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mandimsadler's review against another edition
5.0
I did not expect this, but this is my favorite collection of fairy tales I've ever read.
Move over Grimm, Anderson, and even Celtic tales-- these Moroccan stories enchanted me and thoroughly captured my heart.
It's hard to say why I love these stories so much. They're magical, whimsical, and amusing. I love the moral lessons built into the bedrock of this culture. And I absolutely adored that these stories took place in a country that now holds such a special place in my heart.
I read this collection while on my honeymoon in Morocco, and it was amazing to read stories from local storytellers who referenced places and people and customs that I got to see firsthand on our travels.
I've never fallen more in love with a collection more than this one. Five stars.
Move over Grimm, Anderson, and even Celtic tales-- these Moroccan stories enchanted me and thoroughly captured my heart.
It's hard to say why I love these stories so much. They're magical, whimsical, and amusing. I love the moral lessons built into the bedrock of this culture. And I absolutely adored that these stories took place in a country that now holds such a special place in my heart.
I read this collection while on my honeymoon in Morocco, and it was amazing to read stories from local storytellers who referenced places and people and customs that I got to see firsthand on our travels.
I've never fallen more in love with a collection more than this one. Five stars.
luisamariah's review
adventurous
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kiriamarin's review against another edition
4.0
A very tiny but nice introduction to the ancient profession of a storyteller " hlayki" in the arabian/islamic millieu,who can be traced in Mesopotamia with her religion,moral,influence in western literature legacy,this tales and his storytellers are rich in wisdom/humanity,who evolves and seems recalling all other tales of the world. Is really sad that precious tradition oral way of telling stories are slowing disappearing in Morocoo.
littlesprite21's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ukuxara's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
doriastories's review against another edition
2.0
I had a growing feeling of unease as I read this book. It wasn’t simply that many of the stories were misogynistic or violent; this is not unusual in old folktales from many countries. It was more that I began to have suspicions about the degree of editorial interference and influence in the final products that I was reading, knowing as I did that they had gone through a lengthy process of “refinement” before getting into the immaculate little collection.
The British author-editor of this collection goes into some detail in his long and rather autobiographical introduction, describing the process by which he cultivated, interviewed, and then recorded a number of local Moroccan professionals Storytellers, whose stories he then had translated, and then assembled for this book once he had returned home. In his own words:
“I then polished the stories up when I was in London, improving the English where necessary as well as the general narrative flow. On occasion, I would take the liberty of adding a touch more colour or flesh on the bones, but while I allowed myself this element of poetic license, I always tried to stay true to the original plots.”
Wondering just how much “poetic license” he had taken - after all, this is not poetry, but prose narrative, something very different - I did a quick google and found his website, where he helpfully includes a video of himself reading aloud a story from this very book, as well as a video of the original Storyteller performing the (sort of) same story. The differences, to me, were enormous, and very telling (pun intended). I could see for myself that crucial changes had been made to both plot and moral, to say nothing of the lack of performance technique displayed by the British editor, when compared with his Moroccan source.
Of course, it isn’t fair to compare an editor with a professional Storyteller, but I do take issue with the degree to which Hamilton changed the narrative - both in terms of details and moral or takeaway - while still claiming a kind of authenticity for this tale - and presumably the others in his collection. For that’s what they have become: his collection of stories. If he subjected each of the stories to this same degree of “polishing”, than he has robbed them of their authenticity, and rendered them into his own version of literature. They are no longer Moroccan folktales in the way that they once were, but his personal idealized versions of what he would like them to be. They are thus of dubious value for folklorists and Storytellers.
The British author-editor of this collection goes into some detail in his long and rather autobiographical introduction, describing the process by which he cultivated, interviewed, and then recorded a number of local Moroccan professionals Storytellers, whose stories he then had translated, and then assembled for this book once he had returned home. In his own words:
“I then polished the stories up when I was in London, improving the English where necessary as well as the general narrative flow. On occasion, I would take the liberty of adding a touch more colour or flesh on the bones, but while I allowed myself this element of poetic license, I always tried to stay true to the original plots.”
Wondering just how much “poetic license” he had taken - after all, this is not poetry, but prose narrative, something very different - I did a quick google and found his website, where he helpfully includes a video of himself reading aloud a story from this very book, as well as a video of the original Storyteller performing the (sort of) same story. The differences, to me, were enormous, and very telling (pun intended). I could see for myself that crucial changes had been made to both plot and moral, to say nothing of the lack of performance technique displayed by the British editor, when compared with his Moroccan source.
Of course, it isn’t fair to compare an editor with a professional Storyteller, but I do take issue with the degree to which Hamilton changed the narrative - both in terms of details and moral or takeaway - while still claiming a kind of authenticity for this tale - and presumably the others in his collection. For that’s what they have become: his collection of stories. If he subjected each of the stories to this same degree of “polishing”, than he has robbed them of their authenticity, and rendered them into his own version of literature. They are no longer Moroccan folktales in the way that they once were, but his personal idealized versions of what he would like them to be. They are thus of dubious value for folklorists and Storytellers.
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