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coolbaloo
Registered User
(3/2/01 6:27:25 pm)
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Arabian Nights--current books? help please!
Hi. I found this board by chance--looking for arabian nights links in a search.
I am looking for some info on some current books that are being written set in the Arabian Nights world.
So far I have only found:
The Last Voyage of
Somebody the Sailor by John Barth.
**anyone read it? Not sure if its very fantastical but the plot says: Simon Behler--or Baylor, as he refers to himself in his countless best-selling books of New Journalism--falls overboard during a cruise retracing
the legendary voyages of Sindbad the Sailor and is pulled from the water by contemporaries of the real Sinbad. Trapped in the distant past but
never at a loss for words, Behler--or Bey el-Loor, as he is now known--amuses his new friends with his exotic tales: boyhood on Maryland's
Eastern Shore, first love, early literary success, marriage, and divorce." (Libr J)
Sounds a little dry. More like a comedy.
and then i found this one:
THE AMAZING VOYAGE OF AZZAM
kelly Godel
"It is the 9th century, and Azzam the
sailor longs for a reputation to equal that of another Arabian adventurer—enjoying fame and fortune for his seven spectacular sea voyages. After
he crosses paths with an evil magician, the mariner is drawn into a hunt for a mysterious and ancient treasure that takes him from the lush
islands of India and the subterranean passageways of Constantinople to the boiling deserts of Africa, battling giants, freakish tribesmen, and fiery
demons along the way. It is a thrilling adventure promising to grant Azzam’s greatest wish—if it doesn’t kill him first!"
Anyone read it?
This one seems fairly new.
Any others?
I am going crazy!!!!!!
Help please!!!
:U
elee6@lycos.com
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Heidi
Anne Heiner
ezOP
(3/3/01 4:00:07 pm)
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Re: Arabian Nights--current books? help please!
One of my favorites of late has been "Shadow Spinner" by Louise Fletcher that tells of Shahrazad's search for tales to tell. She begins to get desperate near the end of 1,001 as you can imagine.
Heidi
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Laura
McCaffrey
Registered User
(3/3/01 5:03:07 pm)
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Re: Arabian Nights--current books? help please!
Shadow Spinner is actually by
Susan Fletcher, not Louise It's a wonderful tale and explores the
roles story and storytelling play, as well as how Shahrazad could
possibly care for the king who has put all his former wives to death.
I agree Heidi, a great twist on the Arabian Nights. Laura Mc
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coolbaloo
Registered User
(3/4/01 8:38:13 pm)
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Re: Arabian Nights--current books? help please!
Thanks for the suggestions.
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Midori
Unregistered User
(3/9/01 6:19:54 am)
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have I got a site for you!
Sorry, I've been meaning to check in on this one, but I got very excited by a wonderful site dedicated to the Arabian nights that is a real treat:
www.crock11.freeserve.co.uk/arabian.htm
go half way down the very long site and you will find a section ("Works of Art inspired by the AB") on new versions in literature, movie/t.v, illustrative art and music. There is a fabulous list of other novels and literature (new and historical) and take offs on the Arabian nights--including a parody by Poe, called "The Thousand and Second Tale of Scheherezade" and the brilliant Najib Mafouz's modern novel, "Arabian Nights and Days", A.J. Byatt's elegent, "The Djinn and the Nightengale" and an contemporary feminist Indian author, Githa Hariharan "Thousand Faces of Night" and "When Dreams Travel" (about what happens to Scherezade after the 1,000 and 1 nights)
I hope this comes to you in time. Heidi, have a look at this site. It might be a wonderful link for Surlalune as he annotates all the collections/art/films and makes a clear distinction as to which are suitable for children, which are not.
the film list alone is really interesting....including one with Catherine Zeta Jones as a Scherezade that gets rescued by a genie and plunked down into a country "of eternal rain" --modern day England. Naturally it was made by a French fim maker and the reviewer thought it was really a drudge---
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Gregor9
Registered User
(3/9/01 7:27:00 am)
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Barth
Coolbaloo,
Since you've already looked at one Barth, take a look at his CHIMERA, which comprises three novellas. The first is his riff on Sherazade, her sister and the caliph, with an inadvertent time-traveling narrator who stumbles into their world.
Greg
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coolbaloo
Registered User
(3/9/01 3:34:24 pm)
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Re:Barth/arabian sites/the Amazing Voyage of Azzam
Thanks for the Chimaera tip! I
did check it out at Amazon. It looked interesting!
I tend to shy away from the magic realism/dragon books(no offense
meant!!!)..I prefer traditional fantasy--set in greek mythology,
Arabian etc...so i read alot of older stuff like Homer, Virgil etc.
because I find it interesting and historical...but with fantasy
elements..
And I found John Crocker's page just a few days ago--his Arabian
Nights site is EXCELLENT.
I asked him about the Amazing Voyage of Azzam-(he had Barth's Somebody
the Sailor listed)-but hadnt read it yet-though he planned to list
it soon. |
