A Thousand Nights (A Thousand Nights, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

Sep 05, 2015 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: youngadult, fairytales, fantasy, own

A sumptuous, lyrical retelling of the 1,001 ARABIAN NIGHTS, and also one very different from most versions of the tale. I've always had a hard time with the ARABIAN NIGHTS, because I'm bugged by the idea that Scherazade might actually fall in love with a guy who has murdered hundreds of women. Ick, right? Well, Johnston has a magnificent solution, and the resulting story is stunning. ...more

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Apr 06, 2015 katayoun Masoodi rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, ya, ebook

3 1/2, loved the story though am not sure if i liked the style.
so more... so really in a lot of way it was lovely and i would recommend it to friends since the not liking the style was nothing to do with the book and more me, its that i find the lyrical way of telling thing, or the not telling and telling and being ambiguous about everything not to my liking, something that i really liked in "The Story of Owen", so it could be my mood right now?
that said the story and the world was really inte ...more

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May 31, 2015 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: bea

Lo-Melkhiin has married many times. He has already killed three hundred girls when he arrives at a village in the desert looking for a new wife. One girl knows he will want only the loviest girl has his new bride. She knows he will want her sister.

To make sure her sister is safe, she ensures that she will be taken in her place. She knows that she will die soon but it will be worthwhile because her sister will live. In their village she will become a smallgod; a legend to whom her relatives and a Lo-Melkhiin has married many times. He has already killed three hundred girls when he arrives at a village in the desert looking for a new wife. One girl knows he will want only the loviest girl has his new bride. She knows he will want her sister.

To make sure her sister is safe, she ensures that she will be taken in her place. She knows that she will die soon but it will be worthwhile because her sister will live. In their village she will become a smallgod; a legend to whom her relatives and ancestors will send their prayers.

But she doesn't die her first night in the palace. Nor the next. Instead, she uses her precious, unexpected time to make sense of the dangers and beauties she finds in the palace.

Everyone agrees that Lo-Melkhiin is a good ruler. Many claim he was a good man once. No one knows what went wrong. No one knows how to change it. His newest bride might have the power to save Lo-Melkhiin and the kingdom. But only if she can stay alive in A Thousand Nights (2015) by E. K. Johnston.

Johnston stays true to the oral tradition of fairy tales in this retelling of "One thousand and One Nights" complete with the subtle changes and omissions that come from many, many tellings. Because of that it is fitting that most of the characters in A Thousand Nights have no names.

This story is also subverts many fairy tale conventions and gender roles by placing a girl not only as the protagonist but also as the hero and driving force of the story--a theme that is further underscored by this girl at the center of the novel having no name of her own.

A Thousand Nights is a quiet, understated book. Although it lacks the flash and fanfare of high action, it more than makes up for that with thoughtfully developed characters and provocative introspection throughout. The novel includes a strong emphasis on craft--the power that comes from making something both with intangible things like words in stories and also with more physical creations including embroidery, weaving, and sculpture.

With subversive themes and a strong feminist thread, Johnston creates a retelling that impressively transcends its source material to become something new. Lyrical writing and evocative descriptions complete the spell that is A Thousand Nights. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh, Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken, The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst, The Shadow Behind the Stars by Rebecca Hahn, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin, Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little, Sabriel by Garth Nix, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

*This book was acquired for review consideration from the publisher at BEA 2015*

You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print ...more

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Jun 26, 2015 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: mt-bookpile-2011-2015, old-reads

An interesting version of the One Thousand and One Nights, minus the 1,001 stories. Even more interesting is that the narrator is, like Jane Eyre, never described except in relationship to others (nor is she ever named). Instead of Scheherazade telling tales like Aladdin we hear about the life the narrator left, the smallgods her family worshipped and the family history. At times I wished for more obvious parallels to the original, if only to introduce younger readers to it. Still, highly recomm ...more

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Nov 18, 2022 Malina rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club-reads, meh

Disappointing. Lots of potential but falls flat. I found it forgettable. Didn't like the main character and found the ending to be anti climatic. Lots of time is spent describing her clothes and hair. Meh. ...more

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