The Arabian Nights (New Deluxe Edition)

Excitement, intrigue, suspense.... really, just great story telling! As a child, you read of Sinband the Sailor and rubbing a magic lamp to find a genie with three wishes. As an adult, you can bring this all back by reading this well wrtten/translated labyrinth of stories. Each storyteller has a story and one leads to another, all interwoven. It is hard to put down.

Before you think this is just an old fashioned, studious piece of literature, believe me, it is so imaginative and rich. Each story is relatively short, so you can read at your own pace; either one story a night, or several stories at a time.

This is a great read for those who love to be swept away to a different time and place. I could see readers of Harry Potter, adventure readers and even those with a short attention span who prefer to read short stories enjoying these Arabian tales!I can't wait to recommend this old school book to my friends. They'll be so surprised!

Because I do not speak Arabic and know very little about the culture it was difficult to understand parts of this book. I believe the translator did an excellent job. Reading the history of the story, we find it was often recited for many many years, and wasn't put into print sometime around the fourteenth century. If I was a historian I would definitely want this translation, but as a enjoyment reader I would rather the translator give me more color. That would probably draw criticism from other readers, but leave a more entertaining story. It was entertaining at times and did provide a flavor of what the middle east may of been like, but the stories got drug down in details that tends to drown the book. But stories like these should be read, to expand our social context.

With some experience with middle eastern languages, this translation seems to keep the spirit of the original.

I purchased this book for my wife who is studying fairy tales as one of her specializations for her English degree. This review is my summary of her comments regarding the book after she finished reading it.

This review is on the Arabian Nights as translated by Husain Haddawy.

My wife is not an expert on the Arabian Nights and this book was in fact the first she has read regarding it. The author makes a good argument that both his text and translation are the most authentic available. My wife felt that the stories were entertaining and full of Arabian flavor. The stories within stories were a very interesting technique, and language clearly came from the oral tradition.

These stories were not written for children and contain a great deal of sex, violence, and misogynistic mentality.

This book is an absolute treasure. I was initially uninterested in reading this book, primarily because a small section of it, from the Norton Anthology of World Literature, was assigned reading in one of my college literature classes. I always hate reading stuff that is assigned to me. However, as I started reading the first few pages I was immediately hooked. When class let out that day I RAN to the nearest bookstore and bought a copy of the entire book. It was incredible from the first page to the last. This book is definitely a keeper.