Ghalib Lakhnavi - The Adventures of Amir Hamza

Praise for
T HE A DVENTURES OF A MIR H AMZA

This remarkable translation is a wonder and a revelationa classic of epic literature. The story line itself is endlessly diverting and inventive, and the prose of the translation is beautifully rendered. For the modern American reader, The Adventures of Amir Hamza has importance beyond mere aesthetic enjoyment.

The New York Times Book Review

A true marvel of literary and intellectual engineering, The Adventures of Amir Hamza marks the passage of oral narrative into print and synthesizes translation, varying editions and genres into one coherent work.

The Washington Post Book World

Non-Urdu-speaking readers can at last appreciate an epic on par with anything in the Western canon. And, with luck, the classical pantheon populated by indomitable Achilles, cunning Odysseus and righteous King Arthur will now be joined by a new beloved hero: mercurial, mighty Amir Hamza, astride his winged demon steed, soaring to the heavens.

Time International

I was also bowled over by a remarkable new translation of The Adventures of Amir Hamza, the Iliad and Odyssey of the medieval Persian world: a rollicking, magic-filled heroic saga, full of myth and imagination. It is the first time it has been translated into English and it is as close as is now possible to the world of the Mughal campfirethose night gatherings of soldiers, Sufis, musicians and camp followers one sees in Mughal miniaturesa storyteller beginning his tale in the clearing of a forest as the embers of the blaze glow red and eager, firelit faces crowd around.

New Statesman, Books of the Year 2007

How wonderful that English-speaking readers now have access to one of the great classical narratives of popular Persian and Islamic culture. The universal appeal of The Adventures of Amir Hamza lies in its colorful, playful, and simply beautiful rendition of a world that is both fabulous and greatly entertaining.

A ZAR N AFISI , author of Reading Lolita in Tehran

Farooqis The Adventures of Amir Hamza is for a seasoned, patient, and curious reader. Students of world literature and Eastern languages will absolutely swoon if they are fortunate enough to receive this new translation.

The Austin Chronicle

A spectacular and literally marvelous Islamic epic that ought to be almost as often spoken of as the Tales of the 1,001 Nights.

The Buffalo News

As the first complete English translation of a medieval classic that has been in danger of neglect, this is a landmark work in its very conceptioninvaluable to students of Islamic heritage and Arabic literaturebut the excellence of its execution makes it a fantasy-adventure that can be relished by readers of all backgrounds.

Business Standard

It is indeed a wonderful book, replete with poetry, elegant turns of phrase, choice abuses, jokes, drama and suspense. Quite simply, this dastaan in any language is an antidote to the cares of this world.

India Today

The Indo-Islamic Dastan-e Amir Hamza is a rip-roaring, bawdy, magical journey into the fantastic life and exploits of Amir Hamza, the paternal uncle of the prophet Muhammad. The story is reminiscent of the tales of Homer and King Arthur and The Arabian Nights. Farooqis English translation from the Urdu is masterful. Destined to become a classic.

Library Journal

Captivating A must-have for serious Near Eastern collections and fans of epic literature from any culture.

Booklist

A refreshing and eminently readable translation, a gem of exceptional brilliance a piece of fantastic literature.

M UHAMMAD U MAR M EMON , professor of Urdu, Persian, and Islamic studies, University of Wisconsin

There is simply no other book in the history of literature quite like The Adventures of Amir Hamza. Part romance, part morality play, part trickster fable, this is traditional story-telling at its poetic height.

R EZA A SLAN , author of No god but God:
The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam

Extraordinary. Farooqi has translated into English what most of us thought was untranslatable. The adventures of Hamza have beguiled readers in many languages for centuries. This translation from Urdu should interest all students of Eastern literatures.

C. M. NAIM, professor emeritus of Urdu Studies, University of Chicago

Possibly one of the most important fantasy events of the year Farooqis energetic and stylish translation captures brilliantly the insouciant delights of the storytellers voice, and gives us a highly readable version of a major work of world literature that few of us even knew about. The Modern Library has done us a big favor.

Locus

What a find it is! Farooqis translation is both elegant and earthy. One is tempted to think that only a malevolent enchantress of great power could have kept The Adventures of Amir Hamza from a mainstream American audience for so long.

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

The translation by Musharraf Ali Farooqi is a bravura performance. Nothing that readers in India, or elsewhere, have read would have prepared them for its lightness, deftness and frothiness.

Hindustan Times

Stupendous a major achievement & Farooqi has opened a window to a very different world.

Calcutta Telegraph

2012 Modern Library Paperback Edition

Translation copyright 2007 by Musharraf Ali Farooqi
Abridgement copyright 2012 by Musharraf Ali Farooqi

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Modern Library, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

M ODERN L IBRARY and the T ORCHBEARER Design are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

This abridgement is based on the 2007 edition of The Adventures ofAmir Hamza by Ghalib Lakhnavi and Abdullah Bilgrami, translated by Musharraf Ali Farooqi, published by Modern Library, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-0-679-60389-4

www.modernlibrary.com

Cover design: Gabrielle Bordwin
Cover painting: V&A Images, Victoria and Albert Museum

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