The Arabian Nights (Penguin Popular Classics)

I love fables and usually the ones where good conquers evil but with these stories, the lines of goodness are blurred. Some of the stories are a bit racy : )

RELEASE NOTES:

postal release to Finland

Arabian Nights arrived today. Thank you, matlockjames! This was the second book coming from Kuwait, you are spoiling me. However, I think the dark Arabian Nights will suit well to the sometimes cold and always dark Finnish winter. Actually, it's not so cold at the moment but, unfortunately, there's no snow either. :.(
I just love the book cover. Interested to see, how I'll feel about the rest of the book.

Some of them I was already familiar with (who wouldn't know e.g. Ali Baba and Forty Thieves and Aladdin and the Magic Lamp) but some of the stories were new to me. Besides, I've only read children's versions before.
Arabian Nights is full of violence, erotics, submission (especially as it comes to women) etc. Yet I liked it.
These tales show, for instance, that certain kind of image of ideal girl/woman (great figure, long shiny hair, big eyes, long eyelashes, beautiful face, and so on) was not invented by modern Western media. Also, I remember reading somewhere that many Western fairy tales (like the ones Grimm Brothers wrote, for example) were originally adult entertainment. Nowadays we just get to read the mild and sweet versions for kids ‒ and some of them are still quite cruel and violent, not to mention how women are treated in them. They aren't allowed to say much about anything (no way they get to choose their husbands!) and naturally they need to look just as beautiful as their Eastern sisters in order to get some prince interested. One thing surprised me though. I hadn't realised religion is so visible in these stories.
I found my favourite character too. Admittedly, she is violent (she single-handed murdered nearly 40 men) but she also is smarter than any of the men in the story. She's got initiative and she's very brave. She's slave girl Morgiana in Ali Baba. ‒ And her reward for all her efforts? A husband, of course. That's one lucky guy. ;)
Thank you, matlockjames! I really really enjoyed Arabian Nights.

On a parking meter in the corner of Puutarhakatu and Näsilinnankatu.
Puutarhakadun ja Näsilinnankadun kulmassa olevan parkkimittarin päälle jätin. (Ja enkös minä jo kerran tämänkin ilmoituksen väsännyt...?)

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