Description
Translated from the original Persian by Freydoon Rassouli and adapted by Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner, this timeless masterwork can now be enjoyed by English-speaking readers. A thrilling and suspenseful saga, Samak the Ayyar also offers a vivid portrait of Persia a thousand years ago. Within an epic quest narrative teeming with action and supernatural forces, it sheds light on the lives of ordinary people and their social worlds. This is the first complete English-language version of a treasure of world culture. The translation is grounded in the twelfth-century Persian text while paying homage to the dynamic culture of storytelling from which it arose.
About the Author
Freydoon Rassouli is an artist, author, and translator whose books include Fusionart, Rumi Revealed, and The Book of Creativity. His artworks have been exhibited widely, and he painted two major street murals in Venice, California, and downtown Los Angeles.
Jordan Mechner is a New York Times best-selling author, screenwriter, graphic novelist, and game designer. He is the creator of Prince of Persia, one of the world's most successful video game franchises, which he also adapted as a feature film. His books include the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Templar (2013).
Reviews
This ancient Persian tale of adventure and romance comes to marvelous life in Jordan Mechner's fluent, fast-paced rendering of Freydoon Rassouli's modern translation. Epic in its sweep and human passions, it conjures a captivating world of warriors, princesses, renegades, viziers and witches. A treasure of world literature to place beside Gilgamesh, The Odyssey and the Thousand and One Nights. -- Eric Jager, author of The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France
This medieval Persian romance which enjoys enormous popularity in the Persian-speaking world is translated in a very attractive way, following the Persian technique of storytelling. Conveying the spirit of the original, Mechner and Rassouli are an exceptional match to carry out this difficult task. Samak the Ayyar will attract a broad readership with different cultural backgrounds. -- Asghar Seyed-Gohrab, author of Courtly Riddles: Enigmatic Embellishments in Early Persian Poetry
[F]ast-paced, exciting narratives which retain the interest of the readers and make them wish for more . . . highly recommended. * Asian Review of Books *
The text while being very simple and close to spoken language is of particular interest due to the large number of rare and archaic Persian words. * Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies *
The first major English-language rendering of these tales, Samak reveals a charmed world fit for a blockbuster HBO series, but more than that, it shows a sweep of heroism, betrayal, and friendship worthy of Gilgamesh or the Odyssey. -- Kevin Blankinship * Los Angeles Review of Books *
Book Information
ISBN 9780231198790
Author Freydoon Rassouli
Format Paperback
Page Count 464
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press