- Paperback: 544 pages
- Publisher: Headline Review; New edition edition (1 July 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747265283
- ISBN-13: 978-0747265283
- Product Dimensions: 18.2 x 10.2 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 704,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
‘O’Neill writes with authority, blending fact, fiction and fable in this brilliant debut... I enjoyed this book immensely. It is so alive you can almost smell the air’ (Independent on Sunday )
‘This is a remarkable and mysterious first novel, elegantly written and vividly characterised. Riffing on the Arabian Nights has been done before, but never with as much aplomb as here. As well as being a considerable piece of storytelling, this is a striking testament to the power of the imagination’ (Publishing News )
‘Like his heroine, [O’Neill] knows how to tell a story’ (The Times )
‘The many twists and turns propel the story in a manner worthy of the novel's eponymous heroine; there are enough cliff-hangers here to satisfy the most jaded of readers... Transposing the fictional queen to an actual time and place populated with documented characters, O'Neill absorbs his research into a novel of over 500 pages that never flaunts its learning nor...loses its delicate balance between the fantastical and the true. The occasional asides that consider fictionality are never heavy-handed, while scenes set in the teeming streets of Baghdad or during the sailors' punishing trek through the desert are especially vivid... This is a rousing read, and anything but pale’ (Good Book Guide )
‘O’Neill mixes fact, fiction and fable into an exuberant, witty tale about magic, vengeance and the nature of storytelling’ Sydney Morning Herald
‘In prose that is sometimes confrontingly earthy, sometimes delicate and lyrical, O’Neill draws us into his narrative as surely as Scheherazade drew Shahriyar into hers' (Australian Bookseller & Publisher )
‘Mastery of storytelling is its hallmark. He relates a thrilling, complicated quest. O’Neill is boldly and rightly convinced of his power to engross us, and cheeky enough to add to Scheherazade’s tally of 1001 tales’ (Herald-Sun )
‘This is a remarkable and mysterious first novel, elegantly written and vividly characterised. Riffing on the Arabian Nights has been done before, but never with as much aplomb as here. As well as being a considerable piece of storytelling, this is a striking testament to the power of the imagination’ (Publishing News )
‘Like his heroine, [O’Neill] knows how to tell a story’ (The Times )
‘The many twists and turns propel the story in a manner worthy of the novel's eponymous heroine; there are enough cliff-hangers here to satisfy the most jaded of readers... Transposing the fictional queen to an actual time and place populated with documented characters, O'Neill absorbs his research into a novel of over 500 pages that never flaunts its learning nor...loses its delicate balance between the fantastical and the true. The occasional asides that consider fictionality are never heavy-handed, while scenes set in the teeming streets of Baghdad or during the sailors' punishing trek through the desert are especially vivid... This is a rousing read, and anything but pale’ (Good Book Guide )
‘O’Neill mixes fact, fiction and fable into an exuberant, witty tale about magic, vengeance and the nature of storytelling’ Sydney Morning Herald
‘In prose that is sometimes confrontingly earthy, sometimes delicate and lyrical, O’Neill draws us into his narrative as surely as Scheherazade drew Shahriyar into hers' (Australian Bookseller & Publisher )
‘Mastery of storytelling is its hallmark. He relates a thrilling, complicated quest. O’Neill is boldly and rightly convinced of his power to engross us, and cheeky enough to add to Scheherazade’s tally of 1001 tales’ (Herald-Sun )
The Times, January 9, 2002
'Like his heroine, [O'Neill] knows how to tell a story'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Scheherazade is a beautiful queen who has remained alive only because of her skill in telling stories. She visits 9th century Baghdad with her husband King Shariyah. Whilst there she is abducted for no apparent reason. The Caliph deperately organises a search for her. This uncovers an old monk who carries an ancient prophecy that seven men will rescue Sheherazade. These seven men are sailors and are the unlikeliest rescuers imaginable. They have to search the desert knowing that only one of them is prophesied to return. Scheherazade again uses all her story-telling skills to remain alive - telling her captor a story so enchanting that he has to let her live for one more night in order that she can continue the next day. Her stories weave in and out of the main narrative and the reader sometimes loses sense of reality.
For the first part of the book I tried to identify with a hero and there didn't seem to be one. Once I realised this, I just let this unpredictable story wash over me and I was transported back to the time of Arabian Nights.
For the first part of the book I tried to identify with a hero and there didn't seem to be one. Once I realised this, I just let this unpredictable story wash over me and I was transported back to the time of Arabian Nights.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed this book immensely. Its quite hard to classify, being a mixture of historical fiction and fantasy adventure. Its tone moves from that of a fairy tale to an earthy humour. There's plenty of lewdness, intrigue, philosophy and violence. Overall a big fat satisfying book ideal for winter nights.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
it is funny how we are made to believe certain ideas. i always took it for granted that the stories of the arabian nights were borne out of love. it is fresh to see the contempt scheherazade holds shariyar in. it is a relief to see that she has not lost touch of the magic she weaves all around her an d the devotion she inspires. the reason i did not give this book five stars is because the ending was too obscure for me. i was also sooooo impressed by anthony o'neill's style. it was very fine-tuned to the original work. a great read! my one wish? pls make a big budget sweeping epic. please, please, pretty please with cream and sugar on it.
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