One Thousand and One Arabian Nights (Oxford Story Collections)

Words cannot describe the fantastic quality of this collection of Arabic literature. But don't get the book just to read the tale of Ala al-Din (Aladdin) and his Wonderful Lamp, because the other tales included surpass this merely moderate one by far - although it's interesting to find out that a black midget is Aladdin's primary nemesis (upon who Disney's Jafar is based, apparently). The stories touch on such a wide variety of unusual topics: a man's visit to the kingdom of mermaids, a dead beggar getting tripped over again and again, a guy claiming to have several volcanoes in a portable bag, a Sultan's escape from a buffalo-faced woman in the presence of a group of pink ladies, and the marriage of a prince to a turtle. Insane stuff. My favorite story is The Everlasting Shoes by far. It's quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever read. It's about an old miser who's so cheap he never buys new shoes. He just patches up the pair he has whenever they get holes. The addition of so many patches naturally make his shoes bigger and bigger. Eventually the shoes become ridiculously huge and heavy and smelly, and they make a lot of noise as the miser walks. The scene of the shoes being thrown into the river and getting caught in the millwork is well worth the price of the entire book. There's a story in here that looks VERY much like a mid-east version of Cinderella. Quite interesting. I am unable to tell how many liberties the author has taken in translating the tales, but they're definitely fun to read. There are tons of ancient day metaphors and funny insults like, "You flea on a cockroach's kneecap!" and "Son of a plank! Did you steal your brains from a table?" I really liked reading the misfortunes of the protagonist in the Keys of Destiny stories, and the nagging wives that appear sporadically are pretty darn funny. The things I didn't like about this book were very few. Only its frequent mentioning of Allah and the puzzling weakness of its 998th and 999th stories about a flying toy horse. I would recommend the Arabian Knights to anybody over the age of fifteen; probably because I was so surprised at the large amount of enjoyable humor.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting an enjoyable and easy way to draw conclusions of political, social, and cultural aspects of this time period during the Islamic Golden Age. McCaughrean managed to compile one thousand nights of stories and translations into an almost three hundred page book. Even so, the author was able to convey a years old folk tale that came out of ancient and medieval times and allow the reader to easily comprehend it. I found this book to be a quick read as I was able to finish it in one day. The ever so interesting and intertwined stories kept me coming back, and there was never a point when I was un intrigued. Hearing from others who read this book, they had the same thoughts as it is an enlightening and historical adventure. I encourage everyone to read this enriching tale as it can be used for educational or pleasure reading.

"Arabian Nights" is one of those works that everyone has heard of, but not many have actually read. Hence I decided to actually read it, instead of guessing the stories of Ali Baba or Abu Kasim. I am glad that I did. "Arabian Nights" are well deserving their reputation as one of the best collections of fairy tales anywhere. Interwoven and connected by the young Queen wanting to stay alive, and managing to do so by telling her husband stories, the collection is amazing in language, style and sheer imagination. Most stories take place in Baghdad, and instead of a war torn, news-exploited place, Baghdad became a place of magic and place of palaces and culture so deeply entrenched, that the entire world knows of them. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to go somewhere exotic and beautiful, even if it is just in thoughts. Great reading!

The cartoon Aladdin inspired me to get this book. It was a fun read. Go at your own pace. (If you find yourself stuck, I found it easier to read after googling some of the pronunciations of certain words (^-^) )

I have been searching for a decent copy of Arabian Nights for years. I originally bought the really nice, leather-bound, 3 volume collection....big mistake. Most 1001 Nights are translated by Richard Burton, whom you should stay away from at all costs. Although his translation is more accurate, it is HARD to read. It's written in old English with 10-line sentences. That being said, this translation is much more enjoyable to read. Although it does not have every tale, it has all the major stories you are looking for including: Aladdin, Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, and Sinbad. This is for younger readers so certain points of the original were left out. For instance, the desire for the slave-girl Jesmin (in Aladdin) was romanticized a bit. Nonetheless, it is far more pleasurable to read than any version I came across. I suppose it's as child friendly as a story about a man murdering every woman in the world after he has sex with them can be.

A very approachable and hilarious collection of stories! I used this for middle-school aged students, who found the reading level just about right, but some of the story content took some careful in-class discussion (harems, concubines, a woman telling the stories so she doesn't have her head chopped off by her husband). However, once clear cultural and moral norms were introduced and discussed, prior to beginning the reading (and reviewed during certain stories, and all parents were provided with discussion points in advance so they could talk with their children), the plot of the individual characters in the stories was extremely engaging.

The book was as expected and delivered on time

I actually bought the book for my 9 year-old son. My son stopped reading after 2 - 3 pages..he thought it was boring. However, I started reading and I found the book very interesting! I think the Arabian Nights stories I knew were Disney versions. I am sure there are children (10+ I guess) who will love the book but I think it's a good book for adults as well.

I've heard a few of these stories before, but the ones I haven't are of the same caliber.

Parfait

What an entertaining book these classic stories have been for ages. I read them as a youngster and now again at age 60 - and have in fact enjoyed them more this time! So young or old there is much to delight in and carry one away to exotic locations and adventures...wouldn't mind having my own Genie!