my Space edition - in a different 4mat

Dear Reader,

As a treat for you, I've made a video version of my annual 'my space edition' bookshelf tour.

Don't forget to subscribe to my channel and follow me on twitter: @Bookaholic786.

Nida

Ramadan Reviews

Dear Reader,

In the continued spirit of Ramadan, I thought I'd write short reviews for the books I've been reading this month.

Review 1: 

Ameena's Ramadan Diary by Sara Kabil & Abu Bakr El-Banna

This is basically a self help guide disguised as a young woman's experience. It begins 6 weeks before Ramadan with helpful tips in preparing for Ramadan and then during Ramadan how to make the the most of it, productively and spiritually. Each entry is supported by Ayat from the Qur'an of authentic Hadith. The best bit however, I feel, is the Ramadan File at the back which can be revisited year after year.

This is a great book for new Muslims, with it's explanations, glossary and transliterations of Du'as. But it can also be really helpful for any Muslim who wishes to take advantage of all the opportunities that Ramadan presents.    

Review 2: 

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

This is Marjane Satrapi's autobiography that begins in Iran in the 1980's and tells the story of her unforgettable childhood, coming of age within a large and loving family in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution; of the contradictions between private life and public life in a country plagued by political upheaval; of her high school years in Vienna facing the trials of adolescence far from her family; of her homecoming--both sweet and terrible; and, finally, of her self-imposed exile from her beloved homeland.

However, what sets this book apart from other autobiographies is that it is also a graphic novel. The black and white drawing style is rather cute and very easy to read, though sometimes the only way to distinguish between people was there hairstyle. This can become confusing at times if you put it down for long periods of time and don't read the book all at once. 

I really liked the first half of this book, "The Story of a Childhood". Being a graphic novel it was, in my reading experience, a unique way to tell one's own story of oppression and war, while still maintaining an imaginative, light and humorous tone.  Despite the fact that there were some things in this book that I didn't really agree with (e.g. the depiction of God), I do not dispute that this is the truth as Marjane Satrapi experienced it, which opened up a whole new perspective for me. However, it must be taken with a grain of salt, as I hope that anyone reading this book will recognise that this is a story about living under an extremist regime, just like Nazi Germany or Russia under Stalin; regimes that will use any excuse to oppress people, and that it is not reflection of what the Islamic Religion is all about.

Nevertheless, the second half of this book "The Story of a Return", was a thorough disappointment and so different to what the first half set it up to be. The tone of the story became so bleak and self-pitying that I could no longer bring myself to care much for Satrapi's depiction of herself and it felt like a chore just to finish the book off. I doubt I would recommend this book to anyone for any reason, other than the novelty of being an autobiography in the form of a comic book/graphic novel.   

Review 3: 

The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson

This is also an autobiography and, as the sub-title so precisely summaries, it is the memoir of how a young American women's journey led to Islam and Love. Born into an atheist family, Willow Wilson actually begins telling the story of her life from an unusual point; while in her second year Boston University she was hospitalised for an acute reaction to medication and then suffered through adrenal distress for many months. It is during this time that she begins philosophising and contemplating the existence of God and what God means to her. And of all the major religions, her ideas about the Divine are confirmed in the Qur'an. After that, she began studying Arabic and Islam but resisted conversion to Islam until she was given the opportunity to word as a teacher in Cairo.

However, it is while she is in Cairo that her story becomes truly interesting, as she is torn between the secular West and the Muslim East. In The Butterfly Mosque, Wilson records her intensely personal struggle to forge a "third culture” that might accommodate her own values without compromising the friends and family on both sides of the divide. Though not always chronologically, Wilson tells her story in such an enchanting and contemplative manor that I could not help but cheer her on as she overcame one hardship after another.   

On a personal note, I could sympathise a lot with a the author when she wrote about moving to Egypt and navigating the great chasm between the American and Egyptian cultures; i.e. the East and the West. But while she was new to all of this, I feel like I've become an Old Pro. Being born a British-Asian Muslim I have spent me whole life in this "interworld". My entire existence lies in the "little fissures between East and West", as the author so eloquently put it, and thus I have become quite adept at finding the right balance, or the middle ground so to speak.    

But coming back to the book itself, I did not want The Butterfly Mosque to end. I wanted to continue on this journey with the Willow Wilson, I wanted to know what her life was like when she moved back to the USA, how did she and her husband adjust? I wanted to know her thoughts on/experience of the Arab Spring (2010-2011) and how she came up with the idea for her graphic novel Cairo? But more than any of that, turning the last page of this book felt like standing in Departures at an airport, saying goodbye to a beloved friend. 

I can say with complete confidence that The Butterfly Mosque is now among my favourite books, right beside Love in a Headscarf by Shelina Z. Janmohamed. At present, I'm greatly looking forward to reading Wilson's latest urban-fantasy novel: Alif the Unseen, which promises to be unlike anything I've read yet.  

Nida

What's the deal with Ramadan?

Dear Reader,

With Ramadan 2013 coming to a close, and since I haven't written a decent blog post in a shamefully long while now, I thought I'd answer a question I've been asked a few time and explain what Ramadan is all about. This can be helpful especially if you, dear reader, are not a Muslim.

Ramadan is the name of the 9th month in the Islamic Calendar and it was during this month, almost 1450 years ago, that the Qur'an was first revealed to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). That is why Ramadan is a sacred month and is also known as the month of the Qur'an. So, as a way of celebration, in this month Muslims try to read as much of the Qur'an as possible, as well as fasting from dawn to dusk for 29/30 days. This means we are not supposed to eat or drink anything, not even water, and abstain from sexual interactions, during the daylight hours (no drugs or smoking either). This is known as the physical fast. 

The second level of fasting is the mental fast where we should: 

1. restrain our tongues from gossiping, lying and using foul language, 
2. guard our eyes and ears from seeing/watching and hearing/listening to inappropriate and obscene things,
3. restrain our feet and hands from committing sin (e.g. hitting someone) 
4. and most importantly preventing yourself from getting angry. 

There is also the spiritual fast which is the highest level of fasting, in which we try and detach ourselves from the material world. This involves not just performing acts of charity, truly forgiving those who have previously wronged you, abstaining from unworthy and materialistic thoughts, desires and wishes, but also includes spending time in the remembrance of God, reading the Qur'an and contemplating the perfection of His Oneness (Tawhid). 

If performed correctly and with good intentions, the three levels of fasting should help us Muslims develop our God Conciousness (Taqwa), i.e. being aware that God is everywhere, watching us always, nothing is hidden from Him, everything that happens is by His Will and that one day we will all return to Him and be judged by Him.

The purpose of fasting during Ramadan is made clear in the second Chapter (Surah) of the Qur'an:

The month of Ramadan (is that) in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights (the new moon of) the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill  or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and (wants) for you to complete the period, and glorify Allah (Takbir) for that to which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful. [2:185] 

There are many things that can be taken away from this verse (Ayat) but I want to focus on the last three:

1. Glorify Allah: thus the first purpose of fasting in this month is to spend time in the glorification and remembrance of Allah, which is called Dhikr or Tasbeeh and is an essential part of the spiritual fast.  
2. He has Guided you: the second purpose is to celebrate and recite the guidance that Allah has given us; the Noble Qur'an.  
3. be Grateful: and finally giving Allah His due gratitude for all that He has given us. Going without food and water provides us with a glimpse into what life must be like for the homeless and hungry poor. There are no words to describe the relief and appreciation I have felt for a sip of water after a long hot day of fasting. This sort of experience drives action to encourage self-less charity and help those less fortunate. But, as a reminder to me before anyone else, the words used in the ayat: "perhaps you will be grateful" suggest that despite all that I've said above, gratitude towards Allah for His innumerable blessings is often forgotten and because of this I believe that this final purpose is the most important. Alhumdulillah. 

May God forgive me for any omissions or mistakes in my explanation.

Nida        

Ramadan 2013

Dear Reader,

And courtesy of QuranWeekly, here are some tips on how to make most of Ramadan:

Click to read the details.

I pray that all my brothers & sisters in Islam have a productive Ramadan that brings them closer to Allah.

Nida  

Poetry Inspired by Literature #1

Dear Reader,

If you love poetry, then I have a small surprise for you. A recitation of one of my favourite poems, written by yours truly. Enjoy:

It occurred to me during the editing that "sing-songy" isn't an actual word. But meh *shrugs shoulders* I have poetic licence. 

Anyway, click here if your interested in owning a copy of the under-appreciated Tale From the Perilous Realm. Plus, you must let me know if you want to hear more poetry inspired by literature,  and don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel (which, long ago, belonged to my little brother). 

Nida

Beautiful Book Covers Tag

Dear Reader,

You may remember that a few posts ago I wrote that me and cameras and I don't get along to well. But then I watched this book tag created by theheavyblanks and on an impulse I decided to be brave and face the camera again when making a response. So, yep, I made a youtube video. Its my first ... ever. Here it is. I hope you enjoy it, dear reader. If not, your welcome to tell me how I can improve if I ever decide to make another.    

Nida

Once more: meeting Maggie

Dear Reader,

A few weekends ago, Maggie Stiefvater came back to London for a book signing. It has been a while and she's come out with a couple of new books (3 to be exact) in the mean time. And so of course, I went to see her again (aside: if you  don't remember the last time, dear Reader, then just click here) to get the new ones signed too. Because it was such short notice, I wasn't able to coerce any of my friends to come with me (they're all busy with their fancy jobs or are preparing for exams) so I took my younger brother, Codename: Monkey, with me instead. I just want to take a moment now to say thanks to Waterstones for arranging the whole thing in their gorgeous store and for having such friendly staff, who took the picture below.

We talked a bit about her blog, writing and finding critique partners. I also gave her one of my favourite books as a gift (its the pink/purple book that can be seen in the picture above). It's Shelina Z. Janmohamed's autobiography, the only book I've read  recently that I think define's me as a person and what I believe in. Maggie really appreciated the gift and I hope she enjoys it as much as I did.

Maggie's latest book is Raven Boys, which I'm sure I've mentioned before on this blog. I didn't own a copy of it so buying that, and a few other books (I couldn't help it), was the first thing I did when I got there.

And this is what it looks like on the inside:

Anyway, since I was among the first few to get me books signed, I also received this little specially drawn and signed Raven:

I wasn't really sure what I was meant to do with it, so I turned it into a book mark, complete with red beads and a black-heart...

And then wrote the date of the signing on the back...

I haven't read Raven Boys yet. Let me know if you, dear reader, have and what you thought of it or if you plan to read it. If you have no idea what the Raven Boys is about, here's the trailer that Maggie Stiefvater made, I think it was last year.

After the signing, my sweet not-so-little Monkey gave me a treat for being the bestest, most nicest sister in the world (my words, not his). He had bought tickets so the two of us could go watch the new Oz: the Great and Powerful on the cinema within that shopping centre. It's a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, which had been one of my favourites as a child. Oz: the Great and Powerful was a surprisingly fun film and exceeded my expectation (though they weren't all that high to begin with), and I generally ended up having a great time. 

Nida

bookshelf Scavenger Hunt tag

Dear Reader,

The tag was created by TheLibraryofSarah on Youtube and the one I watched was supersushipizza. The idea is to basically find books on your bookshelf(ves) that fit a certain criteria, and there might be something about not using the same book twice. So usually on these sort of youtube tags, one is supposed to make a video response if one is tagged init but it looked like fun and, like Susheela (supersushipizza), I like living "on the edge" and so I've turned this youtube tag into a blogging one. 

1) Find an author's name with the letter 'Z' in it. 

I can only think of one very handsome one for now.

2) Find a Classic 

Easy-peazy.  I've got an entire shelf dedicated to my favourite classics. But for the purpose of this tag, I'm going to choosing the classic I'm reading this month. 

3) Find a book with a key on it. 

I cannot believe how hard this was. I know that the American cover of Bitterblue, by Kritin Cashore, has keys on it, and that my UK version has keys drawn in it, but has none on the cover.

Then, after much searching, I found a key on this, of all places. And yes that's a key, even if it's attached to a bird.

4) Find something on your bookshelf that is not a book. 

I have several bookmarks, knick-knacks and photos, comfortably residing in and amongst my books. The thing I'm choosing to show you is one that I mentioned before, my teacher's pet 13th birthday present. I keep it as a reminder of how I was a nerd and always will be, (plus he's super cute).    

5) Find the oldest book on your shelf. 

This was a tough one. I had to check a lot of publication dates before I this edition, which came out in 1986. This book originally belonged to my dad until I needed it for a history assignment, back when I was doing my GCSEs. It's been in my room since then.  

6) Find a book with a girl on it. 

I have quite a few of those but I went for one of my favourite books with favourite covers, with a girl on them. 

7) Find a book that has an animal in it. 

I immediately thought of the Disreputable dog in Lireal by Garth Nix. (Only later did Aslan come to mind) 

There is even a dog on the cover. See, right here on the corner.

8) Find a book with a male protagonist. 

At first I thought of Harry Potter but then thought it was a bit cliché and I've already used a HP book once already. So I went for this one instead. 

9) Find a book with illustrations in it. 

All the books in my copy of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis have illustrations in them.

But I've only taken a picture of my favourite illustration from the first book, The Magician's Nephew. 

10) Find a book with gold lettering. 

Arabic religious books usually have gold leaf on the covers. But these are part of a beautiful series (with the traditional look) in English, published by Darussalam. You must click on the picture to see the intricately coloured patterns better.

11) Find a diary (true or fiction). Well I can one-up you on that becauase I have both. 

Non-fiction
(So far as I can tell, most people who have done this tag have used this book, so I thought I'd follow the trend, for once.)

Fiction   

12) Find a book written by someone with a common name (like Smith). 

Many of the books that I own were written by "foreign" authors or were written long ago. But Nicholas Baker is a common-ish sort of name in  this sense, I think.

13) Find a book that has a close up of something on it. 

I had the choice of  neuron, blood, urea crystal and the coronary artery. I went with blood because I think it will probably gross people out the least.    

           

14) Find a book on your shelf that takes place in the earliest time period. 

The actual oldest time period is in my little blue pocket-version of The Sealed Nectar, which tells the history of the Prophet (pbuh) and begins some time around 570 CE. But it's just such a worn and handled copy that the writing on the cover has completely faded. So I thought I'd go for the next oldest thing, which is Beowulf: an Anglo-Saxon folk tale, first written in Old English in the 10th century. 

15) Find a hardcover book without a jacket. 

This was a gift from my elder brother and it contains all of Jane Austen's novels. Absolutely beautiful to look at but completely impractical to read, considering that fact that it has 1433 pages in it. (I just realised it has gold writing on it too.) 

          

16) Find a teal/turquoise coloured book. 

Though it might look a bit green in the picture, but I assure you dear Reader, it is teal. 

       

17) Find a book with stars on it. 

I think those little thinks at the top are stars. (Please ignore the shadow of my camera, it was hard to find a place to take a decent picture of it because of its uber mirror-like reflective cover.)

       

18) Find a non-YA book. 

I have plenty of those too but decided to go for the one that I think has the prettiest cover. 

       

For this Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt to continue I tag you, dear Reader. You can make your own tag/response on your blog or youtube or anywhere you like on this internet. Just make sure to leave a link in the comments section below so I can check it out too.

Nida       

Semi-full Reading List of 2013

Dear Reader,

So, as promised, here is a provisional list of books I want to read in 2013. This does not include the books I plan to re-read, e.g. Persuasion by Jane Austen. I'll probably post updates every few months, Inshallah, but I've also added two widgets for this in the side bar --->. This year, I've challenged myself to read one book a week: 52 weeks = 52 books. And because there are so many new books I want to read this year, the list is sort-of in the order of genre.

Fairytale retellings:

1. Snow by Tracy Lynn
2. Winter's Child by Cameron Dokey
3. Water Song by Suzanne Weyn
4. Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguie
5. Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
6. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
7. Scarlet also by Marissa Meyer

Sci-Fi: 

1. The Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie
2. The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner
3. Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
4. Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth (the latest buzz books)
5. Delirium Trilogy by Lauren Oliver (the other latest buzz, or so I'm told)
6. Origin by Jessica Khoury
7. Emerald Green by Kerstin Geir (the final instalment of the Ruby Red Trilogy to be released in the UK on 8th October, so I am breathlessly anticipating this book, though I'm not holding my breath.)

Stand alone novels:

1. When Wings Expand by Mehded Maryam Sinclair (a must read if you like TFiOS)
2. The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott (a Classic I have not read before)
3. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
4. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (will be released in May)
5. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides
6. Through the Glass, Darkly by Jostien Gaarder (another non-English-speaking favourite writer)
7. The Ringmaster's Daughter also by Jostien Gaarder

Poetry:

1. Early Poems by Lord Alfred Tennyson
2. Modern Poetry of Pakistan edited by Iftikhar Arif and translated by Waqas Khwaja
3. Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti and illustrated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Other books that don't fit into the above categories:

1. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
2. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (my first Sherlock Holmes, can't wait!)
3. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
4. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
5. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
6. The Mark of Athena by Rick Roirdan
7. The Bridgerton Happily Ever After by, yes you've guessed it, Julia Quinn (my guilty-pleasure book of the year)  

You'll notice how each category (except Poetry) has 7 titles in it. I assure you this is completely coincidental and does not hide a secret message *wink*. Of course, I don't have all these books with me right now. In fact, a few aren't even out yet (yes trilogies, I'm looking at you). But these are all the ones I have on my bedside bookshelf:  

Click on the picture for a better read.

Knowing what a keen I for detail you have, dear reader, I'm sure you've noticed that almost half of these books are from my Local Library (Aside: do you remember those? My local library is still standing because the building is part of the British Heritage, i.e. it's more than 100 years old, and also because we oldies protested it's closing down.) So you see, I'm using my library because it's an essential part of our local society and not only because I've significantly cut down my book-buying-budget. Anyway, this next picture is of the non-fiction, mainly novel-research, books that I am currently reading/plan to read.

For a complete overview of the books I've read and want to read you can now follow me on either shelfari or goodreads. There's some discrepancy between the two shelves but I'm currently working on sorting that out. Also, don't forget to follow me on twitter for regular updates.

Nida

P.S. - my best friend, Codename: Pixie, just started her own blog. Help me support and encourage her by checking out her first post Secrets. 

reading Slumps & youTube

Dear Reader,

Leviathan, image by
Keith Thompson

It has come to my attention that I haven't posted my reading list on this blog for a long time now. The last one I believe was just before my disillusionment; and my writing since then has been going through drastic ups and downs. I had been keeping up with my reading however. But I seemed to have entered a reading slump after finishing the Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell at the beginning of this year. I even tried to re-read my all time favourite novel North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell but even that did not bring me out of my slump. 

What finally brought me round was actually The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (often shortened to TFiOS). I'm not sure why I put off reading this book for so long, since I've been follow John Green and his brother Hank on Youtube for a few years now, and am proud to call myself a Nerdfighter. (Aside: some clarification for you, dear Reader, a nerdfighter is not someone who fights nerds but actual nerds who fight to increase awesome and decrease world suck i.e. bad things). 

So spoiler-free mini book-review: TFiOS is, on the most basic level, about a 16 year old girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster, who loves reading and watching American Reality TV and has an obsession with this inadequately ended book called An Imperial Affliction by Peter van Houten. Also, she's in the last stage of her terminal cancer. Then, in the typical style of boy-meets-girl stories, one day at Support Group she meets Augustus Waters, a gorgeous and charismatic cancer survivor who is, in turn, obsessed with metaphorical resonances. And so they embark on both an emotional and physical  journey to find out what happens after the ending of An Imperial Affliction. 

Surprisingly enough, it was not the book-within-a-book aspect that I like most about TFiOS (unlike Cloud Atlas, where I thought the book-within-a-journal-within-letters etc... was the best part). It was actually Hazel and Augustus's existential discussions that I loved the most. For example, that cancer and depression are just "side effects of dying", that there are an infinite number of infinities and that "some infinities are bigger than others" or how the world isn't a "wish-grating factory" and so disappointment is just an inevitable side effect of life. Anyway, I agree with Markus Zusak (The Book Theif) in that TFiOS is definitely John Green at his best. 

To add to the brilliance of this little blue book, around the time I was reading it I also discovered the booktubers' community on Youtube, which felt like coming home after a long and tiresome vacation. They reminded me of my love for reading, of discovering the stories that others had put words to and introduced me to a whole new chapter of books that I have still to explore. Which was something I was particularly lacking since my fellow bookworm/best friend, Codename: Pixie, had major eye surgery and has been unable to recommend new books to me for sometime. Anyway, there are in fact a few booktubers I'd particularly like to mention: thereadables, booksandquills, supersushipizza and Bookables.  

This post has become a lot longer than I had originally anticipated so my rather long reading list will just have to wait until next week. Be patient, my dear Reader. Now all that's left to say is: don't forget to be Awesome.

Nida 

P.S. - make sure to follow me on twitter @Bookaholic786, (though I realise now that that name isn't technically correct).

how Beauty came To the Beast

Dear Reader,

If you have been following my blog for some time, you'll undoubtedly be aware of my obsessive love for fairy tales. If not, then I present you with Exhibit A and Exhibit B as just a few examples. But today I want to talk a bit (or a lot, according to some) about my favourite of all fairy tales, most popularly known as The Beauty & the Beast.  

There are a few tales that seem to resonate through time in all kinds of different cultures: the tragedy of two 'star-crossed lovers', for example, that variously go by the names of Heer & Ranja, Laila & her Majnu, Juliet & Romeo, Sohni & Mahival or Katniss & Peeta, though that is another blog post in and of itself. Another such timeless tale is that of a beautiful girl, forced to stay with an evil/ugly/beastly man, whom she eventually falls in love with so he lets her go, but she cannot bare being parted from him for long and so she returns to him.  

The oldest story I can find that follows this pattern is that of Persephone (that's pronounced per-SEF-o-Nee) and Hades, an ancient Greek myth. Hades is the King of the Underworld and Lord of the Dead, but he falls in love with Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter (the goddess of the harvest and grain). Yet Persephone has many suitors so her mother hides her away in the forest. One day, overcome with desire for her and wanting a companion to remove his loneliness, Hades rips open the earth and kidnaps Persephone, taking her back to the underworld, where she becomes his Queen. There, he showers her with all the riches of the earth: gold, silver, diamonds and all other gems.  

But Persephone is still unhappy, and misses her mother greatly, who mourns her daughter's loss so much that the earth is plunged into a cold and frigid winter. Seeing Persephone upset, and wanting only to make her happy, Hades lets her go back to the surface. Her return to Earth brings with it spring, with all its flowers and blooms. Then at the end of harvest time, Persephone returns to the underworld, to Hades, and the world goes into winter again. Most versions say that she only returns because Hades tricked her, a few say she returns out of love for him. I'd like to believe that in her time in the underworld, she grew to love her morbid husband. But then again, I am one of those "glass half-full" type of people. 

A bit of history now. In 1756, Jeanne-Marie Laprince de Beaumont (aside: that is one cool name) set the foundation for the story we normally think of today when we talk about The Beauty & The Beast. It follows the tale of a ship-owning merchant who becomes bankrupt, has to leave his home in the city and move to the countryside with his 3 daughters. Once they become accustomed to their provincial life they hear news that one of the merchant's ship has returned. So the father heads back to the city. On his way home however, he gets lost in a forest and comes across an enchanted castle where he is taken in and cared for. The next day, on his way out of the castle grounds, he picks a beautiful rose for his youngest daughter Beauty (that's Belle in French), who asked for nothing more than some rose seeds as gift from the city (her elder sisters had asked for fancy clothes and fine jewellery, none of which the father was able to obtain).

This is when he encounters the enraged Beast who owns the castle. The Beast claims that in return for all his hospitality the merchant was stealing from him. The merchant as for forgiveness explaining about his three daughters and how he had not been able to fulfil the humble wish of his youngest. The Beast takes some pity on him and offers him a choice: he (the Beast) would let him go now unharmed but in 7 days time, the merchant can either return to this castle and be his prisoner or he can send one of his daughters in his stead. So the merchant returns home and tells his daughters what happened to him, at which point Beauty decides that she must be the one to return as it was her fault her father picked the rose.

So a week later, Beauty arrives at the enchanted castle where she is treated like a princess and the Beast almost immediately falls in love with her. She spends several months in the Beast's company and they grow to become good friends and she is able to see beyond his appearance to the heart of gold within. But every evening after dinner, the Beast unfailingly asked Beauty if she would marry him. And every evening she would refuse. Eventually she grows homesick and asks the Beast if she can see her family, so he lets her go back to them for a week, no more. But her jealous older sisters trick her into staying a day longer. When she finally arrives back to the castle, she sees that the Beast is dying and she cries over his body saying how sorry she is for being late and how much she loves him. Then, abracadabra, he is alive and healthy and transformed into a handsome prince. And they live happily ever after ... or so we think.      

That is generally what happens in the 1756 version. However, the earliest recorded version of La Belle et la Bête was published in France in 1740 and was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. Only, in her version there where plenty of sub-plots, featuring a wider cast of characters including good and evil fairies, as well as an elaborate back story for the Beast. Basically, Leprince de Beaumont's tale was a rather watered down version of Barbot de Villeneuve's story. All that aside, when I think about it, I'm actually not surprised that this fairytale (in which the ordinary girl saves the ugly prince by breaking his curse with but a few tears) was written by a woman, as opposed to most Grimm and Anderson fairytales where the handsome princes usually do all the rescuing of damsels.

Despite the many variations and different versions in the 150 year or so since it's first publication, it was actually the Leprince de Beaumont's version of the story that's been popularized by Disney in their Oscar-winning 1991 animated film. Though, the creators at Disney couldn't help but add a few typically-Disney changes: the several musical numbers, a humours cast of conspiring servants, Beauty/Belle no longer being the daughter of a merchant but that of an inventor and, most importantly, a villain who happens to be beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside to present the perfect metaphorical contrast to the the Beast. This cartoon film was how I first came across the fairytale and is the depiction that stayed with me through-out my childhood. It can still make me fall in love with the story all over again, every time I watch it.

Most recently (in late 2012, in fact) I watched a very different take on the classic tale in ABC's fantasy drama Once Upon A Time. There's a continuation of many themes from the Disney film, for example: 

1. Belle's outfits, especially the yellow ball gown in which we first see Belle, 
2. obviously her name is also "Belle" (though that may also be a nod to the story's origin), 
3. a chipped teacup that has symbolic meaning, 
4. Belle's fondness for books and libraries is also in evidence,
5. as well as the single red rose.

However, in this TV show, Belle is neither the daughter of a merchant nor an inventor, but rather that of a Lord/King (it is slightly unclear). She also happens to be far more plucky and spirited than one would expect from a book-worm princess, i.e. she wants adventure, the chance to play hero. And the Beast ... Well, in this incarnation the part is taken up by the long-standing shady character of Rumplestiltskin (a Grimm brother's fairytale in and of itself). But he is a complexity, and to give you even the smallest measure of understanding of him would require me to explain the entire series. Which I'm not going to bother with. But I will say this, the choice of using this more-than-usually conniving version of Rumplestiltskin to play the misunderstood Beast was a brilliant opportunity of character development and a very clever move by the creators/writers Edawrd Kitsis & Adam Horowitz.            

I would also like to point out that even the very popular classic Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë has all the essentials bits of The Beauty & The Beast, but without any explicit magic/enchantments. Though Jane Eyre is not a beauty, she definitely has a beautiful, spirited soul and a learned feel about her. Mr.Rochester is positively beastly towards Jane, at the beginning at least, which is one of the reasons Jane is so attracted to him. Also, he is said not to be very handsome, with a heavy brow and penetrating gaze, and he compares Jane to many different magical apparitions. And of course half way through the story, Jane leaves Mr.Rochester, during which time a tragedy befalls him and when she returns, he is pretty much on the edge of life.      

However, of all the different versions of B&B that I have read or seen (even though I love Jane Eyre as a stand-alone novel), my favourite version of this fairytale is Beauty by Robin McKinley, which was first published in 1978. This novel is most like the Leprince de Beaumont's version of the story, though it puts a lot more emphasis on Beauty's feelings and the magic of the enchanted castle. Plus, to the best of my knowledge, McKinley was the first to depict Beauty as a bookish girl, whom the Beast surprises and pleases with his vast Library. I must have read this novel over 5 times since I first discovered it about 6 years ago.

I dream of, one day InshAllah, passing on this much-loved and well-worn book to my daughter (or son, depending on which I have first, after all I'm not biased when it come to which gender should/should not read fairytales) and allowing her (or him) to discover the meaning behind the fairytale. Because, in the end, I heartily believe in the essential message that is integral to the basic plot of this tale: that everyone deserves love, no matter what they might look like; and that we should not judge people's hearts because of their appearance. 

Nida

the Wise tooth of Misery

Dear Reader,

I'm not usually the sort of person who complains, especially about aches and pains (sorry, unintentional rhyme there). But I had to tell someone, so I thought why not you, dear reader.  

So it started off about 3 days ago. As the afternoon became evening, I began notice the inside of my right cheek kept getting caught between my teeth. This quickly went from irritating to painful and because I was deep within my writing zone, I couldn't be bothered to check it out in a mirror, let alone go downstairs and take a painkiller. I know, I know, my mistake. But to remedy the situation temporarily, I placed a small-but-handy piece of candied pineapple between my gum and my cheek. (Aside: my love of candied pineapples being the only thing I have in common with Professor Slughorn).



For a time it was perfect; my cheek was safe from my throbbing gums and every few minutes a got a burst of pineapply-sweetness in my mouth. (At this point you may point out dear reader that I could have easily used chewing gum, but to quote Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka "chewing gum is really gross, chewing gum I hate the most." This sums up quite well my feeling on that subject)

The pineapple pieces lasted me until dinner, by which time the inside of my mouth was completely coated in sweet stuff, to the point that it numbed all other pain. So I happily filled my bowl with rice and green-chickpeas and sat down to eat. The way my mum cooks it, usually this is one my favourite rice dishes, and one of the few foods I wouldn't mind a second helping of. But not this day.

I'd barely eaten five spoonfuls when I gave up. My entire lower jaw was tight, the right side of my face in agony, my right ear was ringing, I could hardly open my mouth wide enough to let a spoon, not to mention that the pointy, chickpeas were poking into my swollen gums. I felt like I was chewing on needles or raw pasta. Of course, my mum picked up on my sudden lack of appetite and asked me what was wrong.

I'm not ashamed to admit that at this moment I gushed, told her everything, just the way I did when I was five and had badly scrapped my knee. Its part of a mother's job description after all: to know exactly how to soothe her hurt child, no matter how old they get. I'm sure she would have sat me in her lap if we were not sitting at the dinner table and I wasn't too big for her. All that aside, she told me it was probably a wisdom tooth that was at the root of my pain.      

Now, when it comes to teeth, I've always been a bit of a late bloomer. For example, while all my friend's baby teeth fell out when they were 5, 6 or 7 years old, mine didn't begin to fall out until I was 10. And the last of my baby teeth had to be yanked out of my mouth by my dentist when I was 16. So, it only made sense I was quite surprised by this revelation. Even more surprised by it, in fact, than the day I woke up to find that Mount Everest had taken up residence on my chin. (Now that was one tenant I was more than happy to get rid off.) I'd always thought I'd get my wisdom teeth when I was in my 30's.

But my mum told me that the same thing happened to her when she was 23, slightly more than a year before I was born. The conversation then diverted on to topics that included how much my brothers and I had cried as teething babies, the tooth-fairy and did my early wisdom teeth mean that I had wisdom and my older brother's lack there of. The only thing of help that came out of it was the advice that I go and see my dentist about it.

And so, like a dutiful citizen that has complete faith in the NHS, I called my local dentist the very next morning and they gave me an appointment for the day after. It felt strange sitting there in the same, unchanged waiting room after so many years. The only real difference, I'm sad to say, was that the little aquarium with the sea horses was gone. (Aside: what's with dentist having aquarium in their waiting rooms? Is it some unwritten code?) I was surrounded by children and toddlers, with their hassled mama's and pushchairs. In an oddly sentimental moment, I could not helping thinking/hoping that that would be me one day.

Anyways, my dentist was really rather nice and showed me an X-ray of my teeth. It turns out that I have one wisdom tooth coming out on either side of my lower jaw. The pain is being caused by an ulcerated infection on my right gum and cheek, which probably would have been worse had I not been brushing properly. So, like most any other dentist, she told me to start brushing twice a day and then prescribed me with an antibiotic that had my name in it: metroNIDAzole, lol.

And what was the point of all this? I hear you ask. Well, I believe that all stories have a moral, if you look hard enough. But for this one, I'm not exactly sure what it might be. Maybe it should be that 'wisdom comes at a price'. Or maybe 'gaining wisdom is not always painless, but hopefully it is worth it'. Though I keep fingers-crossed as swallow another set of antibiotics and painkillers. ;-)  

Nida