Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz
Throughout this tale, evil djinnis play the part of villains who seduce helpless mortals into terrible behaviour. They drive people away from virtuous conduct and moral judgment, bankrupt the wealthy, frame the innocent, and encourage rape and murder. In this collection of interconnected stories, Mahfouz rewrites some Arabian Nights stories, such as those of Aladdin and Ma’rouf the Cobbler, and tweaks others, like Sindbad the Sailor. He also introduces a number of his own characters who interact with one another and frequently come up short.
Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz
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A few morally upright humans and one angel with very limited abilities battle the djinn. This little group makes an effort to halt the stream of corruption and despondency that runs through the entire novel and serves as its main theme.
This is a very, very enjoyable collection of short stories with a fast-paced, philosophical tone that poses moral and conscious import vignettes. I read this book in one sitting because I was having so much fun with it. With this work, Mahfouz is not attempting to provide you with answers; instead, he raises concerns about morality and corruption while illuminating the effects of corruption on people’s daily lives.
Mahfouz writes like no Western novelist I’m aware of, giving the characters he develops from his own experiences a richness that is astounding. In his writings, he does not shrink from the brutality, trickery, and deceit of the world around him. He presents a complicated menagerie of views rather than just one. I now see why he was not just demonized by Islamic radicals but also won the Nobel Prize for Literature because he doesn’t try to whitewash anything or anyone in his writing. Wish Western authors of fiction would depict the worlds in which they live more accurately and without any hesitation, and in hues that actually reflect reality. Every community has its share of barbarism, therefore each one would do well to take the issue seriously.
