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.

"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 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.

This is one of the best versions of these stories in my opinion, and is particularly suitable for older children who are ready to move beyond simple children's stories. The stories are only a bit "straightened up" for contemporay audiences, but they retain the language and the fanatastic elements that people turn to these Tales to enjoy. The stories also retain some of the violent and cruel plots twists of the original, another reason you may not want to use these as bedtime stories for little children.All the major Arabian Nights stories and most of the minor ones are included; and the "frame story" of the Shah and his clever wife is carried throughout the book very nicely. Each story told by Shahrezade serves a secondary purpose of advancing the tale of the royal couple's evolving relationship, and so the ending is more truly satisfying than in any other version of the Arabian Nights.The illustrations in 1996 edition by Stephan Lavis are good as well, and add to the storyland feeling of the tales. (The only quibble I have hear is with the white European look of most of the characters in the drawings.) I don't know about the pictures in the latest edition.

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

The book was as expected and delivered on time

Parfait

As a primary teacher I have used this book to great effect in the classroom. The short format of the stories make them ideal to slot into the few minutes I manage to scrape together to read to my class. I also can allow the children to choose the story randomly by asking them to choose the number, which they love. Their favourite so far is The Tale of The Little Beggar, which had them in stitches!

Great new condition