Conference of the Birds: A Seeker's Journey to God

Though this book is a Sunni tale, it rings true for anyone who believes in a Creator of life. I love how every section comes with a story to enhance the sentiment. More than that, it made me want to be closer to God due to how it romanticized human love to the Beloved (God). I would definitely recommend this book to anyone willing to receive an additional perspective on faith.

I don't if such words could be used when it comes to describing such a spiritual book but Attar (peace be upon him) is trully a master. TThe simplicity with which he relates the story is very deep. The way God is described is an eye opener. I recommend this book to anybody who wants to know what Sufism is about.

I liked the translation . It was clear and to the point. It may have my told all stories by the birds but I thought that the reader will get the essence of the story. Well done!

Purchased as a gift.

The Conference of the Birds is a marvellous book--a sufi treatise on the spiritual life written in Persian rhyming couplets. This translation is not in poetry, but in rather dull prose. In addition the translator leaves out a number of the stories that make up the bulk of the work. He mistranslates at a few crucial points. I would recommend instead the extraordinary translation by Dick Davis and Afkham Darbandi. With great skill the whole work is translated into rhyming couplets like the original. Davis' rhythm and rhyme carry you through the work at a cracking pace, unlike the plodding prose of this version. Davis and Darbandi's translation is in the Penguin Classics series, ISBN 0140444343, also available from Amazon, where you can see a sample of their work.