Arabian Nights

Author: Unknown

Written: Unknown

Translator: Hussain Haddawy

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (2008 Edition)

Bought from: Borders Singapore

Introduction

The Arabian Nights (also known as One Thousand and One Nights) is a collection of stories from the Middle East and India. It is not known who first compiled these stories in written form or when. There are several surviving extant manuscripts. Scholars divide these manuscripts into the Syrian branch (older, shorter) and the Egyptian branch.

Most of the extant manuscripts have the same core stories, namely:

1. The Merchant and the Demon/Jinn

2. The Fisherman and the Demon/Jinn

3. The Porter and the Three Ladies

4. The Three Apples

5. The Hunchback cycle

6. Nur al-Din Ali ibn-Bakkar and the Slave Girl Shams al-Nahar

7. The Slave Girl Anis al-Jalis and Nur al-Din Ali ibn-Khaqan

8. Jullanar of the Sea

9. Qamar al-Zaman

What is it about?

The Arabian Nights is set during the reign of the fictitious King Shahrayar in the historical Sasanid dynasty. The Sasanid dynasty ruled Persia from 226-641 AD.

King Shahrayar is cuckolded by his queen. In retaliation, he marries a virgin every day and kills her the next day after consummating the marriage. This goes on until the beautiful and resourceful Shahrazad volunteers to marry the King. She tells him stories every night, pausing when dawn breaks. The King is captivated by the stories and keeps her alive until he eventually grows to love her. 

Sharazad's stories are told in a story-within-a-story form, in several layers in some cases.

There are fantastical elements (The Merchant and the Demon/Jinn, The Fisherman and the Demon/Jinn), bawdiness (The Porter and the Three Ladies), a murder mystery (The Three Apples) and slapstick comedy (the Hunchback cycle). The last three stories in this translation are somewhat different in nature from the other - they are love stories more than anything else. Not surprisingly, perhaps, I found these stories less engaging than the others.

What about the book?

Hussain Haddawy has translated (almost unabridged) a 14th century manuscript edited by Muhsin Madhi in 1984. As this is a version of the Syrian recension, it is quite short. It contains only the core stories listed above except Qamar al-Zaman. There is no Aladdin, Sinbad or Ali Baba, all of which scholars believe were added later to the original core stories. In fact, Haddawy thinks that Aladdin may have even been added by a Frenchman in the 18th century. Haddawy's translation ends after the 271st night. Compare the translation of an Egyptian manuscript by Malcolm C. Lyons and Ursula Lyons (Penguin Classics) which does reach 1,001 nights over three volumes.

Finally ...

The first few stories were OK but the last few dragged quite a bit.