Stephanie Jane recenzis Pearls on a branch de Najlā Jurayṣātī Khūrī
An interesting collection
4 steloj
The story of how the arabic original of this book came to exist is as interesting as the tales it contains. By listening to many women across Lebanon between 1975 and 1990, Khoury endeavoured to record their traditional folktales and how they were told, thereby preserving an important part of these women's lives. Stories are told differently when they are spoken and when they are written so I was glad that Khoury transcribed the words pretty much verbatim. That atmosphere has been maintained in Bushnaq's translation too so, although in this English language edition we only have thirty of the story, we still have the introductory 'mattress' scene setting and the age-old turns of phrase. I appreciated the detailed introduction which explains the gathering and cultural importance of these tales.
Arabic folktales are both very similar and very different to the fairytales I remember reading and being told as a …
The story of how the arabic original of this book came to exist is as interesting as the tales it contains. By listening to many women across Lebanon between 1975 and 1990, Khoury endeavoured to record their traditional folktales and how they were told, thereby preserving an important part of these women's lives. Stories are told differently when they are spoken and when they are written so I was glad that Khoury transcribed the words pretty much verbatim. That atmosphere has been maintained in Bushnaq's translation too so, although in this English language edition we only have thirty of the story, we still have the introductory 'mattress' scene setting and the age-old turns of phrase. I appreciated the detailed introduction which explains the gathering and cultural importance of these tales.
Arabic folktales are both very similar and very different to the fairytales I remember reading and being told as a child. I recognised glimpses of the Snow White story here and of Rapunzel before they veered away. There aren't the same moral endings of Western fairytales, but these stories still contain important guidance for adult life. For girls especially patience and endurance are valued qualities, preternatural beauty is of course essential and marrying into royalty is highly recommended - although not always with an instant Happily Ever After. It was very interesting to be given this opportunity to glimpse into such an essential but often overlooked aspect of Arabic life.