Arabian Nights, The: A Companion
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Review
'A generous and erudite book…We're in the company of someone who loves 'The Arabian Nights', and who has generously shared that love with us through this companion.' --Michele Roberts, Independent on Sunday
'Superlative…just the sort of relaxed, informative book that Edmund Wilson might have written had he grown interested in the Middle East and its early literature.' --Michael Dirda, Washington Post
'Irwin organizes his material like a good storyteller…he gives us the crystallized sum of The Nights: ancedote, history, moral fable, aphorism, story after story, wonder upon wonder. This monumental, infinitely faceted gem should be every writer's bedtime sampler.' --Michael Moorcock, New Statesman & Society
'Superlative…just the sort of relaxed, informative book that Edmund Wilson might have written had he grown interested in the Middle East and its early literature.' --Michael Dirda, Washington Post
'Irwin organizes his material like a good storyteller…he gives us the crystallized sum of The Nights: ancedote, history, moral fable, aphorism, story after story, wonder upon wonder. This monumental, infinitely faceted gem should be every writer's bedtime sampler.' --Michael Moorcock, New Statesman & Society
Product Description
'The Arabian Nights' has become a synonym for the fabulous and the exotic. Every child is familiar with the stories of Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba. Yet very few people, even specialists in oriential literature, have a clear idea of when the book was written or what exactly it is. Far from being a batch of stories for children, 'The Arabian Nights' contains hundreds of narratives of all kinds - fables, epics, erotica, debates, fairy tales, political allegories, mystical anecdotes and comedies. It is a labyrinth of stories within stories. Widely held in contempt in the Middle East for its frivolity and occasional obscenity, the work has nevertheless had a major influence on European and American culture, to the extent that the story collection must be considered as a key work in Western literature. A full understanding of the writings of Voltaire, Dickens, Melville, Proust and Borges, or indeed of the origins of science fiction, is impossible without some familiarity with the stories of the 'Nights'. This companion aims to guide the reader into this labyrinth of storytelling. It traces the development of the stories from prehistoric India and Pharaonic Egypt to modern times, and explores the history of translation and imitation. Above all, it uses the stories as a guide to the social history and counter-culture of the medieval Near East and the world of the storyteller, the snake charmer, the burglar, the sorcerer, the drug-addict, the treasure hunter and the adulterer. 'Out of a mind like a Middle Eastern bazaar - overflowing with spicy pungencies and brilliant bits and pieces - he spills, in the course of recounting an extraordinary tale, an enthralling cascade of the arcane and the exotic'. - Peter Kemp, Sunday Times 'A work both learned and witty…Robert Irwin has wonderfully deepened the pleasures and the interest in reading 'The Arabian Nights' as a supreme work of imaginative fiction.' - Marina Warner, TLS
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First Sentence
As Jorge Luis Borges once observed, 'Nothing is as consubstantial with literature and its modest mystery as the questions raised by a translation.' Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
As Jorge Luis Borges once observed, 'Nothing is as consubstantial with literature and its modest mystery as the questions raised by a translation.' Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I came to this companion directly after reading 'The Nights' themselves and must say (this is blasphemy I know!) that I prefered Robert Irwin's book to the original.
As entertaining as it is erudite, the companion is an excellent account of the origins (both of the actual texts and stories themselves) of 'The Arabian Nights'. It also includes a section on the influence 'The Nights' has exerted; various different critical approaches to it; and makes for an extraordinary travelogue of Medieval 'Arabia'.
I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in, but like myself little knowledege of, Orientalism: as it is an excellent example of literary history as well as the perfect place to start your studies.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
43 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Good companion
3 May 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
As someone who loved the "Arabian Nights" since childhood, I eagerly read this book as well. For the most part, I wasn't disapointed. It does a wonderful job of setting the scene, discussing its origins, its distortions, and showing how the stories relate to medieval Arabian life. I was particularly impressed with the section discussing the connections between various story collections in both Asia and Europe. In short, this book helps the reader better understand this complex (and often confusing)work. The chapters are all clearly laid out and well argued, and the book as a whole is easy to read. He has complex ideas, but is able to communicate them fluidly.
One idea I would challenge, however. I believe the scholars who argue that the more "complete" manuscripts probably arose from increased European interest in it. It makes sense that writers would add filler to reach 1001 nights in response to consumer demand.
An interesting read for fans of "Arabian Nights."
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
A very useful companion.
24 Sep 2005
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The history of the Arabian Nights (1001 Nights) is often appended to the various translations available. They tend to be brief and often reflect the focus of the editor and/or translator. The Arabian Nights: A Companion by Robert Irwin is very substantial. The author often makes conclusions but always includes the thoughts of those with whom he disagrees. This is a must for anyone who really enjoys this collection of stories and will be rewarded by its fascinating history and the history of its translation...almost as enjoyable as the stories themselves.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
A Facinating Read
10 April 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is one of the more interesting companion books I have read. It goes into great detail of the history and the formation of the 1001 Nights collection, and provides an interesting window into Arabic culture. However, one thing I found to be really interesting is that the 1001 tales of Arabic culture were primarily oral tales. The professional storytellers who would tell these books would have manuscript versions which they would use as notes, so there were no official versions--each telling would be elaborated and expanded on depending on the audience. The version that we are familiar with in the west was formalized in France in the 17th century, and may have more relevance to the European expectations of Arabic culture than to Arabic culture itself. In fact, several tales which appear in the European version do not appear in any Arabic manuscripts and may have been written by Europeans to fill the demand for fantastic tales. Overall, this book is quite interesting and I really recommend this to those who would like to see how a lose collection of oral tales becomes a work of literature.
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