مائة ليلة وليلة

Library of Arabic Literature

by Anonymous, محمود طرشونة (تحقيق)

يتضح من مقدمة المحقق د.طرشونة ومن نصوص «مئة ليلة.» أننا أمام كتاب مغاربي عرفت نسخه في تونس، وأعتقد أنه كان متداولاً في الأسماع والرواية أكثر منه مادة قراءة أدبية، وذلك عبر سنوات طويلة من حياة الحضارة العربية الإسلامية في أرجاء المغارب، وهو يضمّ عددا من الحكايات الشعبية تجمع ألوانا يمتزج فيها الأسطوري والواقعي والتاريخي، وهي موزّعة على مئة ليلة ترويها شهرزاد للملك «دارم المهلول»، وتدفع بها الموت الذي قرّره لكل امرأة يتزوّجها بعد مرارة خلّفتها خيانة زوجته الأولى.

Genres: Literature, History

446 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Ronald Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all of the hardcover Library of Arabic Literature, this is a lovely little book-artifact. Nice sturdy binding, thick pages, beautiful printing (especially the Arabic) and insightful and informative sections about the work and translation. Due to their slightly larger size, I think I like these editions a bit more than both the Murty and Dumbarton Oaks editions, though the three imprints are certainly high on my list of “must buy” books.

For those only passingly aware of this work, it is not in fact an annotated/condensed version of the vastly more popular 1001 Nights. In fact, it’s pretty safe to say that most people are likely not aware of this work at all, it’s just easy to lump it in with the other in your mind. Prior to reading this volume I knew - at most - that they were two distinct works, but knew basically nothing else going in.

The two book are in fact similar, in that they both are built around the same frame-tale. The introduction provides a pretty fascinating overview of the frame-tale itself, and shows that it precedes both of these works, and that the first instance of the tale is not actually known. It also shows that the frame-tale originally contained an extra part where (in this frame tale the two cuckolded men are brothers) the two brothers are forced to have sex with the wife of a demon while the demon sleeps nearby. This kind of nebulous Ur-Frame-Tale is pretty fascinating. As well, both the introduction and Note on the Text are fascinating looks at the difficulty to ascribe a date and origin to the work; as well as the differences between manuscripts of the work.

Both Nights also contain the tales “The Story of the Prince and the Seven Viziers” and “The Tale of the Ebony Horse”, but that’s really where their overlap ends. The 101 nights consists of only 17 stories (told over the course of 101 nights) while the 1001 contains around 260 (“around” due to lack of authoritative version of the work) – the 17 works in the 101 are of fairly consistent length, while those in the 1001 vary pretty wildly.

The stories here are pretty straightforward, and demonstrate a simplicity of narrative – problems are presented, problems are resolved, typically one after another. The interesting thing about these stories is that they share many similarities with pulp fiction being written in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s – possibly those later works are a little more sophisticated in their narratives, but it’s striking how little this type of tale had evolved over the centuries (and how much it’s evolved over just the last century). The one tale of more-interesting formation is “The Story of the Prince and the Seven Viziers”, which is structured much like Nights themselves – a collection of stories inside a frame – which is mildly interesting when considering that it is itself a story already within a frame (though, of course, Chaucer did it better).

There is a great deal of troubling misogyny here – most problems are caused by women and their wiles; casual rape and references to rape; casual killing of women; etc – and I’m sure some of it can be brushed under the rug with the “time and place” argument, there are plenty of works that originated around this time that are not quite so misogynistic. So, progressive fiction this is not.

So how do you a judge a book like this? It’s probably somewhere in the realm of 800+ years old, and was only translated at all within the last century, and this marks the first time it is available in English. As with many works like this, you have to consider it as more than just the book itself, but also consider its place in history, its importance in being available to a new audience – this sort of antiquity needs to be preserved and available. So: the stories that make up the 101 Nights, those are probably more like three stars. The rating up above? That’s for the book-artifact in its entirety. I point this out because these editions are pricey, and if funds are limited you might want to look past the 5-star review.

[Jalilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful collection of tales! A Hundred and One Nights uses the same framework as Arabian Nights: Scheherazade telling the king tales to save her life, but A Hundred and One Nights is older and originates in North Africa. The stories are different and although a few might be similar to Arabian Nights, the majority were completely new to me, like the most magical tale The Story the of the King and the Gazelle as well as The Tale of the Ebony Horse. I loved most of these stories. What I loved most of all was all the tales of female warriors, warrior princesses! Thanks to the Middle East North African Lit group here on Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... for bringing this wonderful collection to my attention!

[ReemK10 (Paper Pills) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book that was started years ago, now completed! It only took me 5 years! However, I have to say that the timing is actually quite perfect as I will be reading Hanna Diyab's The Book of Travels in December. Hanna Diyab, finally recognized for supplying Antoine Galland with a few more tales for The Thousand and One Nights!

I remember the first time I discovered that there was a manuscript of the A Hundred and One Nights in the Agha Khan Museum. I had been reading Proust's In Search Of Lost Time, and I had gone off on one of my Google searches for the Arabian Nights. I read مائة ليلة وليلة. Mi'a Layla wa-Layla. Mi'a not Alf! 101 not 1001 nights! I was so excited!!! How had I never known of this before?! How come none of us had ever heard of it?!!

So I picked up the 101, to finish off yet another book that I had abandoned before. Reading it tonight, I was energized at first, then I was annoyed, especially with The Story of the Prince and the Seven Viziers with all the allegations about the devious wiles of women, their lies and deceit. I was taking notes as I read tonight:

-What does the Quran have to say about the wiles of women?
SURAH YUSUF AYAT 28 (12:28) QURAN
PICKTHALL
So when he saw his shirt torn from behind, he said: Lo! this is of the guile of you women. Lo! the guile of you is very great.

ALA-MAUDUDI
(12:28) So when the husband saw Joseph’s shirt torn from behind he exclaimed: “Surely, this is one of the tricks of you women; your tricks are indeed great

-And I kept thinking well Shahrazad was outwitting her husband with all these tales. Outwit, outplay, outlast.

-Guile is also a weapon for the weak and oppressed to outwit those in power.

-Power of the "powerless".

-Creation of the cliffhanger. 

Then as I finished reading, I figured that I was overthinking these stories by trying to analyze them. They were just that, stories, like the ones we would listen to that my grandmother would tell to entertain all her grandchildren. They were far fetched and hugely entertaining. And that is what the A Hundred and One Nights is as well.

Wild!

[Jalilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delightful collection of tales! A Hundred and One Nights uses the same framework as Arabian Nights: Scheherazade telling the king tales to save her life, but A Hundred and One Nights is older and originates in North Africa. The stories are different. although a few might be similar to Arabian Nights, the majority were new to me, like the most magical tales The Story the of the King and the Gazelle as well as The Tale of the Ebony Horse. I loved most of these stories. What I loved most of all was all the tales of female warriors, warrior princesses! Thanks to the Middle East North African Lit group here on Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... for bringing this wonderful collection to my attention!

[Mohammad Aboomar · Rating 4 out of 5]

قبل أن تكون ألف ليلة وليلة كانت مائة ليلة وليلة، أو هكذا يرجح المحقق وغيره من النقاد بناء على تحليل القصص وصياغتها. يوجد في هذه المجموعة قصتين صغيرتين على الأقل من مجموعة جالان، أما البقية فهي متنوعة ومختلفة قليلا.

لفت نظري في هذه المجموعة وجود تعدد الزوجات في أكثر من قصة، وهو أمر لم أجده في ألف ليلة وليلة.

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

The collection echoes the better known Thousand and One Night, but hails from what is now North Africa rather than the Middle East. Some of the stories - including the Sharazhad frame - are the same, but many are different, although a number of the tropes reappear: princes encountering the unexpected and emerging with a bride and a fortune; good and bad behavior repaid in kind; a storytelling debate over the ‘wiles of women’; the marvels of women warriors, djinni, and talking animals. In general, the stories have less variety and are less developed than in the Thousand and One Nights, and the frank distrust of women, and disrespect of their autonomy, gets tedious. However, the critical apparatus - introduction and endnotes - is excellent, and the shorter fales stay pretty fresh.

[Joseph F. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It came to me as a surprise while book hunting that the famous Arabian Nights, or Thousand and One Nights, has a kinda little sibling; this rather unknown book. The frame story is the same: a cuckolded king murders a new wife every night so he can insure she doesn't cheat on him. (Talk about 100 percent assurance).
Then Scheherazade comes along and keeps herself alive by intriguing the king with stories.

Are the stories good? Well, let's just say that although that nice eastern flavor is felt from time to time here, there isn't anything that could compare to The Arabian Nights. But then that's just me; and besides, Aladdin, Sinbad, and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves are tough acts to follow.

Just like its more famous cousin, this book can have some hysterical raunchiness.

[Matheus Rauh · Rating 4 out of 5]

O primo esquisito de "Mil e uma noites".

Li a tradução brasileira feito pelo Prof. Jarouche e publicada pela Martins Fontes.
As histórias são muito legais, mas é impossível não comparar com Mil e uma noites. Acredito que "Sete Vizires" é uma das leituras obrigatórias dessa coleção, mas no geral são histórias menos sinistras e tensas do que as de Mil e uma Noites.
Se você quer se aprofundar em literatura árabe eu recomendo, caso contrário, invista seu dinheiro em Mil e Noites pois é mais bonito (em termos de edição também) e mais interessante.

[Juliette Sarrazin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the foreword, and I loved, - and I mean LOVED -, the writings style for the story. It was simple but captivating and beautiful. I also really liked some of the stories, even though some of them were a bit repetitive (like the trend of a warrior actually being a woman) and a bit dated. It was really fun to read.

[reveurdart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The foreword and the introduction were both excellent. The Indian aspects found within the tales are of particular interest to me, because one half of my biracial heritage is Indian.

Full review forthcoming.

[Chidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfectly fine book. After reading One Thousand and One Nights it felt a little underwhelming but it’s so great to be able to read an earlier source material.

[Lulu]

“The task of tracing the origin of the OHON is made particularly difficult by a complete silence on the matter in the sources, as well as the lack of any secure clues as to what date to ascribe to the emergence of this collection. However, it is possible to suggest that the version that survives today was put together around the year 900.” ????

In 2010, Claudia Ott discovered the oldest known manuscript, dated from 1234 or 1235, which includes only the first 85 nights.
[12th is most likely date of composition?]


With the exception of the tales of "The Ebony Horse” and the “Seven Viziers”, also present in “One Thousand and One Nights”, the stories are different in the two works

According to Claudia Ott, while One Thousand and One Nights talks about the Eastern Arab world, One Hundred and One Nights takes place in the Western Arab world