The Arabian Nights: A Companion

Irwin provides some history for the tales in 1001 Nights as well as a good description of the (presumed) context in which they were told and retold, and the history and context are greatly enriching my reading of the recent (2010) Penguin Classics edition of the "complete" Calcutta II collection of stories. He tells also the history of the Nights as a western literary phenomenon, presenting the collection as a very influential precursor of entire genres of Western literature -- science fiction, sword-and-sorcery, fantasy, magic realism -- and does the whole thing with humor, humility, and general good nature.

This is exactly what a "Companion" should be and when I finished it I went back to the start and began again. ( )

Very well written introduction to a world that most of us know very little about. Straightforward chapters on history of the text and dueling translations worth the price of admission by themselves. And who can pass up a book that brings us the word 'urinomancy'? A model of cultural commentary. ( )