Synopses & Reviews
The great national epic of Persiathe most complete English-language edition Wherever Persian influence has spread, the stories of the Shahnameh become deeply embedded in the culture, as their appearance in such novels as The Kite Runner amply attests. Among the greatest works of world literature, this prodigious narrative, composed by the poet Ferdowsi in the late tenth century, tells the story of pre-Islamic Iran, beginning in the mythic time of creation and continuing forward to the Arab invasion in the seventh century. The sweep and psychological depth of the Shahnameh is nothing less than magnificent. Now one of the greatest translators of Persian poetry, Dick Davis, presents Ferdowsis masterpiece in an elegant combination of prose and verse.
Review
"One...of the world's great stories, in immensely attractive and reader-friendly form. Essential reading." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Davis's wonderful translation will show Western readers why Ferdowsi's masterpiece is one of the most revered and most beloved classics in the Persian world." Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner
Review
"A magnificent accomplishment...[Davis's translation] is not only the fullest representation of Ferdowsi's masterpiece in English but the best." The New York Sun
Review
"The Shahnameh has much in common with the blood-soaked epics of Homer and with Paradise Lost and The Divine Comedy....[An] exquisite blend of poetry and prose." The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
The great national epic of Persia the most complete English-language edition.
Wherever Persian influence has spread, the stories of the Shahnameh become deeply embedded in the culture, as their appearance in such novels as The Kite Runner amply attests. Among the greatest works of world literature, this prodigious narrative, composed by the poet Ferdowsi in the late tenth century, tells the story of pre-Islamic Iran, beginning in the mythic time of creation and continuing forward to the Arab invasion in the seventh century. The sweep and psychological depth of the Shahnameh is nothing less than magnificent. Now one of the greatest translators of Persian poetry, Dick Davis, presents Ferdowsi's masterpiece in an elegant combination of prose and verse.
Synopsis
A new translation of the late-tenth-century Persian epic follows its story of pre-Islamic Iran's mythic time of Creation through the seventh-century Arab invasion, tracing ancient Persia's incorporation into an expanding Islamic empire. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.
Synopsis
The great national epic of Persiathe most complete English-language edition Wherever Persian influence has spread, the stories of the Shahnameh become deeply embedded in the culture, as their appearance in such novels as The Kite Runner amply attests. Among the greatest works of world literature, this prodigious narrative, composed by the poet Ferdowsi in the late tenth century, tells the story of pre-Islamic Iran, beginning in the mythic time of creation and continuing forward to the Arab invasion in the seventh century. The sweep and psychological depth of the Shahnameh is nothing less than magnificent. Now one of the greatest translators of Persian poetry, Dick Davis, presents Ferdowsis masterpiece in an elegant combination of prose and verse.
About the Author
Abolqasem Ferdowsi was born in Khorasan in a village near Tus in 940. His great epic,
Shahnameh, was originally composed for the Samanid princes of Khorasan. Ferdowsi died around 1020 in poverty.
Dick Davis is currently professor of Persian at Ohio State University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. His translations from Persian include The Lion and the Throne, Fathers and Sons, Sunset of Empire: Stories from the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi, Vols. I, II, III.