In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams | Tahir Shah

In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams | Tahir Shah | Wonderful

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In Arabian Nights:...

	In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams Tahir Shah Bantam, 2007 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 12 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Tahir Shah?s The Caliph?s House, describing his first year in Casablanca, was hailed by critics and compared to such travel classics as A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun. Now Shah takes us deeper into the heart of this exotic and magical land to uncover mysteries that have been hidden from Western eyes for centuries.?

In this entertaining and penetrating book, Tahir sets out on a bold new journey across Morocco that becomes an adventure worthy of the mythical Arabian Nights.

As he wends his way through the labyrinthine medinas of Fez and Marrakesh, traverses the Sahara sands, and tastes the hospitality of ordinary Moroccans, Tahir collects a dazzling treasury of traditional stories, gleaned from the heritage of A Thousand and One Nights. The tales, recounted by a vivid cast of characters, reveal fragments of wisdom and an oriental way of thinking that is both enthralling and fresh. A link in the chain of scholars and teachers who have passed these stories down for centuries like a baton in a relay race, Shah reaches layers of culture that most visitors hardly realize exist, and eventually discovers the story living in his own heart.

Along the way he describes the colors, characters, and the passion of Morocco, and comes to understand why it is such an enchanting land. From master masons who labor only at night to Sufi wise men who write for soap operas, and Tuareg guides afflicted by reality TV, In Arabian Nights takes us on an unforgettable journey, shining a light on facets of a society that are normally left in darkness.

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The power of a good story

Would you like to be transported on a magic carpet ride through the mysteries and magic of Morocco? Then read In Arabian Nights. I loved Shah's last book, The Caliph's House, and was thrilled to discover he has written another. And I wasn't disappointed. I read it slowly, savoring his exquisite writing like a delicious tajine (Moroccan stew for those who haven't tasted one).

Wonderful

This latest of Tahir Shah's books brings to mind his father's own works, though clearly from a different and unique person with the gentle wisdom of his father housed in an apparently mad, obsessed adventurer. Surfaces are often misleading, and underneath the funny, interesting, exciting, puzzling, touching surface of this book is a way of seeing and feeling and experiencing that is wonderful.

The author's own growth and development are on display along with fast moving, ever changing imagery and crisp almost unnoticed writing. With him the story is the thing. Read this book and then read his others.

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A delightful insight into the soul of an intriguing land and culture

Given me as a gift by someone who traveled to Morocco last year, this became one of our most valued pieces of insight into this unique culture. Morocco is a land with feet in both ancient and modern times. As indicated by the book, the Morocco we encountered showed us genuine and heartfelt care and hospitality, and a value system not unlike that of Judeo-Christian culture. But the greatest treat in this book is the inter-weaving of stories that describe life, lessons and humanity. This book will have a permanent place on our bookshelf and be enjoyed again in the future. Fresh, candid, and funny, too.

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Bit disappointing

In Arabian Nights: A caravan of Moroccan dreams, Tahir Shah - Mr. Shah continues from where he left off at The Caliph's House: A year in Casablanca ... and the result is as uneven as that book was. The plague that haunted Mr. Shah in Caliph's House strikes here as well: untied loose ends, veering off an account just as when it was becoming interesting, etc. The book is a journey about a story -- every person has a story that is close to his or her heart. Finding that story is the hard part. Mr. Shah does indeed find the story, but guess what? The reader has no idea what it was! One aspect that struck me -- put me off, really -- was the almost feverent view of the author that anything to do with the Oriental culture is far more superior to the Occidental one. Thus we are treated to many reasons why Oriental culture is better -- some that I can still recall are depths of friendship; the treatment of guests; deep in-depth knowledge of things, not the superficial "expert" label that everyone sports in the west; strict adherence to principles, etc. -- all things that the west can (and should) readily learn from the east. Brushed aside almost indifferently are the instances where the east can learn from the west: things like not marrying off young girls to old men, or learning to go to the police if oppressed. The one sided romantic view of Mr. Shah was almost too much to take, more so since it appears that his only mode of income was coming from the west through the sale of his book! Mr. Shah can be a great writer -- his earlier work, Sorcerer's Apprentice was simply marvelous. Chances are that I will still read his next novel, but this one was a bit disappointing. (March 2008).

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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