Book review: Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp

[Rishi]

When I began reading the story I was surprised to realise that it was being told in China rather than in Arabia. I had been used to since my childhood the Disney movie version of Aladdin being set in Arabia so it was a little strange for me reading the story with its setting in China.

Unlike in the Disney version where he is an orphan, Aladdin has both a mother and father in which he is very spoilt and prefers to play instead of learning a trade with his father. His father as a result dies from shame and his mother has to learn to weave in order to survive due to Aladdin's reluctance to take up a trade.

There is a quest in this version for a magic lamp however unlike the Disney version where the genie grants only three wishes to Aladdin, in this version the genie has no limits on the number of wishes he can grant. There is also a love interest involving a princess and an evil rival who is also after the lamp due to the wishes the jinnee can grant. In the story the Jinnee appear to not seem to forge relationships with their lamp owners compared to the Disney film where the Genie becomes really close to Aladdin.

What also makes this story even more intriguing is that despite being set in China there still seems to be a sense of Arabic folklore involved due to the usage of the two jinn that are in the story. Jinn are significant in Arabic folklore tales and also exist in Islam and it is fascinating to see the contrasts between the Jinn of the ring given to him by the magician and the Jinn of the lamp.

Overall it was a refreshing read, very different to the Aladdin I knew growing up. I believe for KS1/2 children it would be a good read as it would show them who the original Aladdin actually as we often get too attached to Disney which can distort the original tale which is evident here as this tale predates the Disney version.