The Arabian Nights II: Sindbad and Other Popular Stories (Arabian Nights…

As explained in Husain Haddawy’s introduction to his first volume of The Arabian Nights (also known as The Thousand and One Nights), this is a collection of tales that has accreted and evolved over several centuries. Haddawy’s first volume was based on the earliest known manuscript (14th century Syrian), and may be considered the authentic core of the Arabian Nights. It is very consistent in style and theme.

Volume II, the present work, contains translations of the most popular of the many folk stories added to the Arabian Nights by various Arabic language publishers in the ensuing centuries. Most of these are familiar names: "Sindbad the Sailor," "‘Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," and "‘Ala al-Din and the Magic Lamp." Because these stories have different points of origin, they display a variety of styles and cultural themes. And, of course, they are nothing whatsoever like the popular culture adaptations of recent years.

Another change from Volume I is that the translator decided to forgo the framing story of Shahrazad (Scheherazade) who is telling these stories to forestall her execution. These tales did not originate with that tradition, and are too long to fit it comfortably.

The stories themselves are fascinating, if absurd. They reflect a violent world of strong and capricious emotions. A character is likely to be extravagantly generous and forgiving one moment, then behead a member of his family for a trifling offense the next. Romantic love motivates more than greed or ambition, and it is the women who are often the more lustful, the more clever, and the more violent sex. My favorite story is "'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," in which the good-natured 'Ali Baba bumbles his way into a great fortune, but only because his is repeatedly rescued by his devoted slave Marjana, a quick-witted and clear-headed girl with the powers of observation of a Sherlock Holmes. ( )