The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 1

Last year I read an abridged version of the 1001 Nights, which was originally published by Penguin Classics in the 1950s. I liked it so much I decided to read the whole thing, which is now published by Penguin Classics in a more modern translation done in 2005. Be warned, though. This is just volume one of three and runs to nearly a thousand closely printed pages. It covers the first 294 nights with the tale of Ali Baba tacked on at the end. There is also a useful introduction and glossary and some maps of Baghdad and Cairo, though it is difficult to relate these to the text. If you think that Shahrazad tells 1001 separate tales, you’ve been led astray. What you get here are a serious of tales within tales within tales. Some of these inter-linked tales last for several nights – a hundred nights in one case. If that sounds a bit daunting, it isn’t. You soon get the hang of it. What happens is that in many of the tales a character will start telling a tale about someone else, and on it goes. There is a handy index at the end showing how the tales are linked. Splitting these tales into “nights” is a handy device because it splits the tales into bite-size chunks. Some “nights” are shorter than others – barely a page in some cases. Either it’s summer or Shahrazad and her husband were otherwise engaged. The “nights” are also a reminder that Shahrazad’s life is on a knife edge. If she fails to entertain the tyrannical King Shahriyar sufficiently to make him want her to continue her story-telling the following night, she faces the chop. Literally. Fortunately, she is a narrator of genius and the demanding king and demanding reader are equally entertained. One observation, assuming this is an accurate translation, some readers might be surprised at the consistently negative portrayal of black characters. They are invariably slaves; they are usually dishonest or downright evil; and blackness is frequently associated with wickedness and ugliness. By contrast, beautiful characters are not just white. They have silver skin and are compared to the moon. Interestingly, male and female beauty are often described using identical terms. At times beautiful men have the same physical characteristics as beautiful women, including slender waists and heavy buttocks. There is a strong homoerotic element in some stories with some male characters either openly homosexual or seemingly unaware of their homosexuality as they feel a strong attraction for a beautiful young man. There is a lot of wine drinking. There is an obsession with wealth and palaces and political power, usually manifested in the right to lop off heads. There are occasions where women seem to be living independently, often with vast wealth and are making their own decisions about marriage – and about having sex outside of marriage. There are occasions when a woman calls in the imam and a bunch of other officials and says, “Right, I’m marrying this bloke. Sort out the paperwork.” In other words, many of my assumptions about mediaeval Islamic culture have gone west after reading this volume. I have a long list of books to get through this year but I will definitely be reading Volumes II and III within the next few months.

Normally, I'd only post a review once finishing a book, but since starting Penguin's The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights: Volume 1 (The Arabian Nights or Tales from 1001 Nights) I've realised that it really is a book to dip into when you're in the mood. It's a chunky tome and not something that can be polished off in a couple of weeks. I've reached Night 10 so far and am thoroughly enjoying it. I'm not a scholar so am coming to the text with a layman's view as I've always been interested in getting to know the stories. Some reviews have criticised the translation as being dull and less poetic than it should be, but I've found it very accessible and the stories are wonderful and magical at the same time. In fact, I'm a firm believer that you will never find a translation of any foreign-language text that pleases all. For the "everyday reader", though, this one is ideal. I'm in the Kindle camp and currently have Volumes 1 and 3 - just waiting for Volume 2 to drop to the right price! I always make a point of mentioning the formatting and this one is perfect - which is highly unusual for Penguin books! Text and headings are laid out correctly, and all the real page numbering is in place. If I had one (very minor!) technical criticism it's that the contents and navigation divides the book into collections of 20 or so nights - clearly an approach to reduce the length of the contents and "Go To" menu. But, as there are so many nights to get through, you can forgive this! I look forward to continuing my exploration of the 1,001 Nights over time. I don't know how long it'll take me to complete this volume, but I'll certainly return with an overview when I have.

There is probably no 'one' master text for the Arabian nights but if you're hoping to read the complete stories, the three volume Penguin version is as good as you're going to get. The translation, by Malcolm Lyons, is modern and close to the Arabic: for example, "your wish is my command" is rendered as "to hear is to obey". Other reviewers have complained that it's pedestrian, but I found it very easy to read, and full of life. Oddly, certain really famous stories whose origins are in the Arabian Nights are not in the 'master' text in Arabic; for example, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves only exists in a French translation made by Antoine Galland, but is added to the end of this volume. By contrast Sindbad is within the original text, but his story cycle is found in Volume 2 of these stories, if you're looking for that. Anyway, what is it all about? What you find are hundreds of overlapping stories, with certain overarching story cycles, that are artificially laid out over 1001 nights. Handsome men are bewitched by women with jutting breasts and faces like the moon, before discovering that in fact they are the long lost cousin of a caliph or whatever; and it's a very dangerous world out there: the number of corpses puts 'Game of Thrones' to shame, because it doesn't take much for your head to be cut off by an angry shaikh. My favourite story cycles in this volume in were the story of King 'Umar ibn al-Nu'man and his family, and the story of King Shahriman and his sons, neither of which I'd heard before. The first is set in an uber-conflict between Christian forces, whose heroine is a witch type character Dhat al-Dawahi, endlessly tricking the Muslim heroes to their doom, and Muslim forces, who end up laying siege to the Christian capital in the east, but don't fully win the day. The second is a tale of sexual confusion where men fall in love with women thinking they are men; stepmothers fall in love with stepsons; and there are all manner of twists and tales (and comparisons to be made with Phaedra and Hippolytus and Joseph and Potiphar's wife, from other ancient sources). This volume probably isn't to be read in one 'go' but equally it's worth doing more than just one or two 'nights' here and there, but sticking it through individual cycles, as otherwise you'll lose track of the characters: which brother has been left for dead on a scrapheap in Baghdad; which sister has been married to a caliph in Damascus, and so on. Luckily, this edition tells you when the cycles end, in a handy index. Other people have commented on the morals of the stories, but that's much less a theme, I'd argue, than the danger of being tempted by a beautiful woman, whose eyes bewitch you into doing something you later regret; more generously, the stories are full of the overwhelming power of passion, which means people do foolish things. The characters on one level are mostly Muslims and the Quran is quoted quite often, but that doesn't mean the characters don't drink copious amounts of wine, or lust after and sleep with countless princesses and courtesans. It's incredibly unpredictable: people move from rags to riches and back to rags again, and the hero definitely doesn't always get the girl; sometimes, they just die from pining for their love, who is stranded in a kingdom far away. Some of the time, the humans have been confused by wandering djinns, but on most occasions, they contrive problems of their own. The whole is enjoyable in a weird and wonderful way, and depicts a far-off world in a far-off time. It's escapism, and a story-teller's delight.

Only just really getting into it, each chapter adds a bit more to the story telling, fascinating read. Just hope I can remember all the characters as it continues to unfold. This is volume one, there is also a volume two and three.

It's great to have all the known and added stories of the Arabian nights in an English translation. They are bulky books, so good for bedtime reading rather than lugging around on a commute. The translations are in a style which suggest that the original grammar has been followed, which I like, but might be confusing for those who haven't studied languages in more depth. The stories are humorous, cheeky, always with a moral or two, and plenty of action, drama and suspense.

Took longer to arrive than expected but fine when it did

Reads really well and a delightful dream like quality.

My favourite book of all time. I’m so glad I found these books!!! Nice floppy books, thank goodness I found them!!!

Llego en plazo y los tres tomos suman tres mil páginas, o sea la obra completa

This new Lyons translation of the "Thousand Nights and One Night" is extremely important, being, as it is, the first complete English translation to appear in over a century and the fact that it is highly readable and yet still exudes the kind of mystery which, I think, is what draws all of us into this work. Robert Irwin in his "Arabian Nights Companion" (an excellent book which all fans of the "nights" should own)lamented that there was no complete English translation of the "Nights" which was acceptable (at the time of his writing). I think Lyons has remedied this problem or, at least, has provided a first rate alternative. I actually own (and, believe it or not, have read) all the English versions. Since I am not an Arabic scholar and cannot read the original, I've accepted them for what they are and have liked each of them for various reasons. Mardrus/Mathers has a nice dreamy fin de siecle feel to it (hardly authentic, though), Payne is straightforward but dull, Lane's notes are excellent but his version too expurgated, and Burton is...well...Burton. (Until now, Burton had been my favorite mainly due to its oddity and idiosyncratic foot notes.) None of them is an "authentic" version of the "Nights", and I've resigned myself to the fact that until I learn Arabic I will never get the feeling that the original hearers had when these stories were first told. But I think Lyons comes awfully close. Best of all, Lyons has chosen to render the verse literally, rather than trying to re-versify it into English, something which I hate about all other translators who have included the poetry, Burton being the worst of all. So Lyons has provided a terrific translation, his translation is comprehensive (the entire Calcutta II edition with the "orphan stories" appended), and it is easily accessible and affordable (I think I had to pay some three hundred dollars for my complete 15 volume Burton translation). Why hesitate? Once you start reading this magnificent work (and I do think of it as a cohesive work) you will probably be hooked for life.

not impressed inside is fine

Good book. Mind you dear future buyer, it is huge and fun to read. Obviously, some sections are for adults only.

This is volume 1 of a 3 volume set. The introduction is split across the three volumes each dealing with a different thematic topic. The intro to this volume is well written and informative and deals with some of the more mysterious aspects of the Nights. The edition is made to the usual Penguin production standards and being a large volume I would handle with a little extra care (I am hard on my books and occasionally reinforce the spine with a little Duct tape to strengthen it). The translation is good and very readable and the index/notes can be helpful. The story itself is a trememndous amount of fun to read and the structure of the stories itself is interesting for the scholarly type. I highly recommend these three volumes, they are affordable, well translated with supporting material and very inexpensive for what they offer. Thank you to Penguin for bringing back a complete set of the Nights - I believe the first in English since Burton 19th Century edition.