge amount of light on a society and way of life that is so different from my own, and which is slowly passing; so that there’s an importance and even urgency to the act of gathering and recording these oral traditions before they are lost. Some are fables, like the story of the fox who turns vegetarian and goes on the Hajj, while many are stories of love and marriage, two things not always connected in a world where girls have no say over who they marry.
There are loads that got five stars from me, so here’s just a brief flavour to tempt you...
The Farsheh – in traditional fashion, the book kicks off with a farsheh, on this occasion part rhyme part prose. A deliciously wicked story about a young man who falls in love with a beautiful girl and decides he must have her for his own. But the girl isn’t quite as docile as he perhaps hoped. A great little starter, very well told with good language and rhythm and lots of humour.
A House Without Worries – a rather horrifying story (to western eyes) about a woman whose husband beats her every night for no good reason. (Not that I’m suggesting there’s ever a good reason!) But as with so many of these stories, the man gets his comeuppance in the end and the woman escapes to a better life. While these stories are quite uplifting with the happy-ever-after endings, they really show the grimmer side of a life where women have no rights. I loved the idea, though, of the kind of subversiveness of women sharing these stories as a form of mutual support.
Lady Tanaqueesh and the Eggs of the Tawawees – tawawees being peacock eggs, the eating of which makes you pregnant apparently! (There are lots of stories where women get pregnant through strange means – I’m sure there was an underlying meaning to this that I couldn’t quite grasp...) In this one, Lady Tanaqueesh has two jealous sisters who trick her into eating the eggs and the resulting pregnancy leads her father to expel her. There’s lots of rather nasty stuff in this one, including the brutal revenge Lady T considers for her sisters. But it’s very well done, with lots of rhyming and repetition – a real feat of translation, I think.
The Fly – a little kind of repetitive question and answer thing that reminded me of the style of Who Killed Cock Robin. The fly lands on a series of creatures, praising each, but each replies to the effect that yes, but I can be hurt by another creature or thing, so the fly then goes off to that creature or thing, praises it, etc., until eventually... well, that would be a spoiler, but I love the end of this – quite dark.
O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend! - First off, what a great title! I’ve included this one because it has many elements of Snow White in it, which made me realise how much crossover there is in traditional tales – it made me feel closer to the culture than some of the other tales. Plus, it has Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in it! Jealous mother, beautiful girl, poisoned apple – what’s not to love?
Oh, I want to tell you about the woman who farts in front of the cow, and the chiffchaff who wants to be Queen of the Birds, and the donkey who ate the wheat, and... but I’ve run out of room! So loads of variety, lots of interest and hugely enjoyable. Great stuff – highly recommended, and not just to folk tale fans!
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Archipelago.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
August 28, 2021
3.5 stars. Najla Jraissaty Khoury traveled through Lebanon, recording the oral storytelling of the older women in the country. She transcribed 30 of these stories in Arabic and they have been translated here by Inea Bushnaq. Khoury talks in the introduction about how she typically would go back to hear the same story twice, so she could see how it changed with the telling - and particularly noted the changes made when children were present for the tales vs just the women. Both the intro and the translator's note added a lot to my understanding of the tales - and I highly recommend reading these first. In the translator's note, she calls out "'Once upon a time, ' the opening to English and European tales seems to promise an account of actual happenings. The Arab narrator is not so certain; she begins her story with the phrase kan ya ma kan: it was or it was not -- it happened or it did not." I love the idea of stories passed down from grandmother to mother to daughter starting this way, inviting you in, letting the listener decide what they think. Most of the 30 stories collected here start with some version of that phrase - it happened or it did not, and then the tale begins. If you are interested in storytelling from around the world, this is a great collection to pick up and dip in and out of.
May 1, 2018
I would prefer sitting around a fire, listening to elders. I had the great privilege of doing that in many African villages, but those are bygone days. So, 2nd best is to read these wonderful, bawdy, funny, universal tales. I'll keep the book bedside, and when I need a reminder about how life is, I'll check on the applicable story. Pearls on a Branch was my favorite ... be careful how you try to get revenge. Five stars plus for Najla Khoury for making the huge effort to keep her heritage alive. Marlene F Cheng
July 30, 2018
Pearls on a Branch brings together a collection of thirty stories, which Najla Khoury collected over several years of research into Lebanese folktales. The tales collected here have been transcribed exactly as they were told to her. There are overlaps of themes and tropes, and it is fascinating to see how many stories echo those written down by The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. These stories are as dark as they are whimsical, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.
July 10, 2022
At first 30 stories didn't seem like a lot of stories but by the last third of the book, it started to feel a lot.
November 17, 2021
Does everything and everyone have to be the bestest? As a lover of fairytales, the redundant use of superlatives is not the bestest.
July 8, 2022
2.5 .. wild.
March 5, 2018
Every country has its own folklore, stories from ancient past handed down from generation to generation. As with all oral traditions, similar stories with a single origin are spread over a wide district, changing along with the ever-evolving culture and circumstances of the storytellers themselves. Most of the time, the differences are only in the details. The thirty translated stories in Pearls on a Branch are a window into the lives of Arabic women, selected from a larger repository of Arabic tales recorded and transcribed by Najla Jraissaty Khoury. As with all fairy tales and folklore, the stories range from the almost mundane to the extremely fantastical, including animals that speak and classic forms of poor men winning the hands of rich princesses (and vice versa).
These tales capture the poetic forms of its original language, with most of them beginning and ending in verse. Yet, as Khoury herself notes, the essence of such oral stories are captured in “the nuances in the choice of words, the comments and body language of the storyteller. It was a revelation: certain stories told by women were for women only.” It is a shame that such nuances cannot be captured in print, and that some references are inevitably lost when such stories are translated into English and read by one without the appropriate local and cultural cues.
Despite this, it is almost surprising (though it shouldn’t be) that some of the tales are uncannily similar to familiar Western tales. Two striking examples are O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend, which is in essence Snow White (or Pomegranate-on-a-platter) with Ali Baba and the forty thieves as the seven dwarves; and Thuraya with the Long, Long Hair, which follows the form of Rapunzel.
Quite a few of the stories feature clashes between man and woman, the most interesting of which is how Husun Kamil outwits and outmatches Lulu Bighsunu, the snotty young prince in the title story, Pearls on a Branch.
So read on: It was or it was not, in the oldness of time…
Note: I received a digital review copy of this book via Edelweiss. I was given the book with no expectation of a positive review and the review is my own.
These tales capture the poetic forms of its original language, with most of them beginning and ending in verse. Yet, as Khoury herself notes, the essence of such oral stories are captured in “the nuances in the choice of words, the comments and body language of the storyteller. It was a revelation: certain stories told by women were for women only.” It is a shame that such nuances cannot be captured in print, and that some references are inevitably lost when such stories are translated into English and read by one without the appropriate local and cultural cues.
Despite this, it is almost surprising (though it shouldn’t be) that some of the tales are uncannily similar to familiar Western tales. Two striking examples are O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend, which is in essence Snow White (or Pomegranate-on-a-platter) with Ali Baba and the forty thieves as the seven dwarves; and Thuraya with the Long, Long Hair, which follows the form of Rapunzel.
Quite a few of the stories feature clashes between man and woman, the most interesting of which is how Husun Kamil outwits and outmatches Lulu Bighsunu, the snotty young prince in the title story, Pearls on a Branch.
So read on: It was or it was not, in the oldness of time…
Note: I received a digital review copy of this book via Edelweiss. I was given the book with no expectation of a positive review and the review is my own.
March 27, 2018
This is a collection of 30 Syrian and Lebanese folktales, told by women and collected and translated by women as well. I have always loved fairy tales, so I was really interested in this book. I was surprised to see how some of them are very much like some of the Western tales, for example one of them was a different version of Snow White (with Ali Baba and the 40 thieves instead of 7 dwarves!).
I enjoyed discovering the folktales of another culture – I don’t think I had read tales from the Arab world before, or it might have been one here or there in a collection of world tales. My problem with them is that I didn’t feel like I connected with them like I do with Western or Eastern European tales, maybe because I didn’t grow up with them.
That being said, I greatly admire the work of Najla Khoury and Inea Engler (the translator). They accomplished a tremendous amount of work and it is very important in my opinion to record and safeguard the folk traditions of all cultures.
Disclaimer – thanks to NetGalley and Archipelago for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed discovering the folktales of another culture – I don’t think I had read tales from the Arab world before, or it might have been one here or there in a collection of world tales. My problem with them is that I didn’t feel like I connected with them like I do with Western or Eastern European tales, maybe because I didn’t grow up with them.
That being said, I greatly admire the work of Najla Khoury and Inea Engler (the translator). They accomplished a tremendous amount of work and it is very important in my opinion to record and safeguard the folk traditions of all cultures.
Disclaimer – thanks to NetGalley and Archipelago for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
Read
April 16, 2018"Gathered by Najla Jraissaty Khoury from female Arab storytellers, the stories use repetition and rhyme to construct the vital atmosphere of fairy tales. There are few true villains in this collection. The characters struggle with essentially human flaws, including destructive greed and jealousy, especially jealousy between women." - Sara Ramey
This book was reviewed in the Mar/Apr 2018 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website:
https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/...
This book was reviewed in the Mar/Apr 2018 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website:
https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/...
August 28, 2019
A fairy tale collection, collected very recently.
In the foreword, the collector discusses how she got these tales from the women when the children were safely in school. Some contain bawdy elements.
A wide variety of tales, the context showing when many a heroine's rivals are the hero's first cousin who naturally object to being passed over when they are his natural brides. Some very recognizable in the bones of the tale -- a "Rapnuzel" and a "Snow White" variant, both still recognizable in their new clothes.
In the foreword, the collector discusses how she got these tales from the women when the children were safely in school. Some contain bawdy elements.
A wide variety of tales, the context showing when many a heroine's rivals are the hero's first cousin who naturally object to being passed over when they are his natural brides. Some very recognizable in the bones of the tale -- a "Rapnuzel" and a "Snow White" variant, both still recognizable in their new clothes.
Want to read
November 8, 2020On wait list for this book.
It is always hard to review an anthology because there are so many characters, themes, and settings. To help me later on I am saving some reviews for short story titles.
Library Journal
December 1, 2017
Collected by Khoury as the basis for plays performed by the traveling theater group she founded during Lebanon's civil war, these tales are radiant with sunlight and flowers, jinns and spirits, palaces and sultans. The setting you might expect, which makes them refreshingly different and a pleasure to read. Yet the themes will resonate with anyone who loves fairy tales and folklore, pointing out commonalities within the Middle East framework. From comeuppance and transformation, sly tricksters tricked, good people rescued from bad ogres, wishes satisfied, beautiful young women finding the right (rich or royal) man, and love finally requited, readers will recognize where they are. "O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend!" mirrors Snow White's story astonishingly ("O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend"/ Is there anyone like me in the land") though in its own way is more disturbing. Beautifully translated, these pieces ring with numerous, addictive songs and chants. VERDICT An absolute delight for readers young and old.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Kirkus
January 1, 2018
Khoury originally published these 30 tales in Arabic in 2014, having collected them as she traveled through Lebanon with a puppet troupe during the country's civil war from 1975 to 1990.The storytellers shared tales from their oral tradition with Khoury. Instead of a Western fairy tale's promise of "Once upon a time," these Arab tales begin with the charming, more realistic equivocation, "There was or there was not." Yet Western readers will recognize the wicked stepmothers, princes in love with poor girls, plucky unloved children, sorcerers and talking animals. Rapunzel-like heroines grow up locked away from the world in stories like "The Girl Who Had No Name" and "Thuraya with the Long, Long Hair." A huntsman substitutes animal blood for the blood of the Snow White-like damsel he's hired to kill in both "Lady Tanageesh and the Eggs of the Tawawees" and "O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend!" whose heroine sets up household with Ali Baba's 40 thieves (instead of seven dwarfs) until an old woman shows up with a deadly apple. There's an Aesop ring to animal fables like "Abu Ali the Fox," about a fox taking birds under his protection until he gets hungry. However, the attention paid to bodily functions may startle Western readers. "A Cow Called Joukha" centers on farting, while a sweet romance centers on "The Singing Turd." According to Khoury, in the oral tradition, "certain stories told by women were for women only." Both proto-feminist innuendo--crafty women outwitting men--and sexual double-entendres abound. So "Jubayne the Fair" agrees to let an old man suck her finger whenever he wants until she wises up and runs away. And in the complex title story, a king rejects his only daughter because he mistakenly thinks she's tried to trick him into bringing her a husband when he travels to Mecca; she seeks revenge on the young man who caused this disgrace through overt sexual trickery and bed-swapping.A funny, bawdy, occasionally gruesome, and decidedly adult collection that celebrates small cultural variations amid large universal values.
COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Booklist
February 1, 2018
Khoury traveled throughout Lebanon during its civil war, collecting oral tales of women whose societal roles were proscribed in the extreme. She founded a theater troupe and used the tales as primary source material, from which she created plays for the troupe to perform. She has now winnowed the collected oral tales from 100 to 30 unique stories, many of which share ideas similar to such western fairy tales as Snow White. Often, the lowly are exalted, and deception is employed, as in the eponymous story, in which a young woman, by cunning, wins her pearls on a branch. Many times these stories express a desire to upend power structures. Fairies do not play a role here, and notions of good and evil are not as categorical as in western tales. One could look for hints of protofeminism or use for comparative literature or read for pure enjoyment. The author's and translator's notes are helpful for appreciating the tales as expressions of women who had no voice except among themselves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
It is always hard to review an anthology because there are so many characters, themes, and settings. To help me later on I am saving some reviews for short story titles.
Library Journal
December 1, 2017
Collected by Khoury as the basis for plays performed by the traveling theater group she founded during Lebanon's civil war, these tales are radiant with sunlight and flowers, jinns and spirits, palaces and sultans. The setting you might expect, which makes them refreshingly different and a pleasure to read. Yet the themes will resonate with anyone who loves fairy tales and folklore, pointing out commonalities within the Middle East framework. From comeuppance and transformation, sly tricksters tricked, good people rescued from bad ogres, wishes satisfied, beautiful young women finding the right (rich or royal) man, and love finally requited, readers will recognize where they are. "O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend!" mirrors Snow White's story astonishingly ("O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend"/ Is there anyone like me in the land") though in its own way is more disturbing. Beautifully translated, these pieces ring with numerous, addictive songs and chants. VERDICT An absolute delight for readers young and old.
Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Kirkus
January 1, 2018
Khoury originally published these 30 tales in Arabic in 2014, having collected them as she traveled through Lebanon with a puppet troupe during the country's civil war from 1975 to 1990.The storytellers shared tales from their oral tradition with Khoury. Instead of a Western fairy tale's promise of "Once upon a time," these Arab tales begin with the charming, more realistic equivocation, "There was or there was not." Yet Western readers will recognize the wicked stepmothers, princes in love with poor girls, plucky unloved children, sorcerers and talking animals. Rapunzel-like heroines grow up locked away from the world in stories like "The Girl Who Had No Name" and "Thuraya with the Long, Long Hair." A huntsman substitutes animal blood for the blood of the Snow White-like damsel he's hired to kill in both "Lady Tanageesh and the Eggs of the Tawawees" and "O Palace Beautiful! O Fancy Friend!" whose heroine sets up household with Ali Baba's 40 thieves (instead of seven dwarfs) until an old woman shows up with a deadly apple. There's an Aesop ring to animal fables like "Abu Ali the Fox," about a fox taking birds under his protection until he gets hungry. However, the attention paid to bodily functions may startle Western readers. "A Cow Called Joukha" centers on farting, while a sweet romance centers on "The Singing Turd." According to Khoury, in the oral tradition, "certain stories told by women were for women only." Both proto-feminist innuendo--crafty women outwitting men--and sexual double-entendres abound. So "Jubayne the Fair" agrees to let an old man suck her finger whenever he wants until she wises up and runs away. And in the complex title story, a king rejects his only daughter because he mistakenly thinks she's tried to trick him into bringing her a husband when he travels to Mecca; she seeks revenge on the young man who caused this disgrace through overt sexual trickery and bed-swapping.A funny, bawdy, occasionally gruesome, and decidedly adult collection that celebrates small cultural variations amid large universal values.
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Booklist
February 1, 2018
Khoury traveled throughout Lebanon during its civil war, collecting oral tales of women whose societal roles were proscribed in the extreme. She founded a theater troupe and used the tales as primary source material, from which she created plays for the troupe to perform. She has now winnowed the collected oral tales from 100 to 30 unique stories, many of which share ideas similar to such western fairy tales as Snow White. Often, the lowly are exalted, and deception is employed, as in the eponymous story, in which a young woman, by cunning, wins her pearls on a branch. Many times these stories express a desire to upend power structures. Fairies do not play a role here, and notions of good and evil are not as categorical as in western tales. One could look for hints of protofeminism or use for comparative literature or read for pure enjoyment. The author's and translator's notes are helpful for appreciating the tales as expressions of women who had no voice except among themselves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2020
Pearls on a Branch: Arab Stories Told by Women in Lebanon Today by Najla Khoury is a collection of Middle Eastern stories. While civil war raged in Lebanon, Najla Jraissaty Khoury traveled with a theater troupe, putting on shows in marginal areas where electricity was a luxury, in air raid shelters, Palestinian refugee camps, and isolated villages. Their plays were largely based on oral tales, and she combed the country in search of stories. Many years later, she chose one hundred stories from among the most popular and published them in Arabic in 2014, exactly as she received them, from the mouths of the storytellers who told them as they had heard them when they were children from their parents and grandparents. This is a collection of thirty stories.
Where I grew up in an ethnically diverse Cleveland, Ohio. Many of my friends' grandparents did not speak English. As a kid, I knew basic greetings in Polish. I also learned stories that were not the typical Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood. Stories that held a moral and were somewhat magical. Animals talked to people. People talked to spirits. Animals had their own societies. Princes abounded. Wicked people, trolls, and spirits had their place. These stories were told and told again for ages. Not all of the stories were written down. But then too in an era with three channels of television stories had a bigger role than they do today.
Khoury captures stories of the oral tradition of the Middle East. She has a method of collecting stories and does not take them on the first listen. She wants to make sure that the stories are true to their form and not influenced by mood or other factors. She wanted to get as close to the traditional story as possible. Strict cultural norms are allowed in stories. Evil spirits, talking animals, immaculate conceptions, and women with more freedom than usual or even taking mocking advantage of men are allowed. Fiction presents a break from reality and an openness in a mostly closed culture.
Many of the stories presented are unique. In several, however, I did pick up on stories I have heard before. The details are different but the story is the same. Either this is the commonality of people or people trading stories and stories adapting to their own culture. Our "Once upon a time" is replaced with a more appropriate "There was or perhaps there was not." Each story usually has an introductory poem to set the stage for the story too. The stories are clever, some humorous, and contain a moral without any heavy handiness. This is entertainment carried down from the past in the oral tradition. Having these stories in print is a way to keep the stories alive and available in an age of on-demand television, movies, music, and entertainment.
April 16, 2020
This is a collection of folklores compiled by Najla Khoury. There are 30 stories handpicked from 100 stories by the author and the translator for this book. In order to maintain originality and authenticity, the author did many interviews and listen and then record these stories. She even attend the private party/gathering/ceremony specifically for women just to listen to these stories. The author did her best to preserve her own childhood stories narrated by her grandmother (which she herself also heard from her grandmother) is just admirable. I can vouch 80 percents of these stories are indeed original. There are few stories that has a bit resemblance from Snow white, Rapunzel and Jack the giant beanstalk. Again, the plot is somewhat familiar but the culture and customs of the Arabic land is tied to the story. It is interesting how in Arabic, "There was or There was not" was used to describe "Once upon a time". It indicates the possibility of such events/incidents occurred is indeed 50%, we never know, Only God knows kind of a way. Another phrase that was used many times in the beginning of these tales are there once was a king though God alone is sovereign. That phrase hinted that you can be powerful and mighty all you want, but you will never be above God. Since these stories were told and retold by women, from generation to the generation, Majority of these stories did possess similar themes which is a story of womanhood and how women can be strong, resilient and courageous in the face of adversity. There are few stories using animals as a main character like fox, frog, mouse and cow. Overall, i really enjoyed this book. It was short and concise. It remains unapologetically Arab (if that makes sense) . The reason i said this because if you don't get the nuances and did not understand the culture, you will not enjoy this book. Translator did her best to translate but this surely a masterpiece in the original language. I wish i did not sleep during Arabic class or disappeared somewhere else back then in school.
March 14, 2025
Pearls on a Branch is a delightful collection of Lebanese folk and fairy tales collected by Najla Khoury.
During the Lebanese civil war, Khoury traveled throughout Lebanon with a theater puppet troupe, putting on plays in all kinds of places from air raid shelters to Palestinian refugee camps to isolated villages. Everywhere she went she collected oral tales. In 2014, she chose one hundred stories from among the most popular and published them in Arabic, exactly as she received them, from the mouths of the storytellers who told them as they had heard them when they were children from their parents and grandparents. Out of the hundred stories published in Arabic, she chose thirty for this book which was translated into English by Inea Bushnaq.
These tales are very unique and a must have for everyone who loves fairy and folk tales!
A few are reminiscent of Arabian Nights but many also resemble European tales, but with Middle Eastern characteristics. For example Thuraya with the Long, Long Hair resembles Rapunzel, Sitt Yadab has a similar plot as both Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin. Pomegranate-Seed-on-a-Platter and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves resembles Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
These tales also reminded me a lot of Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino in the sense they are fun, unique and atmospheric.
All of these tales in Pearls on a Branch were told by women, often, grandmothers for their grandchildren. As Khoury says in her preface: “Women, once their housework was done, were confined…to their homes. The men could go out to the coffee house to hear the Hakawati, recite the old epics before a strictly male audience. The women visited each other and told stories; stories in which men are dependent on women who are sharper and more intelligent than they are, where women become the true heroines if only through their patience in the face of oppression”
5 Stars because these are lovely tales I would read time and time again
During the Lebanese civil war, Khoury traveled throughout Lebanon with a theater puppet troupe, putting on plays in all kinds of places from air raid shelters to Palestinian refugee camps to isolated villages. Everywhere she went she collected oral tales. In 2014, she chose one hundred stories from among the most popular and published them in Arabic, exactly as she received them, from the mouths of the storytellers who told them as they had heard them when they were children from their parents and grandparents. Out of the hundred stories published in Arabic, she chose thirty for this book which was translated into English by Inea Bushnaq.
These tales are very unique and a must have for everyone who loves fairy and folk tales!
A few are reminiscent of Arabian Nights but many also resemble European tales, but with Middle Eastern characteristics. For example Thuraya with the Long, Long Hair resembles Rapunzel, Sitt Yadab has a similar plot as both Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin. Pomegranate-Seed-on-a-Platter and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves resembles Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
These tales also reminded me a lot of Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino in the sense they are fun, unique and atmospheric.
All of these tales in Pearls on a Branch were told by women, often, grandmothers for their grandchildren. As Khoury says in her preface: “Women, once their housework was done, were confined…to their homes. The men could go out to the coffee house to hear the Hakawati, recite the old epics before a strictly male audience. The women visited each other and told stories; stories in which men are dependent on women who are sharper and more intelligent than they are, where women become the true heroines if only through their patience in the face of oppression”
5 Stars because these are lovely tales I would read time and time again
December 11, 2017
A collection of stories from the Arab world, this book collects what is a cross between a fairy tale and a fable written by women, and written incredibly well.
Each story starts with a short poem that reflects the story and gives you a taste of what you’re about to read, and what you read are stunning stories. So expressive but also pretty, they have a stunning quality to them that makes this book so easy to devour.
Certain stories stick with you, The House With No Worries for example sees the strength of women rewarded with happiness and that’s a recurrent theme within this collection of stories, there’s a hope to these stories that make them so charming and I like this book for it.
An incredible collection of stories,that if you like fairy tales, Pearls On A Branch is probably your next favourite read, these stories are wonderfully written and perfectly told, Pearls On A Branch is a treat.
(I received an ARC from NetGalley),
Each story starts with a short poem that reflects the story and gives you a taste of what you’re about to read, and what you read are stunning stories. So expressive but also pretty, they have a stunning quality to them that makes this book so easy to devour.
Certain stories stick with you, The House With No Worries for example sees the strength of women rewarded with happiness and that’s a recurrent theme within this collection of stories, there’s a hope to these stories that make them so charming and I like this book for it.
An incredible collection of stories,that if you like fairy tales, Pearls On A Branch is probably your next favourite read, these stories are wonderfully written and perfectly told, Pearls On A Branch is a treat.
(I received an ARC from NetGalley),
April 29, 2025
Najla Khoury’s Pearls on a Branch offers an extraordinary collection of 30 Syrian and Lebanese folktales, meticulously gathered from women’s oral traditions. The tales frequently centre on women who navigate adversity with intelligence, patience, and cunning. The book is a “rescue mission” for endangered oral traditions, capturing the voices of women historically excluded from public storytelling spaces.
August 28, 2021
During the Lebanese Civil War Khoury travelled with a theater troupe putting on shows on areas without electricity and scarce or no services like isolated villages, refugee camps and aid raid centers. The plays were based on traditional oral stories and she spent years searching, interviewing and listening to women tell stories. That is how this collection came to be. Since it is women telling stories to other women and children, the stories are women centered, full of witty young beautiful women who get their way.
I loved this beautiful stories where kindness is abundant, generosity is rewarded tenfold, wisdom is dispensed by elders and beautiful women find love and contentment. With a touch of magic and at times subtle sexual innuendo, they warn girls of the dangers of greed, envy and getting pregnant out of wedlock.
I loved this beautiful stories where kindness is abundant, generosity is rewarded tenfold, wisdom is dispensed by elders and beautiful women find love and contentment. With a touch of magic and at times subtle sexual innuendo, they warn girls of the dangers of greed, envy and getting pregnant out of wedlock.
December 8, 2017
Najla Jraissaty Khoury has blessed readers with a stunning collection of Arab folktales, which entertain and impress, with both old world charm and timeless insight into achieving success!
May 6, 2018
A wonderful books composed by story told by Arabian women. The stories are charming, stunning and wonderful.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Archipelago and Edelweiss
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Archipelago and Edelweiss
May 13, 2018
I liked the Middle Eastern twist to many of the fairy tales I grew up with.
March 12, 2025
"It happened or maybe it didn’t.
Let us tell stories that amuse and delight.
Even if we sleep a little later tonight
Some on pillows stitched with pearls and coral rings;
Some on pillows full of lice and crawling things."
•
Pearls on a Branch is a collection of oral tales from the Levant that speaks of this oral tradition. They are part of the heritage of that region that women in refugee camps were willing to share with Khoury who endeavored to gather them all in a collection later on in life. Only thirty of them were translated and included in this collection.
•
For me, these stories speak of the familiar and bring a feeling of nostalgia. They bring back happy childhood memories. The lyrical prose of the words rolls in my head and it's as if I could hear the gravelly voice of my great-grandmother once again.
•
Some stories made me laugh, some made my eyes mist over the memories they brought. This book reads like a journey into a long-lost past that remains beguiling.
•
~ #fridayinaprilbookreviews
•
Let us tell stories that amuse and delight.
Even if we sleep a little later tonight
Some on pillows stitched with pearls and coral rings;
Some on pillows full of lice and crawling things."
•
Pearls on a Branch is a collection of oral tales from the Levant that speaks of this oral tradition. They are part of the heritage of that region that women in refugee camps were willing to share with Khoury who endeavored to gather them all in a collection later on in life. Only thirty of them were translated and included in this collection.
•
For me, these stories speak of the familiar and bring a feeling of nostalgia. They bring back happy childhood memories. The lyrical prose of the words rolls in my head and it's as if I could hear the gravelly voice of my great-grandmother once again.
•
Some stories made me laugh, some made my eyes mist over the memories they brought. This book reads like a journey into a long-lost past that remains beguiling.
•
~ #fridayinaprilbookreviews
•
Want to read
January 9, 2018Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
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