Middle East/North African Lit discussion

Hi Everyone!
I have a question regarding One Thousand and One Nights
by Hanan Al-Shaykh.

Have any of you read it?
If so, can you please tell me if is it more or less a direct translation of the original like Arabian Nights: The Thousand and One Nights
or The Arabian Nights or is it a modern retelling? Are the tales the same or are their different ones?

Thanks in advance!

Hi! I read this so long ago that I don't remember it in great detail. However, it's not Hanan al-Shaykh's original stories at all. It is a collection that she selected from the many stories of A Thousand and One Nights. She's interested in gender issues.

Melanie wrote: "Hi! I read this so long ago that I don't remember it in great detail. However, it's not Hanan al-Shaykh's original stories at all. It is a collection that she selected from the many stories of A Th..."

Thanks Melanie! I nominated it for the Djinn themed group read in the Into the Forest group, but was not sure if it should count as a retelling or original tales. From what I understand now they would be original tales, selected and translated by Hanan Al-Shaykh.

I am currently reading the Al-Shaykh version and the tales are different enough that it could definitely be called a re-telling, rather than just another translation.

Hmm, perhaps I should revisit it some day. Are you enjoying it?

Boutrose wrote: "I was looking at the cover when I saw this notification, because I had purchased it some time ago but had not found the time to read it, and my first instinct was that it was a retelling because my..."

Hanan Al-Shaykh herself describes it as a "reimagining".
I'd say the majority of tales are the original ones, but they are reworded differently. The order is different and there are connections made between the tales that are not in the other translations I've read. Some tales seem entirely new to me.

Melanie wrote: "Hmm, perhaps I should revisit it some day. Are you enjoying it?"
I am loving it! It's no doubt the best version I've read and from now on I'd recommend it to people who have never read Alf Leila wa Leila before.