Description
A dynamic French-Syrian translator, lauded for her lively poetic voice, tackles the enchanted world of Aladdin in this sparkling new translation.
Long defined by film adaptations that have portrayed Aladdin as a simplistic rags-to-riches story for children, this work of dazzling imagination—and occasionally dark themes—now comes to vibrant new life. “In the capital of one of China’s vast and wealthy kingdoms”, begins Shahrazad, there lived Aladdin, a rebellious fifteen-year-old who falls prey to a double-crossing sorcerer and is ultimately saved by a princess.
One of the best-loved folktales of all time, Aladdin has been capturing the imagination of readers, illustrators and filmmakers since an eighteenth-century French publication first added the tale to The Arabian Nights. Here is an elegant, eminently readable rendition of Aladdin in what is destined to be a classic for decades to come.Reviews
"It’s not every day you come across a new translation of The Arabian Nights, but the French Syrian writer, Yasmine Seale, has rendered afresh the 18th-century version of Aladdin by Antoine Galland, and has done a cracking job..." — Family favourites: children’s books for Christmas reviewed, The Spectator
"... an elegant new version of Aladdin..." — Times Literary Supplement
"... a charming rendition of Aladdin..." — The National