Reviews

Riding a Donkey Backwards by Shirin Adl, Sean Taylor, Eleanor Martin

libraryrobin's review

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4.0

Short stories of a silly Mulla. Fun illustrations too!

hikingineer's review

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

mat_tobin's review

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4.0

This was a wonderful collection of tales based on the encounters with Mulla Nasruddin, a Turkish Muslim whose riddles and wisdom are extremely popular across many cultures and whose stories have even been accommodated and used by Aesop. A delightful little introduction from Sean Taylor and the Khayaal Theatre present an overview of Mulla's teachings and wisdom and how his stories have spread throughout Europe and Asia.
With a collection of over 20 short stories, Taylor and Adl work together to bring to lift the wit and wisdom of these stories. I found Taylor got just the right balance in peeling back the narrative and allowing Mulla's humour to come out in action and speech alone. Adl, who also illustrated the excellent [b:Ramadan Moon|6352083|Ramadan Moon|Na'ima B. Robert|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328725628l/6352083._SX50_.jpg|6538664] brings Mulla's world to life through her collages. My only gripe would be that, at times, the text was difficult to read against the vibrant backgrounds.
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