DAMASCUS NIGHTS

Set in Damascus in 1959 and told as a collection of stories, this novel recalls memories of the ancient past and past glories of Syria as they fade in the face of modernism. By the author of A Hand Full of Stars.

Damascus-born, Germany-based children's writer Schami delivers an occasionally charming but more often unmoving tale of Arabian nights and a determined effort to help a master yarnspinner regain his lost ability to speak. In 1950's Damascus, Salim the old coachman had a well-earned reputation as a fabulous storyteller--before his good fairy deserted him and left him mute and inconsolable. His friends rally around to find a cure, proposing that he drink seven wines and cross seven mountains to sleep in seven foreign cities, but to no avail, before hitting on a plan to spend seven evenings together, with each of them telling Salim his own tale. Teacher Mehdi speaks of Shafak the carpenter's helper, who once told him of why he faithfully watched two stars chasing each other; Junis the caf‚ owner recounts his wondrous childhood, and his sadness at having betrayed a good-hearted benefactor who minted his own money; Tuma the emigrant shares some of his adventures in America, which included trying to barter in a New York department store; Faris the ex-minister puts his listeners to sleep with a tale of a king who wanted a son and who lost his hearing because of his single- mindedness. Finally, the locksmith brings his wife to speak in his stead, and Fatmeh's story of a woman whose voice enchanted a monster in his lair proves the charm that breaks Salim's silence. The magic of the various tales is undermined when the speakers revert to their ordinary selves--but the moments when the spell holds are binding indeed. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

This wonderful book is enlightening and endearing, witty and wise. Salim the coachman tells enchanting tales, but suddenly he is struck dumb. Just as Scheherazade told tales to save her life, Salim's friends must spin yarns to save his speech. Set in Damascus in 1959, the novel alternates the real lives of our storytellers with stories from the distant past. These are neither fables nor fairy tales with everlasting, happy endings, and they often require readers to suspend their disbelief. Each chapter is preceded by a one-line hint of what is to come, such as "How one person's true story was not believed, whereas his most blatant lie was." The author ( A Hand Full of Stars , Dutton Children's Books, 1990), who is a professional storyteller in Germany, has written a book appropriate for both adults and young adults. It is also a terrific book to read aloud. Highly recommended for all fiction collections.
- Olivia Opello, Onondaga Cty. P.L., Syracuse, N.Y.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.