BookBrowse Reviews Every Rising Sun by Jamila Ahmed

BookBrowse:

An enthralling retelling of The Arabian Nights from the perspective of the storyteller Shaherazade.

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When Shaherazade discovers Fataneh Khatun, wife of the Malik, in the midst of an adulterous liaison, she makes a choice that will upend not only her life and Fataneh's, but countless others across the Seljuk Empire. With an anonymous note, Shaherazade reveals the Khatun's betrayal to her husband.

The Malik's response is brutal. Not only does he execute Fataneh, but he remarries, and on the morning after their wedding, has his innocent new bride beheaded. Two more girls are married and murdered before Shaherazade volunteers to wed the Malik. Though terrified, she has a plan—the night of her wedding, she begins to tell a story. When the sun rises with the story unfinished, she stops, and so the Malik must let her live another day if he wants to know the end.

From this setup that will sound familiar to many, Jamila Ahmed's beautiful retelling of The Arabian Nights proceeds to focus on the storyteller's own journey in addition to the tales she spins. Throughout the book she must navigate dangers from both within and outside her household. The Malik's murder of two innocent girls has led to unrest in Bam, their capital city. Simultaneously, the threat of invasion by either the Turkic Oghuz tribe or the Christians' crusade grows ever nearer. Shaherazade is forced to balance the intelligence and political maneuvering essential to protecting her kingdom with the need to avoid triggering her husband's anger or suspicion. Her relationship with the Malik is skillfully portrayed. Even tender moments possess an undercurrent of tension—neither Shaherazade or the reader can forget what he has done and the danger she is in. She begins from a place of childish infatuation, sure she can save him from himself, and slowly grows disillusioned as she finds him to be a flawed and selfish man.

Equally well-written are her relationships with the women around her: Dunya, her beloved younger sister, who sees both her strengths and flaws more clearly than anyone; Mahperi, who Shaherazade has known since childhood, now traveling under her protection as Khatun; and even the memory of Fataneh, who Shaherazade found cold and frightening in life but whose death comes to haunt Shaherazade as her understanding grows.

Interspersed throughout the book are the stories Shaherazade tells the Malik. For a retelling of The Arabian Nights to work, these would have to be just as captivating as the original tales, and they don't disappoint. I was almost as invested in the fate of Jauhara and her family, some of the tales' main characters, as I was in Shaherazade's. There is a distinct shift in tone between Shaherazade's own story and the ones she tells—Shaherazade's world feels complicated and real, with petty conflicts and injustices that cannot be redressed, whereas her stories are fantastical, full of demonic threats defeated through cleverness and faith.

From the beauty of the Caliph's palace to the horror of the Third Crusade, the medieval Islamic world is richly depicted. Ahmed brings to life both the everyday details of 12^th-century Persia and the people, places and events that still echo through history, all from a point of view not often seen in Western literature. Every Rising Sun builds on the framework of a beloved classic to create a brilliant new story that captures both the joys and sorrows of womanhood, storytelling and Islamic history.

This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in September 2023, and has been updated for the August 2024 edition. Click here to go to this issue.