I first read this motley collection of tales as a university student on a syllabus set by the writer Marina Warner, who is a big fan of fairy tales. At the time, I struggled to finish the book, and I reached a similar brick wall this time. Without going too much into the history of these stories, their numerous translations, and the tedious speculation surrounding who the original writer(s) may have been, I would like to point out that these tales are decidedly not suitable for children. They were eventually infantilised and made into children's versions, such being the fate of any fiction featuring magical and fantastical elements, but this involved distorting and watering down a lot of the original content. To put it rather bluntly, 1,001 Nights is made up of highly sexual and violent material, dealing predominantly in male wish fulfillment scenarios revolving around desire and greed.
This particular collection, translated by Malcolm C. Lyons, is a handpicked selection of the more well known tales such as 'Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves', 'Sinbad the Sailor', and 'Aladdin.' The first half of the stories follow a repetitive format of a male protagonist raping or being seduced by a beautiful woman, coming into possession of an immense fortune, and usually having his genitals threatened. The writers take great pains to boast of female beauty, the extravagances of sultans, the splendour of palaces, and the pricelessness of jewels, which all gets a bit too much. I enjoyed the Sinbad stories for the imaginative variety of his adventures, yet 'Aladdin' is bleak and problematic by modern standards. There are no wholesome morals to these stories, their main incentives being to celebrate characters who, through no personal effort, or else with supernatural aid, manage to achieve extreme amounts of wealth and social elevation.
Rating: 2/5
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