- Paperback: 608 pages
- Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (7 Jan 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747268681
- ISBN-13: 978-0747268680
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 14.8 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,176,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| |||||||||||||||
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 |
Product Description
Review
It is 20 years since Scheherazade spun her tales for 1,001 nights; the tales that saved her life and immortalised the city that she had never seen - until now. Scheherazade and her husband, King Shahriyar, arrive in Baghdad to a rapturous welcome from the caliph and his people, but within hours the queen is kidnapped from her bathhouse and disappears. An ancient prophecy leads the caliph to despatch a motley crew of sailors on a rescue mission. Scheherazade goes along and finds her life in danger once more. 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.
The Times
‘Like his heroine, [O’Neill] knows how to tell a story’
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
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.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
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.
