05-15-2017, 06:36 PM | #16 | |
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I went with the Dawood translation after sampling several versions.
I liked this quote by A.S. Byatt: Quote:
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05-15-2017, 06:39 PM | #17 |
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I am enjoying Haddawy very much, fantasyfan. The stories within stories can get pretty convoluted, but I feel as if I am getting a flavour of the original.
Great quote, Bookworm-Girl! Last edited by Bookpossum; 05-15-2017 at 06:41 PM. |
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05-15-2017, 08:37 PM | #18 | |
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Quote:
Great quote; thanks for sharing, and I'm glad you went with the Dawood since three of us so far are using Haddawy for our primary source, so that the discussion of our current read will include more than one version to go along with any comments on secondary sources and past reads. |
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05-15-2017, 10:23 PM | #19 | |
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05-18-2017, 01:55 AM | #20 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
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05-18-2017, 07:06 AM | #21 |
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I ran across an oddity in the Haddawy translation. "The Merchant and the Genie" has three old men, each of whom tells a story. Now in Lang and the Mack Oxford version the tale of the third old man has disappeared and Scheherazade gives a lame excuse about not knowing it. Well, Haddawy follows suit.
In fact there is indeed a third story and it is in both Burton and Payne. It isn't all that outstanding as a story goes but if you want to read it, it is there. Since the Burton translation is free and easily available that would probably be the simplest way to access it. |
05-18-2017, 07:08 AM | #22 |
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05-18-2017, 10:30 AM | #23 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
However, the Lyons translation is much closer to the original. For details see this Guardian article. |
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05-18-2017, 10:45 AM | #24 |
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Those who are interested in the these stories (as am I), might wish to purchase "The Arabian Nights - A Companion," by Robert Irwin. This is an excellent ebook to have around and to dip into.
I also own the three volume set of "The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1,001 Nights," translated by Malcolm Lyons and Ursula Lyons. My favorite that I own (in beautiful hardback editions, in addition to the ebook set), is translated Dr. J. C. Mardrus & Powys Mathers, titled "The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night." After reading whatever set one has on hand or thinking of purchasing, you might also wish to look into John Barth's novel, "The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor". This one is not available as an ebook, unfortunately. Also, unfortunately, my uncorrected galley is in the U.S.A. Last edited by Dr. Drib; 05-18-2017 at 10:52 AM. |
05-22-2017, 04:05 PM | #25 |
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I purchased the Kindle Edition of The Arabian Nights: Vm 1 by Malcolm and Ursula Lyons mentioned by Doitsu and Dr Drib. Volume 1 has a very good introduction which is well worth reading and the translation is lucid and flows well. I'll get the other two books in the set later and I suspect that this will turn out to be my replacement for Burton and Payne.
Last edited by fantasyfan; 05-23-2017 at 04:15 AM. |
05-28-2017, 12:02 PM | #26 | |
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I'm enjoying it so far; I feel like it's the storytelling equivalent of the Minotaur's labyrinth.
In the version I'm reading (and the other version I considered reading) the girl is named Shahrazad but, though I've never read this before, I'm so used to the name 'Scheherezade' that it feels like I'm mentally pronouncing it incorrectly to think of it as 'Shahrazad' with only three syllables. I suppose this must be the more correct translation of her name since these newer translations are using it. By the way, does anyone know how Shahrazad should be pronounced? I'm thinking of it as 'SHAH-rah-zahd' but that's just a guess. This book reminds me a bit of our selection 'The White Castle' by Orhan Pamuk from August 2014. While quite different it's somewhat of a similarly fantastical story and so seems like this, or stories like this, may have helped to inspire Pamuk with his story, especially considering his Arabic (Turkish) origins. Quote:
There have been other moments too where I wonder that as I'm reading, where I'm expecting her to tell a story about something and then she's just like, 'Nope you don't get to hear that one but what about this next one!' If it's actually the way the unabridged version works it's funny because you never know whether she's about to expand on a story or skip over it entirely, but it seems likely the unabridged version may have no 'skips'. I also think the same about the shorter stories, that they were probably cut down. One night she'll tell a rather long story and the next it only takes about three paragraphs to get through the night. Well, maybe those nights they were... busier until closer to dawn. I'm curious about how others are enjoying the stories, and since I almost went with the Dawood translation I'm curious how Bookworm_Girl is liking it. |
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05-28-2017, 02:01 PM | #27 |
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The Dawood translation is fine. I am happy reading it. I mostly picked it because the book seemed to have a good selection of the most popular stories.
I liked better the Malcolm & Ursula Lyons version that I started with from my library. If I want to read more stories in the future, then I will choose their volumes. |
05-28-2017, 07:47 PM | #28 | |
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Do these other translations include the verse that keeps on appearing? In the Haddawy translation, various people seem to trot out what to me is mostly rather clunky verse, quite often with no obvious amplification of the story. I find that I am now tending to skip over it.
I took a break at the halfway mark through the book and read a couple of other books. I think these stories aren't really meant to be read in sizeable chunks, but were presumably told in short sections, or at any rate only one story at a time. It is certainly like a labyrinth, as sun surfer says. Quote:
Last edited by Bookpossum; 05-28-2017 at 11:33 PM. |
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05-28-2017, 08:18 PM | #29 |
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I like your ball of string imagery.
The Dawood translation is pretty straight-forward and not too convoluted. It has section breaks and story headings for the stories within the stories which makes it easier to follow. I also have been progressing slowly and alternating with other books to make it more enjoyable. For example, I split the story of "Sinbad the Sailor and Sinbad the Porter" over 3 days. I felt that the framework of the seven journeys were too repetitious to absorb in one sitting without fatigue. I am at 38% read. |
05-29-2017, 12:24 AM | #30 | ||
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