So I'm reading through Arabian Nights. Husband got me this for my birthday as I love stories such as Aesop's Fables, Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Beatrix Potter Tales and other kid's stories. This is more adult and what really sold me was the beautiful cover and the art on the inside. The pages have beautiful decorations around the borders and the inside has some great illustrations. Even the beginnings of the chapters are beautifully decorated. Can't get that on an e-book.
Anyway slowly going through it it's very different from what I was expecting. It's very adult and almost graphic in the sex and violence depicted. I suppose that's the old style of story, almost Bible like, and not really kids tales. There's a very negative depiction of women but there's also the heroine Scheherazade who is wise and faithful and loving. There's a lot of magic in the stories. People are often turned into animals and magical creatures such as ifrits and jinns or genies appear. I almost want a dictionary with this, because this uses much older language and there is a whole mythology behind the magical creatures that I want to learn more about.
Overall it's a neat book. It's more mature and it feels a bit older when you read through it. The poems are a bit tiring as I'm sure the translations don't do the verses justice. It's like learning about a different culture and looking into some eastern fairy tales.
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