Sleeping Beauty
by Tahar Ben Jelloun
On This Page
Tags
Member Reviews
"Once upon a time there were a king and queen who were very sad and discontent, for they could not conceive a child. They had tried everything, following the advice of several doctors and midwives and even a few sorcerers. One adviser went as far as suggesting to the king that he follow as special diet and eat at regular hours while holding the queen's hand. But in vain. One day, the king and his wife went to the Mountain of Childhood, where they stayed for seven days and seven nights drinking the brackish and warm water of the Source of Life. They often felt nauseous and vomited their meals, but without complaining. When they returned to the palace, they made their prayers before entering the chamber of love..."
So begins the tale of show more Sleeping Beauty as retold by Tahar Ben Jelloun, born in Morocco and a respected French writer and poet who was awarded the Legion of Honour by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008. I have here given a rough translation of the first paragraph or this familiar fairy tale as retold in the original French, but with a Middle-Eastern flavour. Here, sleeping beauty is awakened not by the tall blonde green-eyed prince she imagined but by a short, skinny brown-haired one who must first deliver her from the snakes of the desert that are defending her door, and when Sleeping Beauty—here known as Jawhara—emerges from her hundred-year nap, her skin turns black as the night. After some time the prince must bring his beloved and their two small children back to the family palace where his mother, a cruel woman filled with prejudice, believes that all black people should be slaves. She tries to drown their children at sea and hires an ogre to cut out Jawhara's liver which she intends to eat, but of course her plan is thwarted when the ogre, upon seeing Jawhara, is so charmed by the light emanating from her beautiful face that he comes up with a plan to defeat the evil queen instead...
A charming story, and an original retelling, and the book itself is a sheer pleasure to behold, with cover art and illustrations that add tremendous appeal to the overall experience. It was a Christmas gift from my mother who lives in France and whom I haven't seen in six years now. I had perused the book before, but this was the first time I actually read the story, and because of the beauty of the book and the sentimental attachment I have to it, I can only say that I cannot find fault with it and was put under its spell. show less
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
129+ Works 4,979 Members
Controversial winner of the prestigious French Prix Goncourt (1987), Tahar Ben Jelloun is a Moroccan writer who has not found much favor at home, despite his growing popularity abroad. According to some North African critics, Ben Jelloun intentionally sets out to please foreign readers. The critics contend that his writing reinforces European show more stereotypes by pandering to western tastes for quaint folklore and traditions, and exotic scenery. Moroccan critics have accused Ben Jelloun of creating artificial, fabricated stories that fail to convey a true picture of Morocco. They have also been offended by his criticism of Morocco, and the fact that he reveals sides of Moroccan life that are usually kept hidden. Ben Jelloun's story of a girl dressed as a boy, L'Enfant du Sable (The Sand Child) (1985), was scandalous in their eyes. After Ben Jelloun won the Prix Goncourt, a number of critics changed their minds and have begun to praise his work. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Sleeping Beauty
- Original title
- La Belle au bois dormant
- Original publication date
- 2004-02-11
- First words
- Il était une fois un roi et une reine tristes et malheureux.
- Quotations
- Kandisha s'ébroua ; des puces, des punaises et des poux tombèrent de ses vieux habits. Elle se tourna vers les fées et prononça sa sentence : Un objet tranchant, un simple objet - je ne sais pas encore lequel, mais ce ser... (show all)a terrible -, un objet tranchant, donc, entaillera la main droite de la princesse et elle en mourra, voilà ce que je vois, voilà ce que j'entends, des cris, des larmes, et la mort sur un âne centenaire viendra emporter la petite princesse...
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Quant à la bonté, elle est au-dessus de tout cela : son élégance la tient hors d'atteinte.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 7
- Popularity
- 2,741,159
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English, French, Italian
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
