It is peculiarly pleasant, I have found, to lie with the book propped up against the knees and, feeling the lids grow heavy, to drift off to sleep, to drift off in such a way that in the morning it seems unclear where the burden of the book ended and my own dreams began.

Though the art of reading is not widespread in these parts, I confess myself to be a devotee of the practice and, in particular, of reading in bed. “ fascination for inner perception, helped along with a delight in Scheherazadian frames and exotic lore, makes for quite a rich experience: a strangely playful construct that, like an intricate Chinese box, delights with each unexpected combination and hidden drawer.” - Kirkus Reviews Read moreįor a long time I used to go to bed early. “ The Arabian Nightmare is a conceit worthy of Borges.” - The New York Times

The smooth steely grip of Irwin’s story-telling genius is a joy to read.” - The Washington Post The result is a thought-provoking puzzle box of sex, philosophy, and theology, reminiscent of Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco. He narrates a complex tangle of dreams and imaginings that describe an atmosphere constantly shifting between sumptuously learned experiences, erotic adventure, and dry humor. The hero and guiding force of this epic fantasy is an insomniac young man who, unable to sleep, guides the reader through the narrow streets of Cairo-a mysterious city full of deceit and trickery. He has been highly critical of Edward Said‘s Orientalism, Other linksįall of orientalism Arab and Islamic scholarship is dying in the west.A cult classic that “combines the genres of travelogue, fable, dream narrative, novel and confessional into one beguiling whole” ( Publishers Weekly ). he has written both fiction and non-fiction, including works on the Arabian Nights and Middle East history. He is currently a Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African Studies and the Middle East editor of The Times Literary Supplement. He then became a full-time writer, while teaching part-time. He then became a lecturer in medieval history at the University of St. He converted to Islam and spent some time in a dervish monastery in Algeria. He started a thesis on the Mamluk reconquest of the Crusader states but never finished it. He read modern history at Oxford University and then did graduate research at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

The arabian nightmare by robert irwin