101 Nights Group Read May 1 – June 30, 2018

Ready for some adventure tales? Join us in reading “101 Nights” (Miit layla wa-layla). Like its most famous cousin, “1001 Nights” (also called Arabian Nights), this medieval story collection also includes the frame tale of Shahrazad saving her life with her storytelling. However, our text is shorter, older, and likely has North African or Andalusian origins. It’s much more unified, and the translation looks excellent. I for one am looking forward to adding some fun to my reading this month! – MENA Goodreads group (discussion in English here). For those who want to discuss this in Arabic, email melaniemagidow@gmail.com

Note: Paperback version (pictured here) is English only. Hardback includes Arabic text (as is the custom of the Library of Arabic Literature). See here for more information from the publisher.

Plus don’t forget you can read some charming interviews w/translator-editor Bruce Fudge on ArabLit:

A Hundred and One Nights: Part of the ‘Tip of the Iceberg’ of Popular Arabic Tales

Bruce Fudge on the Differences Between ‘A Hundred and One Nights’ and the ‘1,001’