Wednesday, June 29, 2016

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston - ADVISABLE

Johnston, E.K. A Thousand Nights, 295 pgs.  Hyperion, 2015.  $18.99.  Language: G; Mature Content: PG; Violence PG. 

Lo-Melkhiin has killed each of his wives soon after marrying them.   Most do not survive the first night.  Now, 300 wives later, he has come looking for a new wife.  Our protagonist (she who must not be named until the last chapter) does not want Lo-Melkiin to take her more beautiful sister, so she dresses in her sister’s finest clothes in the hopes that the Lo-Melkiin will take her instead.  He does.  Surprisingly, she survives night after night, and her stitches and words seem to take on a life of their own.  As her life hangs in the balance, she must decide if she is strong enough to take on her husband and those that are with him to safeguard the lives of potential future brides should she fail.  

Johnston has a lyric writing style and her prose brings the Persian lifestyle and desert to life.  Because of unfamiliar terminology, I wouldn’t recommend this book for younger than middle school. 

MS, HS - ADVISABLE.  Michelle in the Middle

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