Storytelling Self Society praises Extraordinary Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin
from a review by Prof. Sandra Bird in Storytelling Self Society (2018)
Personally, I would categorize this work under “adult” literature. Suresha inserts a forewarning in this edition, cautioning readers “of the inappropriateness of this book for children” . . . . The themes of this work, including some outrageous behaviors on the part of our beloved character . . . are not the stuff that one generally associates with a man of a religious vocation. And yet, despite all intentions to respect Nasruddin’s function, stories such as the Mullah sending off his donkey “son” (the supposed consequence of his indulgence with his donkey, Karakacan) to become an educated scholar is ridiculously funny.
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The Mullah Nasruddin’s tradition is marked by illuminative stories that can be appropriately shared by the Imam at the Friday prayer in the masjid while another might be delivered by the boisterous pottery merchant in the tea room after prayers. Such is the stuff of real humans. The author has done an excellent job researching and adapting these stories from the originals to provide us with a better view of the unpredictable reality of human beings. The author’s roundup is exhaustive, perhaps one of the most honest of all English collections that have been published as popular Mullah Nasruddin literature.
Storytelling, Self, Society, Vol. 14, No. 1 (2018), pp. 156–160. Copyright © 2018 by Wayne State University Press, Detroit, MI 48201
Extraordinary Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
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