Translated by N. J. Dawood

Right, here’s my attempt to read fictional works.

I always knew Sindbad from an old movie. It was on one of my parents’ old video cassettes, and I used to catch a glimpse at the end when trying to find something else.

Anyway, I read this, and it plays very well into my weaknesses. I have no attention span at all really, so I’m helped that the chapters are very short. Plus, the translator uses the most exquisite language; it is so beautifully worded.

Nonetheless, the age tells. As a child, I watched TV programmes in which the characters were caught in greater quandries than our hero here. Plus, it’s a very samey formula; Sindbad is shipwrecked, everyone else dies, he finds himself in some death-bringing situation, escapes it, finds a passing ship, thanks Allah, returns home, then sets out again. Bear in mind, this happens seven times!

However, as much as it seems I’m complaining, this was a fun little read. The chapters are short, there’s a certain charm to the threats that Sindbad faced and would’ve been scary in contemporary society, and it is written exquisitely.