In Arabian nights

Firstly I am a fan of Tahir Shah's writing, so this was always going be a good review from me. I enjoyed this book a lot – and having read other reviews it is clear the book is polarising – many didn't enjoy it.
There are some things to consider. There is a bit of ‘never let the truth get in the way of a good story' going on here, and there are a number of suggestions within the writing that some liberties have been taken. This is also a book about stories, so while it is autobiographical, it contains a lot of fiction – “learning stories” mostly.

It is also a nod to ‘The Thousand and One Nights', (AKA the ‘Arabian Nights' or ‘Alf Layla wa Layla'), not just in its title, but in it form and character. The form of the book is 25 chapters, but each chapter is broken up into smaller sections – sometimes a paragraph, sometime a few pages – and the story jumps around (a lot) from the current narrative, to the authors childhood, then a story, then to a past event, then back again. This makes it sound disjointed, but it reads as smooth transitions, and the overall narrative flows well.

The other consideration is Shah's descriptive writing about the physical spaces in Morocco (mostly Casablanca, Fez and Marrakesh). For me this is very successful – he describes fantastically well, invoking a real sense of the places he describes with his use of rich and atmospheric writing. It just brings out the vibrancy and the activity of the scenery, the markets, the public squares, the people.

I had purposely left this book on the self for a fairly long time after reading The Caliph's house. The two books cover some similar ground - the author's relationship with the Guardians, their constant fear of Jinns, and ‘life in Morocco'. I think I benefited from this delay. Essentially, the primary plotline of the book is the author looking for ‘the story inside himself', and along the way to stimulate the oral tradition of storytelling. There is also a lot of autobiographical information about the author, and particularly his father (Idries Shah - also a well known author and teller of stories), and the importance of tradition.

I really like the blurb (which I think comes from the hardcover edition, as it is not the one on my paperback edition), I think it really describes the book well - Steeped in history, Morocco is a kingdom of rich textures, aromatic spices and magical beliefs - a vibrant bridge between the Orient and the Occident. And arriving there can be like stepping into the world of A Thousand and One Nights: a place ruled by ancient codes of honour, duty, chivalry, respect - values that have been handed down from generation to generation through the telling of stories. Long fascinated by this, Tahir Shah explores his adoptive country in a way that has never been done before: observing it from the inside out, through this ancient use of stories as teaching tools. Journeying from Casablanca to the tourist hot spot of Marrakech and the holy city of Fez, from Tangier in the north to Ouarzazate and on south into the Sahara, he goes in search of Morocco's stories and along the way meets a host of remarkable characters and is left wondering whether we in the West might yet be able to reconnect with the wisdom this tradition and these tales have to offer. Always entertaining and eloquent, Shah shines fresh and original light on this ancient, vital part of the world.

5 stars. For me this is everything that the Storyteller of Marrakesh never came close to achieving.