Las mil y una noches. Edición anotada

by Yasmine Seale (Primary Contributor), Paulo Lemos Horta (Editor), Alfonso García Fernández (Translator)

Piedra angular de la literatura universal, las Mil y una noches han inspirado a numerosos autores, desde Charles Dickens y Edgar Allan Poe a Naguib Mahfouz, Clarice Lispector o Angela Carter. En esta lujosa edición ilustrada y anotada, el historiador literario Paulo Lemos Horta y la poeta y traductora Yasmine Seale, presentan una nueva y excepcional selección de cuentos extraídos de las Noches, entre los que se incluyen las apreciadas historias originales así como los famosos relatos añadidos posteriormente, como «Aladino y la lámpara maravillosa» o «Ali Babá y los cuarenta ladrones», rescatando a las Noches de las polvorientas vitrinas decimonónicas y logrando que luzcan vibrantes y actuales para el lector moderno.

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

912 pages, Hardcover

Published September 2, 2022

Reviews

[Tamara Agha-Jaffar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Annotated Arabian Nights: Tales from 1001 Nights, translated by Yasmine Seale with an introduction and annotations by Paulo Lemos Horta, is a 700-page tome that is a visual and intellectual delight. The research is extensive, exploring the Arabian Nights from its beginnings; its translators; its various permutations and translations; its literary and artistic offshoots; and culminating with a selection of retellings. Its pages are adorned with the beautiful illustrations the stories have inspired throughout the centuries, including the enchanting illustrations of Edmund Dulac and the contemporary illustrations of Dia al-Azawi. This magnificent piece of scholarship includes a Foreword by Omar El Akkad, an Afterword by Robert Irwin, and an extensive bibliography.

The volume is in five parts: Part I is Tales from Arabic; Part II is Tales from French; Part III is Hanna Diyab Tales; Part IV is Translators of the Arabian Nights; and Part V is Retellings of Arabian Nights. Paulo Lemos Horta’s Introduction places the Nights in its historical, cultural, and social context; critiques previous translations; and explores its many iterations in art and theatre. His invaluable annotations appear on the margins of each page. These provide commentary, context, analysis, geographical locations, and explanations of the social and cultural mores of the time. They also include how a particular passage, theme, character, or event has re-surfaced in the work of subsequent authors and artists.

Yasmine Seale’s translation has a contemporary feel. She strips the tales of the archaism, exoticism, and Euro-centric lens of previous translations, which had claimed authenticity by presenting them as embodying the life and customs of the Arabs. Whereas Victorian translators routinely undercut female characters, Seale re-introduces strong female characters missing from previous translations. She captures the rhythm, ambiguity, irony, and spirit of the Arabic while giving voice to a Shahrazad who is intelligent, courageous, and a formidable warrior for justice. Shahrazad reminds us stories can be powerful transformational tools. Her use of storytelling to educate others and to fight oppression and injustice has inspired countless generations of storytellers to do the same.

The Annotated Arabian Nights is a remarkable piece of scholarship. The volume is a visual feast for the eyes and an inspiring feast for the mind. It should be savored slowly, allowing the eye and the mind to pause, linger, and treasure.

Very highly recommended.

My book reviews are also available at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com

[Jalilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars! This is not a book you simply read once and forget about! This is a book you read and refer to again and again!
Over my life I have read a number of Arabian Nights collections. This is by far the best for a number of reasons. First of all this 733 page version is annotated with interesting cultural and historical information. It has gorgeous illustrations and photos. Also important is that it is a new translation from an native Arabic speaker. I was unaware until now that many of the racist and anti-Semitic parts of Arabian Nights were added by the previous European translators.
Another thing I was not aware of was that many European and North American scholars claim that the so called “orphan tales”, tales which were not part of the original Arabian Nights, ( Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba were 40: Thieves being the most well known) were European in origin.
While it is true that these tales were added by the 18th century French author Antoine Galland, Galland received these tales by a Syrian merchant and story teller Hanna Diyab. Although he was acknowledged for his contributions, in the past it was not known the great extend to which Diab’s tales added to what we now know as the quintessential Arabian Nights tales. Through the studies of various folklorists mentioned in the book, it’s now known that these tales indeed stem from traditional Arabic folklore.
It’s wonderful and refreshing to read this new version which is free of the previous Orientalist trappings! My only critique is personal. Instead of including tales by Western authors who were influenced by Arabian Nights like Edgar Alan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, I would have preferred to see more original tales. For example two of my favourites, Julnar of the Sea and Ali Shar and Zumurrud were not included.
Otherwise this is the perfect collection. If you have never read the Arabian Nights This is the one to read!

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say I read this cover to cover but I read a LOT of it and it's very exhaustive and well done, beautifully illustrated and laid out.

[Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good translation accompanied by some great editorial commentary...and also Robert Irwin being Robert Irwin. Unfortunately it's only a "best of" edition, but it does include a ton of information on the history of the Nights and on Hanna Diyab and the tales he related to Antoine Galland for his French reworking. The volume is lavishly illustrated with paintings, movie posters, photography, woodcuts, etc., and worth checking out for the art alone -- some of which appeared in editions of the Nights a couple of centuries ago while others are modern works.

At the end I was upset that it was over and went to borrow the Lyons translation, which is 3 volumes long. So far, it's an interesting comparison. Seale's translation foregrounds women in a satisfying way, which is why Burton's female erasure never really appealed to me. To be fair, I've never read all the stories, only bits and pieces over the years. I don't yet know enough to make comparisons, but I enjoyed Seale's translation and found Horta's introduction and notes to be a trove of relevant background.

And, you know, a reader wanting MORE at the end of a volume of selected works is probably a good sign.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a scholarly work, and not simply a collection of translated tales. As such, I found some of the introductions and annotations more detailed than I wanted, but it was wonderful to have the option of diving deeper, and learning more about this collection. As the included tales were part of a centuries-old oral tradition, there are many different versions of the tales, and the different translators incorporated their own nationalities, knowledge and biases into their works. This attempt to bypass some of the early European translators' biases, combined with the annotations gave a really nice foundation for understanding the tales as they might originally have been told, while also appreciating how they have influenced western literature and art. This was an excellent work to be read in an e-book format, since one can click on the notations, and read any of interest, easily returning to the main text to continue reading.

As a result of his wife's infidelity, King Shahriyar has vowed to wed a different woman every day, and kill her the following morning. As the women of the city are selected and brutally killed every day, the Vizier's daughter, Shahrazad volunteers to marry the king with the determination to stay alive and to save her countrywomen. Each night she tells her husband a wonderful tale, leaving him hanging when dawn comes, and agreeing to keep her alive one more day in order to hear the conclusion of one story or an even more incredible story the next night. This sets up the structure of the collection of tales within the outer sheIl story (and there are tales within many of these tales as well)! Since there is no single printed work, tales have been added and modified over centuries. They have been adapted for performances and poems, and incorporated into modern literary works. I was astounded by the number of familiar contemporary works that harken back to these Middle Eastern stories.

This was not all easy reading, but I really loved these more accurate and detailed versions of the sotories I though I knew, as well as the many stories with which I was not familiar. It was a refreshing change from my usual reads, and I'd recommend the book either for the folk tales alone, or for a deeper insight into their origins and influences.

I was drawn to read this after watching the following live reading and discussion of the book, hosted by the New York Public Library: https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/...

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic edition, worth every single penny. Don't think I posses a more beautiful and carefully edited book. Just breathtaking.

As for the stories, I liked the non-Galland ones better, with a preference for The Porter and the Three Women of Baghdad

Also please give me 5 minutes with Yasmin Seale like. I think we'd have an interesting conversation

[Lee Foust · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous edition. The layout is perfect, the illustrations copious and beautiful, the translation fine, commentary solid, and the addenda on Hanna Diyab, various translators and their versions, and the related texts, are all for the most part quite interesting. My only small beef is the omission of the "Hunchback" cycle of tales from the older part of the collection. To make it perfect I might have envisioned a two-volume set, the first with the tales, and a second smaller volume with the addenda, thus a single beautiful edition for the casual reader and a second volume aimed at the scholar or completist. Still, it's well worth the investment as is as there is as yet no single translation of the conglomerate tales of all of the traditions that have come to create the overall collection's reputation. At any rate, this edition, unlike my old Lane translation, explained the various editions, the Hanna Diyab stories added to Galland's French edition, and gives one a nice sampling of them all, so perfect for where I am with the text at this point--and I'm sure my students will enjoy these translations more than Lane's so will be switching them in for the Spring semester of my world literature course.

[J.C. Pillard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am SHOCKED that I never read any of the Arabian Nights either as an undergraduate or graduate English student. The impact that this collection of stories had on literature after 1709 simply cannot be overstated. After starting this, I started seeing Arabian Nights references popping up everywhere.

This new version is masterfully translated by Yasmine Seale. The annotations are great to deepen the stories, and the edition includes lots and lots and lots of art prints inspired by the Nights. This is a hefty read (hence it taking me nearly a year to finish), but well worth it.

[Christine Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

One star off for terrible annotations.

[Mark Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not the complete tales - I think about 30-40 instead of 300+ - but the core stories plus the later more well known additions like Ali Baba and Aladdin.

Plus writing from Dickens, Lovecraft, Poe and others inspired by the 1001 Nights.

A real joy here is the excellent annotation and some beautiful illustrations and a thorough explanation of how the tales arrived in the western world, what Galland, Diyab, Burton and others added to the whole - and when.

Seale adds more depth and dignity to female characters than in previous English language translations and adds a more contemporary tone, stripping out voyeuristic orientalism.

[Maya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this by coincidence while browsing a bookstore, and I’m so pleased that this included in depth comparisons of Hanna Diyab’s storytelling compared to Galland’s filtered writing. I’ve been struggling to find books that conduct some proper research on this exact topic and this did it beautifully. We need more accounts about Diyab’s involvement in the Arabian Nights.

[John Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Names and terms can come out of nowhere and then seem to be everywhere.

A block away from my Brooklyn apartment, there’s a bodega run by men from the Middle East, at which I sometimes buy a specialty sandwich they call an Ali Baba. The name is so familiar that it nearly escapes notice; according to Google, businesses using it include a global online marketplace, a cloud-computing company, and at least one New York restaurant. Meanwhile, wondrous objects such as a flying carpet and a magical lamp that contains a supernatural being called a genie (or jinni) are part of our cultural inheritance, known to many of us from so early that we may not recall ever not knowing them. Much the same is true of the phrase “open sesame” (I saw it somewhere just last night), and a sailor named Sinbad, and a shiftless but lucky young man named Aladdin. And then there’s Scheherazade.

Among scholars, she is now more often known as Shahrazad, but no matter how you spell it, her name is powerfully evocative. Her story exemplifies the power of stories to change lives, even to save lives, and her stories—the tales she tells to keep herself alive for another day—are marvelous things. As Arlo Guthrie sang of Alice’s restaurant, you can get anything you want here. Novelist A. S. Byatt, in a New York Times Magazine piece from 1999, said as much, but with more detail: “This story has everything a tale should have. Sex, death, treachery, vengeance, magic, humor, warmth, wit, surprise and a happy ending.”

It would be easy to assume that we in the so-called Western world have always known of Shahrazad, as we’ve known of Achilles and Odysseus, but that would be a mistake. She first appeared in the so-called East in roughly the eighth or ninth century C.E.; not until a thousand years later did readers in our part of the world meet her, via a French edition called Les mille et une nuits, which was translated by a classicist named Antoine Galland and published beginning in 1704. In other words, Shahrazad and her stories didn’t grow up here; they’re immigrants.

Regarding my use of “so-called”: Neither East nor West is a monolithic thing. Edward Said pointed this out with regard to the Orient, and surely it applies to our Western culture as well. But enough about that.

The 1,001 Nights differs in important ways from most of the stories that over time have held a place in our cultural affections. One difference is that this collection has always been mercurial, protean, mutable. Admittedly, the Arthurian legends have this quality to a degree; they’re somewhat hard to pin down and depend in part on who’s telling them. But (to name two other Western touchstones) there’s not much doubt about what is and what isn’t one of Shakespeare’s plays, despite uncertainties around the edges, and there’s not much doubt about Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. By contrast, the stories that make up Scheherazade’s story have kept changing since the very beginning; tales have been added, altered, or deleted to suit a particular purpose or to include new cities. The tales she told don’t even have one settled name. In Arabic, they’re known as Alf Layla al-Wayla (The Thousand Nights and One Night), which Galland carried over into French, but in English they’re more often called The Arabian Nights.

Another difference: Unlike the Crusoe and Arthur stories, the focus here is on a woman. On two women, really (Shahrazad and her sister, Dunyazad), and if you want to look at it this way, on the entire class of women. Incidentally, more than a century after the Nights was first published in English (in a bootleg that appeared soon after the first French edition), Christina Rossetti echoed the two-sisters theme in “Goblin Market,” and that long, elusive poem is included here, in a section devoted to retellings and reinterpretations.

Those are some of the ways this book differs from most books. But in another way, it’s like many other books: it’s a page-turner. It keeps you wondering, “What happens next?” You’ll also want to know what story is next, and even what kind of story is next. The ones you’d expect to find are here, and also many that you wouldn’t. There’s not only a flying carpet—which, unlike film versions, is more of a teleporting carpet—but also a flying mechanical horse. There’s a cave that opens upon command, and a merchant who spends so much time at sea that he’s known to us as Sinbad the Sailor, and a lamp that contains a jinni. But there’s also a polyamorous household, in “The Story of the Porter and the Three Women of Baghdad,” and a murder mystery, in “The Story of the Three Apples.” The 1,001 Nights is much more capacious than we’re likely to think.

And even that doesn’t say enough about what’s here. Yasmine Seale’s new translation has been praised for making earlier versions seem “either garish or slightly dull” (see the N.Y.R.B. review linked below). Good as they are, though, the stories themselves aren’t the only thing. In this volume, Scheherazade’s tales travel with a sizable entourage: a thorough introduction that nonetheless left me wanting to know more; numerous annotations, including one explaining a food preparation called kunafa that happened to be part of a Dubai chocolate bar in my refrigerator; the reinterpretations that I mentioned, such as a clever one by Edgar Allan Poe; and an afterword exploring some mysteries about the sources.

This edition is bountiful, like a big, open-air market. Everywhere you look, there’s something new to catch your eye, your ear, your mind. But despite the profusion, some things are not here—namely, some stories. The “Recommended Reading…” section begins with a list of 15 tales from the Nights that aren’t included in the present volume, such as “The Hunchback,” “The Sleeper and the Waker,” “Mar‘uf the Cobbler,” and “The City of Brass.” (Remember that there’s no such thing as a definitive edition.) This is an odd situation, which I won’t try to assess; readers who know the Nights better may have opinions on what’s been omitted. I’ll say only that I would’ve welcomed more of Yasmine Seale’s translations.

Regardless, all the words that are here, whether from Seale or someone else, add up to a major wonder. And there’s another wonder, of an entirely different class: the design, attributed on the copyright page to Marysarah Quinn. She, and whoever worked with her, deserve to have their names in lights somewhere, for the overall layout of this book and especially for its countless, beguiling illustrations, large and small, ancient to modern, color or black-and-white, photographic or not. Among the prizes in this book’s images: work from a groundbreaking German animator named Lotte Reiniger, whose style resembles that of Javanese shadow puppets.

Those who find The 1,001 Nights endlessly fascinating—a group that now includes me—may want to know more. I suggest these reviews:

“Travelling Text,” by Marina Warner, London Review of Books, December 18, 2008 (at https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v30/n...)

“Queens of the Night,” by Patricia Storace, The New York Review of Books, March 20, 2014 (at https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2014...)

“Then What Happened?,” by Robyn Creswell, The New York Review of Books, November 3, 2022 (at https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022...)

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. No fault of the translator, but it turns out that tales to astonish and delight medieval Arab audiences just don’t do much for me.

It was interesting to learn that most of the famous “Arabian Nights” stories were actually added by the first French translator in the early 1700s, after he heard them from a young Syrian friend. Aladdin, Sinbad, the flying carpet and “open, sesame!” all came from the Syrian storyteller and don’t appear in historical manuscripts of the “1001 Nights”. These stories, which are the most appealing to modern audiences, are also (probably) a lot younger than the core stories. Maybe the worldview and mindset of medieval Baghdad and Cairo are too alien to resonate with most 21st century readers, but 18th century Syria-filtered-through-France is still within comprehension.

[Víctor Vila Álvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imprescindible si estás interesado en el tema de los cuentos, las fábulas y demás narraciones fantásticas. Además esta edición intenta llegar al origen de un libro que aparte de 1001 noches tiene 1001 versiones. De nuevo digo que si el lector tiene ya de antemano interés en el libro, averiguar las fuentes y las reescrituras de cada relato le gustará y es un buen ejercicio para quitarse la idea de que occidente es el ombligo del mundo. Y si por otra parte lo único que buscas son las historias, aquí tienes magia, vino, sexo y muerte para estar un buen rato entretenido.

[Silvia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand this is a translated version of great historical literature but I don’t find these stories good. They’re incredibly repetitive. Maybe in a time when there was nothing else it would have been magnificent to sit and listen to these be told. Now there is so much better writings that aren’t sexist or repetitive.

[Christopher Eckerdt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it in its entirety. What a beast! Endlessly fascinating in all there is to be learned about ancient and medieval Persia, Egypt and Mesopotamia through the lens of the early 16th century French then in turn through a modern lens. Translator Seale attempts to account for misogyny, racism and homophobia that existed (and still does of course in different forms and degrees) not in altering the stories but through the hundreds of annotations and through her writing itself. Many fascinating connections to nearly every author you can think of are found in the notations, finding parallels and links to many different parts of modern culture and every time period in between now and the original oral birth of these stories, also looking at how they changed as the stories have travelled around the world from story teller to story teller. The mark these tales (which in end relate most to what I consider a “fairy tale” from a western perspective) have had on our culture and literature is very clear and is much more important than I ever would have recognized before reading this. Spoiler/warning: there are ALOT of djinns and people changing into animals, magic items, magicians, deception, and random uncelebrated death. I guess that’s kind of what I expected; your head begins to spin trying to track it all at a certain point though. At least mine did.
Also of note is the exhaustive and Impressive collection of art used the book which assists in looking at the stories from all the different perspectives and times in which they were recounted.

[nasim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible catalogue of the texts, its translations, retellings, artwork it produced and every conceivable after life these takes have lived. Extensive notes, bios, and commentary make this collection truly a remarkable resource

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Review edited 1/17/22) This is a gorgeous book — beautiful pages, well laid out, and a very readable translation. There are long sections I want to read aloud, for the sheer delight of the story telling.

I'm setting it aside and marking it as "Read," though I'm only halfway through because for me it's a book not to read all at once, but to dip into from time to time for a long time to come. A delight to read.

[Asaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations, the abundance of annotations, and you know what? A lot of stories came back to me while reading. Probably the Polish editions I read in childhood were either translated from Galland's version or shared the source material because the tales' order and the content feel familiar? I remember I loved to sneak out from the kitchen at my uncle's place to read his copy whenever we were visiting him and his family.

Indeed, Yasmine Seale's translation is a joy to read, so gripping that sometimes I couldn't put it away. Though a true unsung hero of "One thousand and one night" is Hanna Diyab, a Syrian, who by history's ominous design, never left the shadow of Galland. If not for him, the world would have never heard of such tales as Ali Baba, Aladdin, or "Prince Ahmed and Peri Banu". Actually, had I not read this edition, I would have never known of this Syrian storyteller.

On the con side, I hoped for a complete edition full of erotic glory that a few Arabic versions are rumored to possess. Everything that this publication isn't, but I still had fun.

[Sharon Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection is jam-packed with scholarly notations and detailed information. It helped me look at the stories with a different perspective. It was a bit complex for me, but I am grateful for the exposure. I hope to read it again, but not yet...

[Jibran]

https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...

[Elina Aghabekyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sexist

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I didn't technically finish this but what a great resource to look at translations of the original text and also learn the history of these stories!

[MyChienneLit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This gorgeous edition of One Thousand and One Nights really blew me away! In selecting a translator fluent in French and Arabic, Horta found the key to producing an edition sensitive to the poetry, rhythm, and musicality of the languages and collaboration between Hanna Diyab, Antoine Galland, Paul Lucas, and the source texts and oral traditions combined in a unique mélange to create the tales of the Arabian Nights. This book contains beautiful artwork inspired by the Nights tales, but it is also a serious work of scholarship—well-researched and sourced, with a wealth of footnotes that enhance the reader’s understanding of context, meaning, and alternate traditions that inevitably exist with a story produced at a cultural crossroads in a distant past we are still seeking to uncover. But this is in no way a dry, dense read. While the serious student of folklore and literature will find this an incredibly meaningful contribution to the body of extant scholarship, even the most casual reader will find the stories compelling, accessible, and entertaining. Seale’s deft touch allows all the magic, mystery, and sensuality of the Arabian Nights to shine through, and her truly gifted poetry elevates the text with drama and emotion in all the right moments. The separation of the text into sections based on the origin of the tales provides an interesting framework for comparison and contrast for the tales, and the editor’s (very) short introduction to each story provides helpful background information. The addition of examples of a few short works inspired by the Arabian Nights provides an excellent start for readers interested in pursuing further the influence of the Nights on western literature, and there is additional information about the most influential translations thus far From those looking for glossy, sophisticated, and attractive coffee table books to scholars of Near Eastern literature to adults with an interest in reading the stories that have been such an integral part of modern culture, this edition of One Thousand and One Nights will be a great addition to everyone’s personal library.

[Daniel Choe · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a journey. I was going to give this a 4 because of the presentation, because there's no generosity in giving less than a 5 to stories of this stature, even if the most recognizable of them have been beaten into the ground, dug up, and cannibalized by ghoulish corporate vermin. I was enthralled by the first set of stories, which appear to have little traceable origin. They're fantastic. The second set of stories, where you'll find more of that corporate inauthenticity, are considered embellished by Western influence. There are many reasons and false reasons I was predisposed to dislike this second set, but I don't think you can deny they have a staler flavor, and I was angry at having been made to read them. Later in the book, presented with 18th century note fragments from which the second set was generated, I wished upon Solomon's Key I could have skipped the final Galland "stories" and just read his precursor notes. It would be weird I guess to reverse that order, but if there is an edition of these tales that does that with intentionality, I might actually give it a shot.

But I came back to a 5 because of the extras. There is a set of short fictions by Dickens ('A Christmas Tree'), Rossetti ('Goblin Market'), Poe (''The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scherazade'), Lovecraft ('The Nameless City'), and O. Henry ('A Madison Square Arabian Night') that demonstrate the power of these tales in a way that makes one weep. I suppose it's this devotion to formative tales that suggests an exit from the Ivory Tower/Glower, but of course, once you've been up there, you forget the magic words that reveal the exit. These fictions are followed by a quick tour of the scholarship, the provenance of many of these tales. The context and questions from this section were important to me. Turns out there is a perhaps antiquated school of thought tracing many of these stories back to a Buddhist origin. While I'm not sure what I think of that, I find it illuminating to view these stories, and maybe all stories, as reincarnations of past stories, stories who continually decide to be bodhisattva, remaining with us here on Earth and postponing their arrival in the Pure Land. Sorry, too much The White Lotus I guess.

[Dan Trefethen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nicely illustrated and annotated compendium of the Arabian Nights, centered around the French translation by Antoine Galland in the early 18th century. There is a lot of discussion of what makes up the corpus, as the various translations have presented various tales. This one is centered on Galland and his incorporation of stories from the Aleppo trader Hanna Diyab, documented in Diyab's memoir that was recently discovered in the Vatican Library.

All the expected tales are here, from Sinbad to Ali Baba and the fairy Pari Banu. The annotated comments make it plain that Galland added details and morals that would resonate with the French court of his day. The case is also made that these tales are clearly oriented towards an audience that comprises the merchant class, what would be called the bourgeoisie in the Western world. (For instance, Sinbad and Ali Baba are both traders and merchants; Sinbad didn't sail the boat, merely accompanied his goods on it.)

Women play an interesting role in the tales. While there are some eroticized portrayals, there are many women who are wiser and craftier than the men, perhaps serving as examples for Shahrazad (as it is spelled in this book) to change the mind of the king who always threatens to kill her each day.

The book has sections that serve as appendices which recount some of Diyab's tales that Galland didn't include, and a discussion of the various translators of the Nights.

I especially enjoyed the illustrations from all the different artists through the ages who added their visual interpretations of the tales. The representations of the jinn were particularly enjoyable.

[Chelsey Saatkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This annotated edition of The Arabian Nights is PERFECTION. I cannot recommend it enough.

I’ve been frustrated by previous translations when attempting to tackle reading Shahrazad's tales (particularly Richard Burton’s racist version), but here, Yasmine Seale’s translation was exactly what I wanted -- it’s readable, true to the originals, lyrical, and above all, immersive.

The introduction and subsequent annotations provided really interesting background about how the different stories came to be, alongside other cool historical and cultural facts about various elements in the tales. Things like - what's the difference between a good djinn and bad djinn in Islam? Why was Harun al-Rashid the go-to caliph in these tales? Why are so many of these stories about merchants and wealth?

For instance, I had no idea Syrian adventurer Hanna Diyab was the original storyteller for Aladdin and Ali Baba. Reading Galland’s notes from his storytelling sessions with Diyab was such a cool peek at seeing how fairytales are produced. I definitely want to read his autobiography now.

All of this goodness is then sprinkled throughout with incredible imagery…the ideal way to read these stories.

My personal favorite tale was “Prince Ahmed and the Fairy Pari Banu.” I really want to see/read a retelling of it. My favorite of the “core” stories was probably “Dalila the Crafty”…love me a devious female thief. And of course, I always love the framing tale of Shahrazad, one of literature’s all-time great heroines.

[Jheelam · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the stories for more hopeful times. Times, when the biggest setback you could face was your wife turning you into a dog, or a jinny replacing your groom into the nuptial chamber.

And the biggest moral redemption for a ruler was - roaming the city during nights in disguise, lending an ear to the peasants actually ; instead of, shouting bs to sheep on social media (surprise, surprise).

All in all, this is a superbly researched book. I've read the translated version of Arabian Nights during my childhood. But they were abridged, kid-friendly, sans all the juicy bits like- sex, nudity, who-is-sleeping- with-whom etc.

This version presented the stories with full flourish, and unapologetically Oriental erotic yearning (as it should be). The accompanying illustrations are so varied and lovely.

Now, though I fully respect the role of Diyab in birthing these stories, the background and the research part was a bit heavy for my mood. The same goes for how Arabian Nights inspired different authors in their own works.

The 4th ⭐ is for the analysed sections, though I skimmed through them.

[Rahul Jacob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading all three volumes of Mathew Lyon's translation before this was probably a mistake. It massively reduced my enjoyment of this, since it was basically just rereading a collection of stories that I already found a bit of a slog to get through.

Horta's consistent insistence that Seale's translation is superior to every other translation didn't really convince me. Having Lyon's translation fresh in my mind, her translation didn't really elevate the material in any meaningful way.

I also found most of the annotations accompanying the stories to be painfully obvious to anyone with basic reading comprehension. I also really felt like this collection was soo repetitive. The 4th section is just a repeat of the Hanna Diyab tales except that they are the bare notes version Galland took down. The last section is a discussion of the origins of the Hanna Diyab tales which again has summaries of the stories we've now read twice.

This book of course is accompanied by many illustrations which I thought were quite nice (especially Edward Dulac's).

All in all, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone except for the most hardcore of Arabian Nights fans.

[Taleoftwopiggies · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. Very well designed. With interesting illustration and annotation.

Some of the stories are so interesting.

— The story of Sinbad the sailor:

This is one of the most famous one. But I’m not sure I’m that impressed.

— Ali Baba and the forty thieves:

Still very good.

—

— Prince Ahmad and the Fairy Pari Banu:

It could have ended perfectly. The happy prince Ahmad visiting his father once a month. His father had to listen to the jealous vizier and started to make one after another greedy requests, which eventually brought his own demise. The moral of the story: Learn to be content and you’ll be happy.

— Aladdin and the wonderful lamp

I remember a comment from another mom: I pay most of my attention to the parenting aspect of a book. So true! I do the same. I’m still in the middle of reading this story but what already got my attention was the education Aladdin received and how he changed after the encountering with the magician.

— The story of the jealous sisters

The story itself is kind of stereotypical. But it served well as a story that led to Shahrazad’s liberation.