Ghaddar, o Demônio e Outros Contos Palestinos

by Sonia Nimr, Hannah Shaw (Illustrator)

As histórias populares fazem sucesso nos quatro cantos do mundo. Sejam lidas, sussurradas ao pé do ouvido ou contadas em volta da fogueira como antigamente, essas narrativas divertem adultos e crianças, e reforçam os valores e costumes dos mais diferentes povos. Neste livro, conhecemos um pouco do jeito de ser e pensar da Palestina, lugar muitas vezes misterioso para os leitores brasileiros. São nove contos folclóricos, repletos de demônios indomáveis, bichos dotados de poderes mágicos e humanos incansáveis que vão encantar a todos, para além de qualquer fronteira. As histórias deste livro foram recontadas a partir de diversas fontes da literatura árabe. O conto 'O sapato de palhaço' foi retirado de 'As mil e uma noites'.

Genres: Short Stories, Folklore, Collections, Folk Tales, Childrens, Fiction, Middle East

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 4, 2008

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first volume in a new series of children's folklore collections being put out by the British publisher Frances Lincoln, Ghaddar the Ghoul contains nine stories taken from the Palestinian tradition. Retold by Sonia Nimr, a history professor at Birzeit University, who is also involved in storytelling for children, these tales reference many classic folktale conventions of the Middle East, from the presence and involvement of djinn in human affairs, to the all-important role of storytelling itself.

Included are some epic-quest type tales, among them the titular Ghaddar the Ghoul, in which a young man named Ahmad journeys to the Valley of the Ghouls in order to confront the fearsome Ghaddar; or Dancing Jasmine, Singing Water, in which a brother's quest to provide his twin sister with all that she desires leads to their eventual reunion with their father. Also in this vein is Hasan and the Golden Feather, in which a prince sets out to "do something worthwhile" and prove himself worthy of the throne.

Quite a few of the tales end in unexpectedly humorous ways, such as The Farmer Who Followed his Dream, in which a farmer finds that following your dream has its reward; Tanbouri's Clown, in which a seemingly indestructible pair of shoes helps to teach an old miser a lesson; and Stupid Salma, in which a husband learns that his wife is by no means the stupidest person in the world. The animal tale also makes an appearance, as the reader learns "why snakes eat frogs, why swallow has a fork in his tail and why mosquitoes can't sing" in How Swallow Tricked Snake; or discovers that those who swear falsely are always punished in Hungry Wolf and Crafty Fox. Finally, in my favorite tale of the collection, I Landed at the Prince's Party, the famed female storyteller archetype makes her appearance, weaving a story that begins and ends "with a lie."

I enjoyed reading this short collection of tales, and believe that young readers would as well. The black and white illustrations by Hannah Shaw are engaging, though by no means extraordinary. The folklorist in me was very pleased, moreover, to discover that source notes were included at the end, a feature that is always helpful to those inclined to research further.

[Anneke Alnatour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely collection of Palestinian stories that the whole family enjoyed... Nice illustrations and a nice variety.

[feux d'artifice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful folktale retellings 🥰

[Niraj Khandwala · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's cute and some stories like the Tanbouris shoes and the Story loving prince were very enjoyable

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, the 100th book in the reading challenge; a book that I found in a tiny bookshop in a back street of Winchester. How can you turn down a book that starts with Ghadddar the Ghoul and his magic three hairs, and then goes on to talk about dreams, magic horses and glowing feathers, dancing jasmine and singing water, the reasons for snakes eating frogs, foxes outwitting wolves, and the wonderfully surreal story that starts and ends with lies. Great for bedtime reading; great to have more stories to add to the repertoire.

[Yumi Learner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple of days ago I read this book. The book has a lot of mythologies from an Arabic country. When I read the stories, I felt very nostalgic because the mythologies and Japanese ones were so similar. They reminded me of my mom reading me a lot of Japanese stories when I was a kid. They also reminded me of me reading my daughter them.
I like reading mythologies because they are always Falstaffian.

[Alger Smythe-Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curated collection that (by design) is a careful selection of familiar child-friendly stories from a oral tradition that is generally earthy and more violent than cute and amusing. As a gentle introduction to folk tales this book serves the reader well, but anyone with a wider exposure will find these tales over familiar and missing the best parts, the parts that make these stories timeless.

[Leonca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful, light-hearted collection full of heroes and humor. I especially enjoyed the stories featuring ghouls. It always cracks me up how quickly they turn from wanting to eat you alive to talking politely when you do something nice for them.

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun and interesting collection of folk tales. Great material for anyone interested in stepping outside the western cannon.

[Aischa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. An nice little book of Palestinian stories. Cute size;cute illustrations.

[Reham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already know most of the stories told, but never get to read them in such a book, in which they're written very beautifully and simply. I admire such works that help preserving our folk heritage.

[Shaun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun stuff. Folk tales from other cultures is always a blast to read. The only real problem I have with this collection is that it's too short.

[Emma Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming, interesting and easy read (designed for children) with nice illustrations and a witty tone.

[Chantal Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was required to read a few of these stories for my Palestinian fairy tale class. I decided to read the whole collection. The illustrations were nice. I liked a lot of these stories. Its so fascinating how many similar stories exist across cultures when they didn’t always interact with each other. A lot of these stories reminded me of European fairytales but this version was different.

[Miss Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun! i enjoy folktales and i've not read palestinian ones before. they felt familiar still, in the way different countries folktales don't repeat but do rhyme. enjoyed the sense of humor and focus on clever protagonists

4 stars

[Tanvi Prakash · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found at a metro station in Bombay, good stories and adorable illustrations.

[Shinyfluff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful charming folk tales filled with Jinn and love for land