From one of the world's most acclaimed contemporary Arab writers: a sparkling new translation of twenty mesmerizing tales from the beloved masterpiece. The original tales of the One Thousand and One Nightswere framed as stories told by the young queen Shahrazad to her murderous husband each night in order to save her life. Lebanese writer Hanan al-Shaykh has selected twenty of the stories, translated them into modern English, and knitted them together into one cohesive narrative that is not only a perfect introduction to this Eastern classic, but also an impressive work of literature in its own right.