- Hardcover: 263 pages
- Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf (Jun 1980)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0394506936
- ISBN-13: 978-0394506937
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 15.7 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,847,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
KALILA AND DIMNA - Fables of Friendship and Betrayal
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
'Kalila and Dimna is the greatest present of the Islamic heritage ... Wood's superb stories should be set alongside Italo Calvino's retelling of the folktales of Italy. No higher praise is necessary.' --Carlos Fuentes
'Ramsay Wood follows his originals closely, and slips with skill in and out of stories as closely interfolded as the petals of a rose.' --Ursula le Guin
'Racy, funny, vigorous, contemporary - I defy anyone not to finish it in one sitting.' --Doris Lessing --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
'Ramsay Wood follows his originals closely, and slips with skill in and out of stories as closely interfolded as the petals of a rose.' --Ursula le Guin
'Racy, funny, vigorous, contemporary - I defy anyone not to finish it in one sitting.' --Doris Lessing --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
The Times Literary Supplement March 17, 1980 (also referring to first UK edition)
His version will certainly be much more attractive to modern readers than the older translations, with the drier narratives and unfamiliar oriental hyperbole.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I hugely enjoyed reading this book. It is a fascinating and entertaining compilation of stories which have been handed down over two thousand years. The animal kingdom provides a host of characters who relate colourful tales within which other tales emerge, within which more tales are told. The stories can be read on many levels: my granddaughter enjoys them on a simplistic level, but they also contain many a message about human foibles, strengths and weaknesses. Ramsay Wood writes in a style which is contemporary, but which still resonates with the ancient history of these fables.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The remarkable pedigree of this collection of fables goes back more than two thousand years and, as Doris Lessing's illuminating introduction points out, its offspring can be traced in literary artefacts from the Far East to the Far West.
However, this new version of Kalila and Dimna is delicious enough even without the extra seasoning of historical curiosity.
Ramsay Wood has restored and polished these venerable stories for a contemporary readership with verve, color, pace and truly zany humour while preserving the spellbinding story-within-story framework. Read it yourself - or aloud to children. I did and we all loved it. We learn that this represents only a portion of the original. Next, please?
However, this new version of Kalila and Dimna is delicious enough even without the extra seasoning of historical curiosity.
Ramsay Wood has restored and polished these venerable stories for a contemporary readership with verve, color, pace and truly zany humour while preserving the spellbinding story-within-story framework. Read it yourself - or aloud to children. I did and we all loved it. We learn that this represents only a portion of the original. Next, please?
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I particularly liked the way Ramsay Wood kept track of the central theme in this book. Ramsay leads the reader through "stories within stories" which end, perfectly neatly, back at the beginning. It must have been a feat to write! Definitely a storybook for adults as it intrigues, challenges and entertains all at the same time. I was left wanting to read the sequel...when is it coming???
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Some thoughts about Kalila and Dimna
The stories in both volumes are intriguing. The context of the dream, a lost treasure and a letter from an ancient King addressed to a future someone, all combined to make a... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Camille M Archer
Just an old-fashioned page turner --YES!
Not like any book I've read in years and years. Complex layers of story-within-story ripping along with supreme elegance and verve. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Killingbeck
A delicious reading adventure
This interwoven series of ancient animal fables have an epic quality, leading you through a delicious reading adventure. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Denise Prentice
Jackal and hide
It all begins with a vision. But not the vision (following on the sight of a large shooting star) dreamed by Kind Dabschelim that leads him to the treasure and last testament of... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Sporus
Annoying
I think, to enjoy this, you must first be a lover of fables and morality tales, which I do not claim to be. Read more
Published 7 months ago by DubaiReader
Good stories
This is an enchanting little book. It's full of stories which can be understood by anyone and can be treated as either carrying a very serious message about human traits or just... Read more
Published 11 months ago by A. Hart
A Mirror for Princes
The question is: How to deal with what may seem unpredictable? 'The Iliad', 'The Bible', 'The Ramayana', and many other collections of tales, all deal with archetypal situations... Read more
Published on 4 July 2008 by Mr. George Kasabov
One of the Greatest Stories Ever Told
Kalila and Dimna is without doubt one of the most important stories ever to have emerged from the Indian subcontinent. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2006
marvellous and thought provoking
I came across Kalila and Dimna in a second hand bookshop and was so entranced by Ramsay Wood's translation of these ancient Indian tales that I wanted to buy it as a present... Read more
Published on 14 Feb 2006
New renderings of classic Indian folk epcis
About the Book New renderings of classic Indian folk epics from the 2000-year-old Fables of Bidpai. Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2000 by boubaker_g@lineone.net
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
