The Arabian Nights Entertainments; Volume 3 of 4

by Anonymous, Jonathan Scott (Translator)

The Arabian Nights Entertainment or simply Arabian Nights is the English name of One Thousand and One Nights. The collection, or at least certain stories drawn from it (or purporting to be drawn from it) became widely known in the West during the nineteenth century, after it was translated - first into French and then English and other European languages. These collections of tales trace their roots back to ancient Arabia and Yemen, ancient India, ancient Asia Minor, ancient Persia, ancient Egypt, ancient Mesopotamian Mythology, ancient Syria, and medieval Arabic folk stories from the Caliphate era. Though the oldest Arabic manuscript dates from the fourteenth century, scholarship generally dates the collection s genesis to somewhere between AD 800-900. The tales vary widely: they include historical tales, love stories, tragedies, comedies, poems and burlesques. Numerous stories depict djinn, magicians, and legendary places, which are often intermingled with real people and geography; the historical caliph Harun al-Rashid is a common protagonist, as are his alleged court poet Abu Nuwas and his vizier, Ja far al-Barmaki.

344 pages, Paperback

Published November 21, 2008

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

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 5 out of 5]

Profligates and prodigals form the core of this third volume of The Arabian Nights. Also included are the stories of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves as well as Alla ad Deen, or Aladdin. So interesting it is to see how other stories from the region have been passed into these Arabian folk tales. Clearly there is the influence of the Biblical prodigal son as well as the story of Joseph and his exile. But there are also instances from Homer's Odyssey that work their way into the stories, such as that of the witch, Circe, the enchantress who turns Odysseus' men into animals. I wonder what the influence is from the East, however, and India. I don't know much of Hindu and Buddhist literature, so there might be things that filter in from them, too. Marvelous stories. Well worth the time invested in reading them.

[Renee M]

I love this quote from Wikipedia:

“There is little evidence that the Nights was particularly treasured in the Arab world. It is rarely mentioned in lists of popular literature and few pre-18th century manuscripts of the collection exist. Fiction had a low cultural status among Medieval Arabs compared with poetry, and the tales were dismissed as khurafa (improbable fantasies fit only for entertaining women and children). According to Robert Irwin, "Even today, with the exception of certain writers and academics, the Nights is regarded with disdain in the Arabic world. Its stories are regularly denounced as vulgar, improbable, childish and, above all, badly written."

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tales that genuinely do entertain. Some recurring characters throughout different tales add to the "comfort factor" to curl up with this book of an evening.