The Arabian Nights

Their Best Known Tales

By: Kate Douglas Wiggin, Nora A. Smith

Narrated by: Johanna Ward

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

Here is a selection of some of the best-known and best-loved tales of The Arabian Nights, including "Sinbad", "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves", "Aladdin", "The Talking Bird", and the "Fisherman and the Genie". In this "treasure house of pleasant things" you will find golden palaces, gem studded caves, and breathtaking gardens; you will sit by mysterious fountains, hear the crash of gleaming waterfalls, unearth magic lamps, take a long voyage to exotic shores, and meet flying men and mythical beasts.

Nowhere else will you find such marvels, nowhere else will you find the impossible so real and convincing. For centuries The Arabian Nights has enchanted readers. These stories are presented here in a clear and direct style that renders them as fresh and as exciting as when they were first told.

©1996 Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith (P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks

Lively Nights

A lively delivery of the timeless classic. Holds your interest throughout. Good audio quality. The only disappointment is this unabridged audiobook is of a book that is itself abridged. I would love a full version of the 1,001 Arabian Nights. The imaginative, twisting tales are worth repeated listening.

The Arabian Nights

Prior to listening to "The Arabian Nights", my only knowledge of the literary tales was poorly made movies. I had no idea of the depth to the tales of Aladdin, Sinbad and Ali Babba and the Forty thieves.
These Middle Eastern classics were expertly translated and excitedly read.

Odd story... not quite what I'm used to.

The recording quality of the book was acceptable. It was read by women, and perhaps I'm a little biased, but these more adventuresome stories, might be better read by men. Who knows.

Quality of the stories varied. Since it is a collected work of sorts, some of the stories were better than others. Although, I must admit I am used to more of the "western" type fairy tales and stories. I usually expect a moral to a story, or some sort of a conclusion. Often these books ended unpredictably, while I was expecting some sort of conclusion, the tale would end completely without one.

My second main reservation was the view of life and death. The human soul did not seem to be valued highly in these stories. People would die without the author even caring that much, and the read would be expected not to car as well. Accordingly, I would NOT recommend these stories for young children (unless their parents are trying to instill in them a lack of value of the human life).

Great

A great listen for any time of the year.

A really good version of these stories

If you're looking to listen to these stories, this is the compilation you want. I've been burned by really bad versions of classic stories before. This is is good. The narrators are not amazing, but good, and the stories chosen are great.

A treasure made of words

There is a lot of other stories that weren't included. Which is a shame, because I loved the narrator. Specially the fact that it was a female narrator, feels like words out of Scheherazade herself. Storytelling done right.
“AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”

Still Good After 500 Years!

Where does The Arabian Nights rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This edition is not quite as good as The Arabian Nights Entertainment which is from an older translation, and it does not actually include anything about the original legend. Still, it has been well worth the listening time.

What did you like best about this story?

My favorite parts were the 7 voyages of Sinbad the Sailor.

Which scene was your favorite?

No Spoilers!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wanted to listen straight through but the story was too long for that. Definitely good for long car trips.

Any additional comments?

One of my favorites.

Audio stopped and I can’t finish

Totally enjoyed what I was able to listen to. The audio stopped with 2 hrs and 36 minutes remaining and won’t allow me to go forward.

Classic, but full of racism & misogyny

I’ve always loved Arabian nights because of Aladdin, and how the stories weave together. It is a little crazy to hear the misogyny and disdain towards women, while men are seen as these beautiful creatures, they can do no wrong.

It’s also hard to hear they talk about slaves only being black, while referring to anyone, fair or white as being good and handsome. It’s really sad how far misogyny and racism has been ingrained in society of the world all over.

Liked it

A great collection of classic stories. I got the "original" take on stories I have loved for years. Loved the narrator.

Well-Written and Crisply-Delivered

The language of this 1909 translation is formal and sometimes a little archaic - the enjoyment of which rather depends on taste. I didn’t find it detracted, and the stories are well-told, and the narrator is crisp, intelligent and even in her delivery. The selection of tales is nice and varied, including longer and shorter stories, some better-known and some less common.

Chapter 1 - The Talking Bird, the Singing Tree and the Golden Water

Chapter 2 - The Fisherman and the Genie; The Young King of the Black Isles

Chapter 3 - Gulnare of the Sea

Chapters 4 & 5 - Aladdin

Chapter 6 - Prince Agib

Chapter 7 - The City of Brass

Chapter 8 - Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; Codadad and His Brothers

Chapter 9 - Sinbad the Voyager

Pleasant recounting of the Arabian Nights

This audiobook was supreme. It was of the desired length of an Arabian Nights audiobook.
A listener has to be an enthusiastic person to
follow this audiobook as it does require certain attention. The favourites of Sinbad, Aladdin and Ali Baba are here. The narrator was marvellous and her narration was top notch. This audiobook wasn't as good as the Arabian Nights dramatisation also available on Audible but those editions were missing the story of Aladdin in their entirety
anyway. This audiobook was enjoyable and appealing right to the very end.