very very fun, but most of it is recycled from her novels

books:


	• The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye A.S. Byatt Vintage, 1998 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 24 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

a lovely book

These five stories are told with the shimmering grace and ephemeral colors A.S. Byatt readers have come to expect. And as such, these five realistic fairy tales for adults will surely not disappoint. But these tales are, in some way, something more. Written in different times and for different reasons, they nonetheless "hang together" almost as one whole fairy tale about love, dream, story-telling and the many different ways we have of being free. Free to live our own lives, comfortable with themselves, their worlds, and their selves. Free to know we are, indeed, quite special after all.

I highly recommend this book.

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Beautiful fairty tales for adults!

A.S Byatt is one of the most talented and brilliant writers today. The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye is an engaging collection of adult fairy tales that are a delight to read. Byatt has a wonderful way with the English language. Her writing is delicate and precise without being too precious. "The Story of the Eldest Princess," "The Glass Coffin," and "Dragon's Breath" are my favorites. Byatt has such incredible range and depth, and it shows in this fine short story collection. This is not a large volume, there are only five stories here, but it's a wonderful way to spend a few hours transported into other worlds by an extremely talented writer. Highly recommended...

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very very fun, but most of it is recycled from her novels

So far as I can tell, the Djinn story is the only original thing in this book. The other stories are lifted from her novels in truncated form, kind of pasted in to inflate the size into a book rather than the single story of the title; this is a bit cheap.

Nonetheless, the quality of the Djinn story is simply exceptional, a five-star performance that is perceptive, funny, hopeful, and sad. The protagonist is a middle-aged divorcee, whose entire life is displayed in a single magical instant that transforms her - but not her fate. The images are fabulously well drawn, unforgettable really, and will remain engraved in my memory for the rest of my life. Moreover, the subtlety of the encounter with the supernatural is full of delicious ambiguities and a peek into the fantastic that is one of the best I have ever encountered. I loved it, laughed, and felt wonder all at the same moment.

So I would warmly recommend this book, so long as the reader knows that the rest of it is somewhat disappointing.

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A.S. Byatt, weaver of magical tales

A.S. Byatt, latter day Sheherazade; Byatt holds the spell to the last page of the story.

This book contains one of the finest novellas in English

If I could give this book 10 stars for the novella "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye", I certainly would. I think it is one of the three finest short stories in the English language along with Isak Dineson's "Babette's Feast" and Paul Bowles'"Delicate Prey".

Two thirds of the book are devoted to this novella. There are 4 short stories that make up the other third of the book. These stories: The Glass Coffin, Gode's Story, Tale of the Eldest Princess, and Dragon's Breath, are very well constructed adult fairy tales and well worth reading.

However "The Dijinn in the Nightingale's Eye" is exceptional. In this story, Gillian, a middleaged scholar is in Istanbul for a conference of experts on myths, legends, and fairy tales. Her husband has divorced her after their two daughters had grown and left home. From here the story starts to spin story within story in rich overlays of meaning and metaphor. Gillian is an expert in wishes since she is an expert in fairy tales. The wisdom of her three wishes drives the tale. We are treated to an interpretation of one of Chaucer's tales as well as a re-telling of Gilgamesh.

I am certain that rich feminist interpretations are possible, considering the images of the role of women that change throughout the book. The characters go to St. Sophia (named after the feminine aspect of the Holy Spirit) where they put their finger into a hole in a marble column that remains forever moist.

The writing was very erotic for a fairy tale. The Djinn appears nude in Gillian's hotel room, he is 20 times larger than a human, as are his genitals. Byatt then tales us of the overpowering smell of masculinity coming from this handsome giant creature.

The Djinn tells tales of his 1000 year existence in the courts of Arab kings. His tales of love reveal that his heart is as mature as the heart of Gillian, making them a wonderful match for the adventures they undergo.

I was thoroughly entertained with the wisdom of each of Gillian's three wishes and her ability to string out these three wishes as she gained more knowledge of the Djinn. It is her final wish that reveals the ultimate power in the Universe, at least from my perspective. Maybe this is why I was so captivated by Byatt's wonderful novella.

I read the novella twice over the last 5 years and it remains unforgettable for me. I can not recommend it more strongly.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

The magnificent title story of this collection of fairy tales for adults describes the strange and uncanny relationship between its extravagantly intelligent heroine--a world renowned scholar of the art of story-telling--and the marvelous being that lives in a mysterious bottle, found in a dusty shop in an Istanbul bazaar. As A.S. Byatt renders this relationship with a powerful combination of erudition and passion, she makes the interaction of the natural and the supernatural seem not only convincing, but inevitable.

The companion stories in this collection each display different facets of Byatt's remarkable gift for enchantment. They range from fables of sexual obsession to allegories of political tragedy; they draw us into narratives that are as mesmerizing as dreams and as bracing as philosophical meditations; and they all us to inhabit an imaginative universe astonishing in the precision of its detail, its intellectual consistency, and its splendor.

"A dreamy treat.... It is not merely strange, it is wondrous."
--Boston Globe

"Alternatingly erudite and earthy, direct and playful.... If Scheherazade ever needs a break, Byatt can step in, indefinitely."
--Chicago Tribune

"Byatt's writing is crystalline and splendidly imaginative.... These [are] perfectly formed tales."
--Washington Post Book World

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