A Thousand Nights (A Thousand Nights, #1)

by E.K. Johnston

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to my village, looking for a wife.

When Lo-Melkhiin - a formidable king - arrives at her desert home, she knows that he will take her beautiful sister for a wife. Desperate to save her sister from certain death, she makes the ultimate sacrifice - leaving home and family behind to live with a fearful man.

But it seems that a strange magic flows between her and Lo-Melkhiin, and night after night, she survives. Finding power in storytelling, the words she speaks are given strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. But she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king . . . if only she can stop her heart from falling for a monster.

Set against a harsh desert backdrop, A Thousand Nights by E K Johnston is an evocative tale of love, mystery and magic that would not feel out of place if Scheherazade herself were telling it.

And perhaps she is...

• ISBN10: 1447284119
• ISBN13: 9781447284116
• Publish Date: 22 October 2015 (first published 6 October 2015)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Imprint: Macmillan Children's Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

A Thousand Nights is an interesting piece, slow-paced and thoughtful, rather complex. It’s a retelling set in the pre-Islamic Middle East. Demons, who are most likely djinn, inhabit the desert, taking from mortals as they see fit. One of them has become discontented with that life and possessed a king when the opportunity arose. Once in control, he allows the king to remain in one tiny part of the mind, forcing him to live powerlessly in audience to the demon as he takes and kills wife after wife.

Like the original, it is a lyrically beautiful. Also like the original, it paints women as worthless chattel, little more than garbage to be taken, used, and discarded at will. Only the women who is clever enough to keep herself is alive is rewarded. And the reward is that she gets to be married to very man who values her not at all, living each day and wondering if it will be her last.

In this version, all but Lo-Melkhiin, the demon, is left nameless, furthering the idea that these demons see human beings as valueless. This creates another layer to the story, making it rather thematic about the overlooked and anonymous. But yet it is these very people that have the true power, from the narrator (his latest wife) to her clan to the unnamed women within the qasr.

 It is a beautifully written story, magical in every word.

[Kat @ Novels & Waffles]

If you listen long enough to the whispers, you will hear the truth. Until, I will tell you this: the world is made safe by a woman.

3.5. When I think of the famous Middle Eastern folk tale, One Thousand and One Nights, my mind is automatically drawn to the Disney movie, Aladdin. Robin William's voice rings in my ears, and I find myself humming along to Genie's song: "Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherazade had a thousand tales..." (I admit it: I am a big Disnerd).

As the song continues, Genie conjures up a few dancing women for Aladdin's delight. This caricature of a veiled, scantily clad girl is a model of what Western media has traditionally associated with women from the Middle East; she is hyper-sexualized and erotic. She is a belly dancer and a harem girl.



Johnston is very aware of these stereotypes, and she turns them all on their head. In her book, A Thousand Nights, she takes the trope of an exotic desert beauty, deconstructs it, and then rebuilds it into something new and empowering. In the end, her message is this: women are strong and there is power to be found in female solidarity.

The story begins with a man. This man just so happens to be a king named Lo-Melkhiin. And Lo-Melkhiin needs a bride. Here is where the conflict begins – every woman he marries inevitably dies. Lo-Melkhiin cannot be brideless, heaven forbid, so a law is created that states one girl from each village must be sacrificed. Each will be sent unwillingly to the bed of their king and then their deathbeds.

Enter the main character. She is a girl who offers herself up to Lo-Melkhiin in true YA fashion in order to save the life of her sister ("I volunteer as tribute!"). Although this is not a particularly new or revolutionary premise, there is something about its execution that makes it stand out. The reason for this is largely due to to the main character. We are never given her name, but she fights against a man—and a world—that assumes a woman can't fight. She doesn't fight with swords and spears, but with her weaving and her loom, thus redefining what it means to be courageous and what it means to fight. She is a true heroine, one worthy of taking center stage in this age of feminism.

This is the second retelling of One Thousand and One Nights that I have read, the first being [b:The Wrath and the Dawn|18798983|The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1)|Renee Ahdieh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1417956963s/18798983.jpg|26724902] by Renee Ahdieh, which was also released in 2015. Although they draw from the same source material, they couldn't be more different. The Wrath and the Dawn is a fast-paced romance novel with fantasy elements sprinkled in. This book is beautifully atmospheric and has a slow, deliberate pace. It drags a bit in places, but the courage of the main character, along with all its desert setting, make it an engaging read.

In short, if you are looking for a dramatic novel full of Marvel-esque action and electric sexual tension, then this might not be the book for you. If what you want, however, is an elegantly written story with a message that will make you ask questions – questions about women's role in society, about what it means to be a strong woman – then by all means add this one to your "to-read" list.

Here is one last quote for the road: "We prospered under Lo-Melkhiin – or, men did, and it was men who keep the accounts of everything, from grain and sheep to life and death."

[Artemis]

The Artemis Reader

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this retelling of the classic A Thousand and One Nights. A Thousand Nights is an elegantly written novel that approaches the original tale with a unique spin.
As a lover of all things fantasy, fairy-tale and retellings of classics, I was quickly enamored by A Thousand Nights. However, be warned: nothing is explained thoroughly in this novel. But the lack of explanation works well within the story, the mystery becomes all encompassing and slowly, pushes you to finish it.
I loved that the characters did not have names (exception with Lo-Melkhiin, the only character with a name). Everyone else was “my sister’s husband’s father’s etc”, which ended up not being confusing to me. It worked to make the story even more mysterious and also question who really tells these tales in the first place? Often myth and fairy tales have no author, the author is simply “anonymous”.
Our unnamed heroine of the story was well written – incredibly brave and selfless, she sacrifices herself to save her sister from being party of Lo-Melkhiin’s body count, and never truly gives up hope that she will find a way out of this situation. She uses her wits and strength to make a future for herself and eventually find an answer to her problem.
Everything about this books is exquisite and elegant. The extremely slow pace seems to be the most off putting thing about this book but Johnston spends that time building the characters, the location and the plot up until the epic ending. If you like atmospheric, character-driven reads then yes this is the book for you. If you’d rather have action and fast pace drama – you may want to look elsewhere.

[melanchalina]

Э.К. Джонстон "Сказки тысячи ночей"

8 из 10

Отзыв в моем блоге: http://beautiful-whim.blogspot.ru/2016/03/blog-post_21.html

Перевод: официальный перевод
Экранизация: нет
Жанр: фэнтези, восточное фэнтези
POV: от первого лица
Любовная линия: нет
Отличительные черты: гимн феминизму, восточная мифология, плавный язык повествования
Рекомендовано к прочтению, если вам нравятся: Рене Ахди "Гнев и Рассвет"

РЕЦЕНЗИЯ:
Арабская ночь
Волшебный восток
Здесь чары и месть, отвага и честь
Дворцы и песок.
О дивный восток! О сказочный край !
Здесь яд и булат погибель сулят
Смотри не зевай.
Хоть лукав и жесток но прекрасен восток,
Наточи свой клинок и вперед,
Пусть ковер самолет от забот унесет
На восток куда сказка зовет!

Если долго прислушиваться к шепоту вокруг, рано или поздно узнаешь правду. А пока же я скажу вам вот что: мир спасла женщина.

«Сказки тысячи ночей» - это не типичное YA фэнтези. Я бы вообще не относилась к этой книге, как Young Adult, эта книга философия, гимн феминизма, песня всем женщинам в мире. И мне грустно, потому что мне кажется, эту книгу не оценят по достоинству русские читатели. Это размеренная, спокойная и прекрасная в своем величии книга, но она не для тех, кто любит простое чтиво или книги с огромным количеством событий. Язык повествования плавный, мягкий и изящный словно кружево, в «Сказке» нет насыщенных событий, приключений и страсти, что способна разрушать города. Здесь есть магия. Она в каждом слове, тонкая и прекрасная, древняя и пугающая. Здесь есть любовь, что рождается и живет лишь в семьях.

«Сказка тысячи ночей» - это переосмысление древних восточных рассказов, известных нам, как «Тысяча и одна ночь». Хотя на самом деле, я бы не сказала, что Джонстон создала ретеллинг. Нет, скорее ее книга была вдохновлена «Ночами», потому что общей и схожей является лишь общая картина, тогда как истории совершенно разные.

Ло-Мелхиин погубил уже три сотни девушек к тому моменту, как пришел в нашу деревню выбирать себе новую жену.

Когда пыль поднимается над пустыней, жители деревни уже знают - Ло-Мелхиин пришел за новой женой.

Каждый раз все начиналось одинаково: Ло-Мелхиин выбирал одну из девушек и вез ее в свой ксар, чтобы сделать своей женой. Кто-то прожил в его покоях всего одну ночь, кто-то держался целый месяц, но в конце концов все они становились добычей пустынных воронов. Он объезжал город за городом, деревню за деревней. Угроза нависала над каждым племенем, каждой семьей. Он поступал как ребенок, который растягивает удовольствие, поедая финики по одному и смакуя каждый в поисках совершенной сладости. Но, перебирая девушек одну за другой, он ни в ком не находил того, что искал.

И героиня «Сказок» знает, кого оно выберет на этот раз. Самую прекрасную и самую яркую девушку – ее сестру.

Я боялась, что и Ло-Мелхиин увидит в лице моей сестры то самое, что так долго искал, и что ему тоже никогда не надоест.

И героиня решает не допустить этого. Мир может и не заметит ее исчезновения, но ее сестра другое дело. Ее сестра – сокровище, драгоценность и она спасет ее любой ценой, даже ценой собственной жизни и свободы.

– В моей сестре горит пламя, – сказала я, – и я не хотела, чтобы оно досталось тебе.

– Моя сестра умеет разжечь пламя в других, – продолжала я. – Ее муж может быть тишайшим человеком, пока не увидит ее. И тогда в нем загорится пламя, равное ее собственному.
– Ты так уверена в ней, – отметил он.
– Не меньше, чем в собственной душе, – подтвердила я.

Теперь вы видите? Это история не о любви мужчины и женщины. Это история о семье и двух сестрах, что готовы на все ради друг друга. Никакой зависти, никакой ненависти, только чистая любовь и верность.

Поэтому Героиня уходит к Чудовищу Ло-Мелхиин, который когда то был человеком. До того дня, как Пустынный Демон захватил его сердце и разум. До того как Монстр стал пожирать энергию и силы сотни девушек. И большинство из этих девушек прожили не больше одной ночи. Но Героиня не такая, она намеренна выжить и бороться. Она боится, не знает с чего начать, но она достаточно умна и хитра, как настоящая женщина, чтобы найти способ победить.

И не только она. Все женщины, во всех деревнях и городах. Каждая из них молится ей и шепчет «выживи, спаси нас всех». Так что да – это книга о женщинах, их сила и власти. Это не любовный роман, потому что, как женщина может любить кого-то столь темного и жестокого, как Ло-Мелхиин? Человека убившего ради силы сотни невинных девушек. Поэтому это не пересказ «Тысячи и одной ночи», это их переосмысление. Будьте готовы ко всему этому при прочтении.

Моя оценка: 8/10

[tylerrosereads]

I loved the style, very much reminiscence of 'Things fall Apart". However didn't get super good until the last forty pages. With that being said the beginning 200 pages are entertaining, just nothing super exciting happens.

[Joséphine]

Note: I received an advanced reading copy from a local distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Initial thoughts: This book, this book, this book receives a very solid 4 stars from me. Were I to compare A Thousand Nights to The Wrath and the Dawn as many a reviewer did, I would have to respectfully disagree and say that A Thousand Nights enchanted me so much more. It's 4.143 against 3.750 (yes, I use three digits after the decimal point because I average out all the various aspects that I rate).

A Thousand Nights is a very loose retelling that incorporates a lot of originality and mysticism. It conveys the notion of myths and legends extremely well as it portrays pre-Islamic beliefs through rites and prayers. Above all, the writing is beautiful.

Perhaps A Thousand Nights would do better if it was positioned as YA literary fiction. Then readers wouldn't expect conventionally high-laden plots with an infinite amount of twists. Yes, at the end I reflected upon the identities of the characters and noticed that I only knew the name of the king, Lo-Melkhiin. I didn't know the name of the protagonist, the name of king's mother, much less the names of anyone else. Everyone was referred to in terms of their relations — her father's father's father, her sister's mother (her father had married twice), her brothers' children, etc.

Given what I learnt in my anthropology courses, relations mattered a great deal to many tribes of ancient times up until today even, so all these nameless people came off as pretty authentic, despite my wish to know their names.

Do we really have to know someone's name to know someone? A name is but a label. Yes, an identity, surely. However, what do we become when we take on a pseudonym or change our names? We don't become lesser people. Our characters remain intact.

So with that, I want to submit to you, give A Thousand Nights a chance, even if so many have grieved that this book didn't sweep them off their feet. It didn't sweep me off my feet either but I developed a quiet liking for it in my heart. Not everything has to be a whirlwind to touch us.

[girlinthepages]

Very rarely do I find myself reading -and finishing- a book that was completely and totally not what I was expecting. Somehow, however, A Thousand Nights slipped through my bookish radar and when I finally got my hands on a much-coveted copy at ALA, I was somehow convinced it was going to be your average, run of the mill, Disney-washed Arabian folk tale retelling that was heavy on the Aladdin motifs (not that I'm knocking Disney, as the amount of time I spend at their parks should prove). However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book had much less in common with the overly stereotyped "Arabian Nights" theme and read much more lyrical and literary, with writing that brings a refreshingly sophisticated change of pace to the fairy tale/folk tale retelling genre.

As a religious studies major in college, the first thing that resonated with me is how the book read much more like historical fiction, calling upon seemingly realistic details to build its setting (I cannot vouch for its true authenticity, as I have not done any research into the culture/archaeology of the time and place where it is set). Family traditions and history play a huge role in the plot, as well as discussing rites of passage throughout the whole novel, an integral part of religious studies theory. Funeral rites, wedding rites, birthing rites, mourning rites, and more are not only mentioned but woven into the fabric of the tale, and I was astounded about how culturally nuanced this fantasy novel was until I discovered that the author herself is a trained archaeologist. Then things started making sense- how detailed the world is, how important rites of passage and daily rituals are to the characters, and how the storytelling felt reminiscent of a biblical or other religious story. Religious Studies scholars are often anthropologists and archaeologists of the Ancient Near East, studying the time and places and people that the religions are based upon, and I wouldn't be surprised if E.K. Johnston has done hands on research into the culture of ancient Eastern cultures herself in preparing to write this book.

Reading the Bible and other religious texts from several worldwide traditions through an anthropological and literary lens, there are certain trends that become apparent, and one of those is that of an unnamed heroine. Female biblical figures will often go unnamed yet do great actions or suffer great tragedies that are integral to a setting in motion a larger series of events. A Thousand Nights follows this pattern of ancient storytelling, keeping every single character unnamed except Lo-Melkhiin. We never even learn the protagonist's name, yet it does not diminish her strength as a character- rather it reinforces it as something as sacred and personal as a name is never shared with the reader, and yet we come to intimately know her thoughts all the same.

A Thousand Nights also featured strong feminist themes for me as a reader. Aside from the obvious connection of the protagonist being a strong female character who holds her own against a demon-king, there were many elements to the story and society that were matriarchal and focused on the importance of the female role in the community. Examples include only females in the protagonist's community could perform priestly rites and interact with the dead, Lo-Melkhiin's mother's strong association and connection with lions, and the focus on the daily household rituals, such as food making and weaving cloth, that provided stability for the caravan community and developed important bonds between caravans. I was impressed to see a story that in its description seems so problematic (a king who has killed over 300 brides) place so much importance on the female's role in the community and the agency the domestic and priestly rites afforded to only women.

When I tear my mind away from critically analyzing this book from a literary perspective, there were definitely some aspects that did and did not work for me. Though it was lyrical and purposeful in its execution, it could be extremely slow at some parts, with many quiet moments and personal introspection and nostalgia from the narrator. The narrator's chapters were prefaced by an all-italicized portion that was supposedly from the "demon" in possession of Lo'Melkhiin, and in my opinion that decision gave the novel a slight feeling of telling over showing. There is also very little romance in this story, although it seems to be marketed with a romantic emphasis, which ultimately didn't bother me much but may be a disappointment to readers expecting a love-based plot.

Overall: A Thousand Nights was not what I was expecting, but mostly in a good way. Written in a literary style that foregoes several "normal" conventions like character naming, the book focuses heavily on the female role in caravan communities and the family structure, as well as the strength of bonds between females rather than in a romantic relationship. This book can drag on, and the action sequence at the end felt rushed and crammed in, but ultimately this book was a more subtle approach to the rich world of Eastern retellings, and it's made me crave more (Any suggestions?!)This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[shannonmiz]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
Where to start with this one? Well, I will tell you that this book has three distinct phases for me. Some I liked, some I didn't, but I think it's best to go through each one individually, since that's how I felt while reading it.

One thing to note: as you might have read in other reviews, most of these characters don't have names. So instead of calling the main character "main character" over and over, she will henceforth be referred to, for the purpose of this review, as Glen Coco.

Phase One: Boredom and Wrath/Hunger Games déjà vu.

So yeah, this wasn't my favorite phase, for obvious reasons. In fact, I almost DNFed, but people said it would get better so I kept going. (They were right, but that comes later). The book starts out with this girl knowing that Lo-Melkhiin is going to be coming to her village and grabbing a new wife to kill. Clearly, no one is jumping for joy, but Glen is bound and determined to save her sister, so she is willing to be thrown into the games Lo-Melkhiin's lair if it means that her sister can live.

Obviously, she didn't want Prim to be killed, so she somehow gets Lo-Melkhiin to pick her, in ways that I didn't fully understand. And off she goes to The Capitol Lo-Melkhiin's palace, and toward her certain death. For a large portion of this, I am bored, and I don't really understand why any of this is even happening, there's not a ton of explaination as to the story itself, but a lot of random musings on desert stuff.

And eventually, they get to the palace and then... bored again. Not a whole lot happens except that she doesn't die the first day? I mean, I don't think that's even a spoiler because it says that in the synopsis, and also, talk about a short book if it was "Chapter 1: Travel to Palace" and then "Chapter 2: Dead Immediately". Now, there are quite a few similarities to The Wrath and the Dawn at this point, but I kind of expected there would be since it's based off of the same story. That could have enhanced my boredom, honestly. Maybe if I hadn't read a story with a similar beginning a few months ago, it would have been more exciting? No idea, but either way, excited I was not.

And then there was another scene that reminded me of a scene from The Hunger Games. If you've read THG, Caesar, in the interview, wants Katniss to talk about Prim. Lo-Melkhiin wants to hear about Glen's sister, in a similar fashion.

"'Tell me more about your sister', he said then. 'If you would die for her, then she must be worthy of tales.'"

So she tells Lo-Melkhiin some junk we already knew, and I seriously was going to DNF at that exact point. (Page 46, if you're keeping track.) But then the book took a bit of a turn from Wrath and from The Hunger Games, and I figured it was worth continuing.

Phase Two: Consider Me Intrigued(ish)

It's kind of a bummer, because I can't really even tell you about the good stuff, for fear of spoilers. But I will say what I can! Basically, Glen starts to learn all kinds of information as she continues to not die. She meets and talks to people around the palace, and she even ends up finding out some things about herself that she never really knew. Lo-Melkhiin's mother is introduced, and I feel like she adds a lot to the story, even though she wasn't deemed important enough for a name either. Mrs. Lo-Melkhiin? Sure. Anyway, I enjoyed the dynamics between Glen and Mrs. Lo-Melkhiin, which was an unexpected treat. I liked certain power struggles, and even the psychological aspects of trying to figure out what Lo-Melkhiin's deal was.

There's some kind of magic going on too, which I didn't completely understand (and never did, even after the end of the story), so I guess you'll have to take that for what it's worth. I didn't hate it, but I wish I hadn't been as confused by it. And this phase is still slow, though not as slow as the first 50-60 pages.

Phase Three: The Ending

Calm down, no spoilers! I don't even mean the actual end, just the last say, 10-15% of the book in general. The action started to pick up, so I got prety excited. Finally, the moment(s) we've been reading for, right? Well... no. Stuff happened, don't get me wrong! Lots of stuff, in fact, which is where my gripe lies. As glad as I was to have action, I felt like it was all squashed into a few pages, leaving me almost overwhelmed at the sheer amount of plot stuffed into the end. Especially when I was used to a very slow and meandering pace, this sudden burst of all the plot was jarring at best. This isn't a spoiler really, but some people (like me) like to know nothing involving an ending, and then some people do, so here's a quick word on that, if you are of the latter persuasion. And then when it was over, I wasn't really satisfied anyway. It was kind of too neat and tidy, considering the rest of the book.

Bottom Line: While the book overall wasn't a total bust, considering how underwhelmed I was by the start and the end, I don't quite feel like it was worth it for me. However, there are positive reviews out there too. Alyssa @ The Eater of Books really enjoyed this one, so it could be worth checking some of the positive reviews out too!

[jeannamichel]

Lo-Melkhiin is looking for a bride because he’s murdered his previous one and the wife before that and before that. His tally of murdered brides is around three hundred. It is rumored that once when King Lo-Melkhiin was hunting in the desert, he was hunted instead by a demon who sought power. He scours the villages for the bride and finds her. She seems so different than the rest, a suitable match to fit a powerful king—a powerful demon. As much as the classic—most seem to overlook—One Thousand and One Nights has always been enchanting, E.K. Johnston retells it in a gorgeous way with a supernatural twist.

E.K. Johnston created something profound, yet so simple. Readers will be hooked from the start with its quick plot. Every night, when Lo-Melkhiin joined her—even knowing the original story—I worried for her safety in surviving the night. Each morning, I would be holding my breath, wondering if she made it.

Though intentional, the absence of names irked me. Yes, readers are blessed with Lo-Melkhiin’s name but we are not given a name for our protagonist, nor anyone else. Johnston’s intent can vary between readers: an emphasis on the villain, leaving creative thinking to the readers.

The supernatural element was a surprise but interesting. A Thousand Nights circles around her, our protagonist, but I wish Johnston had told us more of Lo-Melkhiin and his daily thoughts. There was some change in perspective between chapters but not enough to quench my questions about this demon inside of him.

The plot moved quickly, enchanting readers with original and unpredictable twists and turns. It surely kept me on the edge of my seat. However, the writing, most specifically the dialogue, was disappointing. The story read like a winded monologue, as if someone was telling a tale which was both, distracting and fascinating. When there was dialogue, the monologue continued but—since there was a lack of names—the characters, instead, addressed their titles. For example, calling your sister “sister” is fine and realistic once but a bit annoying after the third or fourth consecutive sentence of “Yes, sister. I will do that, sister. You’re right, sister.”

Despite the writing, Johnston excelled in bringing the classic to life in a fresh way. A Thousand Nights forces readers to want another thousand nights, wondering what happens after the end.

[Kelly]

I'm generally a big fan of lyrical prose, but this is making my teeth ache. I tried, it's terrible. The end. DNF.