The Arabian Nights

by Anonymous
The Arabian Nights cover
Good Books rating 4.25
Technical
  • ID: 5659
  • Added: 2025-10-24
  • Updated: 2025-10-24
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
app.thestorygraph.com · Unknown · 2025-10-24
brilliant 4.50

The Arabian Nights is a collection of stories that have captivated readers for centuries. The tales are rich in imagination and cultural significance, offering a glimpse into the past and the diverse perspectives of the time.

The Arabian Nights is a treasure trove of stories that have stood the test of time. Each tale is a window into a different world, filled with magic, adventure, and deep cultural insights. The collection is not just entertaining but also educational, providing a rich tapestry of historical and cultural context. The stories are interconnected, creating a narrative that is both engaging and thought-provoking. They offer a unique perspective on the societies and beliefs of the past, making it a valuable read for anyone interested in history and culture. The collection is a testament to the power of storytelling, showcasing how stories can transcend time and continue to resonate with readers today.

Quick quotes

    The Arabian Nights is a collection of stories that have captivated readers for centuries.

    The tales are rich in imagination and cultural significance, offering a glimpse into the past and the diverse perspectives of the time.

    Each tale is a window into a different world, filled with magic, adventure, and deep cultural insights.

goodreads.com · Unknown · 2025-10-24
enthralling 3.75

The Arabian Nights is a collection of timeless stories that have captivated readers for centuries. While some found the longer tales challenging to follow, others were enthralled by the diverse and loveable characters, and the intricate storytelling of Scheherazade.

The Arabian Nights offers a rich tapestry of stories that have endured through the ages. Many readers appreciate the collection's adventurous and lighthearted tales, which often feature complex characters and magical elements. Some found the longer stories a bit challenging to follow, but overall, the book is praised for its engaging narratives and the skillful storytelling of Scheherazade. The diverse cast of characters adds depth and interest, making it a compelling read for those who enjoy classic literature.

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    Simplemente me encanta este libro. Amo como estas historias han perdurado siglos, las personas aún sigue leyendo esto y siguen cayendo por la magia de Scheherezade a la hora de contar historias.

    2.5 stars. Ye olde story collection. I really enjoyed roughly the first third, with lots of one-upmanship, people morphing into animals, sorcerers and demons.

    I'd read children's versions of the biggies from The Arabian Nights (Sinbad, Ali Baba, Aladdin), but I'd never dipped into the full collection before. These tales are sometimes long and complex, sometimes short and simple, but always enthralling.

shelflove.wordpress.com · Unknown · 2010-03-27
brilliant 4.50

The Arabian Nights is a rich collection of stories that are humorous, poetic, and touching, offering a glimpse into a tolerant medieval Muslim civilization. The translation by Husain Haddawy is fluid and engaging, making the stories wonderfully readable and familiar yet surprising.

The Arabian Nights, as presented in this version edited by Muhsin Mahdi and translated by Husain Haddawy, is a treasure trove of stories that are far more varied and nuanced than the popular tales of Aladdin and Sinbad. The stories are humorous, poetic, and touching, avoiding the pitfalls of past translations that either censored the text or exaggerated its exoticism. The frame story of Shahrazad, who tells stories to save her life, is just one of many interconnected tales that cascade into one another, each with its own unique narrative and themes. The translation is so fluid that the repetitive formulas do not detract from the enjoyment. The stories are formulaic in structure but rich in content, offering a glimpse into a vastly tolerant medieval Muslim civilization. They share common themes with fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, making them familiar yet surprising. This collection is a must-read for anyone interested in the rich tapestry of world literature.

Quick quotes

    What do the Arabian Nights conjure up for you? Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, the Roc’s egg?

    Instead, they are humorous, poetic, licentious and touching by turns, and always wonderfully readable.

    The story of the murdered hunchback (one of the funniest in the book) frames four separate stories, each of which is also a story told to save the storyteller’s life, as Shahrazad is telling hers.

    The translation is so fluid that I didn’t even skim the formulas. I hung on every word.

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