The Arabian Nights: By Andrew Lang - Illustrated

NOT FOR CHILDREN!!! I did not know until recently that there are many versions of this title. I had read an entertaining text version when I was a girl and purchased this copy translated by Burton with the lovely blue cover as a gift for a co-workers' child. This is NOT the same! It IS absolutely one of the original translations, but it is best for an academic adult reader who will understand the context of Victorian Era racism and the not even bordering pornographic descriptions of adultery, etc. Caveat Emptor!!! Do not buy this version thinking it is going to be appropriate for kids or even teens! It is barely appropriate for adults. The translator was an expert linguist, but a colorful fellow (whose biography is also a fascinating read) and the content of the text is stained by the culture and times in which he lived. I can recommend this copy only to open minded and academically tolerant adults looking for a historical version that is more about Victorian morality than Arab or Asian culture, but stay far away if you were looking for a Middle Eastern companion to your Grimms Fairytales. This is NOT it! Again... NOT FOR CHILDREN!!!

The cover is incredibly intricate and beautiful. The pages are gold dipped but seem to be prone to flaking. It has a satin marker and many illustrations in color and black and white. Rene Bull's illustrations have a surreal, trippy, almost sci-fi feel, somewhat similar to Frank Frazetta. The Alfred W. Cooper ones are nice and more natural but do sort of clash with Bull's funky style. This book also contains story-specific headers, which is always convenient and drifting page numbers that follow a faint design from the top of the page at the beginning to the bottom by the end.It is worth noting that this translation was done by Sir Richard F. Burton (an interesting character) in 1884 and has a stylish but definitely dated vocabulary as would be expected, so if you cannot tolerate Thous and Quoths and Haths this is not the translation for you. Personally I enjoy the dated language because it gives the work a proper amount of foreigness from the present that enhances the stories' historical weight.It also might matter for some people that this is definitely a post-Islamic Arabic rendering/sourcing of these stories which most likely had diverse origins from all over Persia, India, and even China well before the birth of Islam. The effect of this is something like the Christian influence on texts such as Beowulf where the story isn't so much corrupted as obviously interspersed with overhanded religious injections and alterations that stand out against the core story quite obviously/oddly at times. The only other translation of these tales I have read contained zero Islamic references--whether that was intentional or based on their source material I cannot say.This excerpt from my other translation is far more consistent and fable-like:The porter, who had often heard people speak of the immense wealth of Sindbad, could not help feeling envious of one whose lot seemed to be as happy as his own was miserable."Consider, Mighty creator of all things, the differences between Sindbad's life and mine. Every day I suffer a thousand hardships and misfortunes, and have hard work to get even enough bad barley bread to keep myself and my family alive, while the lucky Sindbad spends money right and left and lives upon the fat of the land! What has he done that you should give him this pleasant life--what have I done to deserve so hard a fate?"Whereas the same section from Burton's seems completely over-the-top and ham-fistedly repetitious:So he raised his eyes heavenwards and said, "Glory to Thee, O Lord, O Creator and Provider, who providest whomso Thou wilt without count or stint! O mine Holy One, I cry Thee pardon for all sins and turn to Thee repenting of all offenses! O Lord there is no gainsaying Thee in Thine ordinance and in Thy dominion, neither wilt Thou be questioned of that Thou dost, for Thou indeed over all things art Almighty! Extolled be Thy perfection: whom Thou wilt Thou makest poor and whom Thou wilt Thou makest rich! Whom Thou wilt Thou exaltest and whom Thou wilt Thou abasest and there is no god but Thou! How mighty is Thy majesty and how enduring Thy dominion and how excellent Thy government! Verily Thou favorest whom Thou wilt of Thy servants, whereby the owner of this place abideth in all joyance of life and delighteth himself with pleasant scents and delicious meats and exquisite wines of all kinds. For indeed Thou appointest unto Thy creatures that which Thou wilt and that which Thou has foreordained unto them; wherefore are some weary and others are at rest and some enjoy fair fortune and affluence, whilst others suffer the extreme of travail and misery, even as I do." And he fell to reciting:"How many by my labours, that evermore endureAll goods of life enjoy and in cooly shade recline?Each morn that dawns I wake in travail and in woeAnd strange is my condition and my burden gars me pine:Many others are in luck and from miseries are free,And fortune never loads them with loads the like o' mine:They live their happy days in all solace and delight,Eat drink and dwell in honour 'mid the noble and the digne:All living things were made of a little drop of sperm,Thine origin is mine and my provenance is thine:Yet the difference and the distance 'twixt the twain of us are farAs the difference of savour of vinegar and wineBut at Thee, O God All-wise! I venture not to railWhose ordinance is just and whose justice cannot fail."It seems to me that the entirety of the ridiculous 'Glory to Thee...' bit, and possibly the final two lines of the verse, were shoehorned in because they betray the narrative's clear message and read like speedbumps to the sense of the story. The core of the story is that a porter living a lowly life smells sweet smells and hears enchanting music and feels envious about the opulence of Sindbad's lifestyle, and further assumes that it was bitter fate or chance alone that led to their disparity in success. This simple theme is hijacked with incongruent religious outpouring that essentially attempts to eliminate or invalidate the porter's feeling of envy entirely and preemptively, because the editor seems to have confused the emotion of envy with a blasphemy against Allah's divine Will, and worked excessively to correct this 'error'. However, without the porter's commonplace envy and self-pity the narrative structure collapses, because it is precisely the porter's ignorant assumption and pining that Sindbad hadn't earned his wealth which prompts Sindbad to relate the tales of his voyages and the many hardships he endured. You cannot reconcile even a single aspect of the Sindbad opening if the lowly man understands, from the outset, that Allah's Will is perfect and that there is nothing to bemoan in the disparity between himself and Sindbad--it voids the logic of the entire narrative premise.

There are at least two different versions of this book with the same covers. One is the 2006 version the other is the 2016 version. The difference can be seen in a few different areas. The most noticeable is the inside cover art is much different as are is the illustrations inside. The 2006 version also has Arabic writing on the front and back cover. The 2016 replaces that writing with stylized loops and swirls. I guess for the 2016 version they wanted to avoid any controversy that having a book about Arabia with Arabic writing on the cover might cause. The big difference with the illustrations is the 2006 version has very risqué and what could be considered racist pictures, though totally accurate to the details in the story. The 2016 version has illustrations that different events in the book that are very tame and mostly unimportant to the plot. The editors really really changed the illustrations and it was clearly to be more PC despite the fact that this book is absolutely not PC. This book has very sexist, racist, and bigoted views of everyone not of high standing in the Arabic world of the time. The descriptions are very vivid and the pictures in the old version accurately depict what the text describes.The biggest difference is the addition and omission of different stories in each version. I originally received the 2016 version and had read almost half of it before accidentally water damaging the book to the point where it didn't shut all the way. So I ordered another copy and received the 2006 version. I immediately noticed the different illustrations and then noticed they have different stories in each. For the most part the text is exactly the same, word for word, page for page with the exception of the 7th voyage of Sinbad where the 2016 version adds three pages of an 8th voyage that wasn't really a voyage and did nothing to add to the story (so I'm not sure why that was added) and that finished with him calling it the 7th voyage (weird). There are about three different places where different stories were used.So I am currently reading the stories from the old version that weren't in the new version. The old version's alternate stories were better in my opinion, however they're all very engaging (once you get used to the racist, sexist, and bigoted storytelling of the time, region, and author.

This is not a book for children. I used to read “Stories from 1001 Arabian nights” as a child and thought this book would be a great addition to our children’s library. It’s a beautiful book.Last night, I sat down with my two 8years olds and started reading the first chapter. It turns out, it’s written in old English which is difficult to pronounce and comprehend and then, 3 pages in, a king finds his wife in bed with a cook and murders them both on a spot. A while later there is an orgy in the garden...If you’re thinking you got yourself some quality bedtime stories for you and your kids - think again and regift it to them when they grow up.

Very nice book visually. But I can confirm that this has been edited and has no mention anywhere. I bought this book looking for a story in particular about Al'Mu'mad and it's not there but the story is supposed to be in the Arabian Nights.I'm no expert on this book but from what I can tell it quite clearly is a selection of some of the stories chapter by chapter, many of which contain several smaller stories, the contents of the book is quite vauge/very basic, an index would of been even better, because the chronology isn't there.After looking through the book for over an hour, googling for references within this specific book I just can't find it, coming here and seeing a review go into depth on this matter explains a lot.

An absolutely fabulous choice for either yourself or if you want to get as a gift for someone. Such beautiful pictures in this hardback edition of the book and its all of its timeless stories as well. All well written in addition to that having said everything all in beautiful layout. I for one in my own way have always loved these stories most particularly of all the famed Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves. Now having said and word of warning this is not necessarily a children's book.There is in its own time much content of a very considerably adult and gory nature here. It can also dwell on the grounds of erotic fantasy and abuse of that kind as well. For any of who whom have researched these famous stories of the 1001 Arabian Nights and all of the stories' various editions you will find that fact out for yourselves that these stories are not entirely for kids. But apart from all that a very great read with as I have said fabulous artwork and what have you. Some of the most famous fables ever all in very beautifully classic style presentation. But its as I say if you want to read some of the stories to your children you would do well to buy a kids edit of these stories which you will find there are plenty of. That is because this is entirely the adults versions of them and in my opinion most honestly the best.

I was very excited about this book but I was disappointed because there was lots of explicit sexual content. Apart from that I think that this is a very good book, except not for children. There was also violence, racism and sexism. This was only the first chapter! In conclusion this book is not for children. If you are looking for a child-appropriate book of the Nights, you should look for a different edition. Please note that this book does not contain all of the stories of the Nights, in here, as mentioned in the introduction. There are only some of the most known stories in this edition.

The book's construction is beautiful. Overall quite a sturdy book, a lot of work has been put into the cover art and finish, especially the ribbon bookmark and the top edge gilding on the pages.As for its contents - it's an 19th century translation by the notorious Sir Richard Burton, who has something of a thing for salacious details. I would not recommend anyone to buy this book for their children to read (unless you want an awkward breakfast table discussion which requires you to explain the archaic verb "to fut") but the stories are most definitely entertaining for a more mature reader. That being said, the book is a product of its time and there are racist and sexist sentiments throughout - unless you can look past this and view the stories as being the result of the societal norms at the time of translation and editing, this collection is not recommended.Be aware that Burton's style is very traditional and frequently uses archaic language and obsolete terms, so it is heavy going for readers who are not used to the wordiness of 19th century writers.If this book was to be improved, it would definitely be through updating the translation - this is a fairly typical procedure, as for example, the Iliad by Homer has been translated to (the then) modern standards of the time.