Reviews
The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman: The Arabic Epic of Dhat Al-Himma by Melanie Magidow
waniasajid's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman is a captivating epic, which standing alone would have probably received 4 stars. I've given it 3 stars due to some issues I hold with this abridged translation.
The narrative itself is a refreshing departure from other epics, such as the Iliad, wherein women remain largely voiceless and passive to their fates, often including rape. Fatima is an incredibly captivating character, a fearsome warrior who far surpasses any man and is delightfully strong-willed. I loved that she was a devout Muslim, whose beliefs neither oppressed not limited her freedoms. In fact, she isn't the only strong female character within the epic, there are several warrior princesses throughout, and not once are they criticised for their conduct, rather they are renowned for it.
Of course, being both set and written in heavily patriarchal societies, The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman isn't without its depictions of misogyny and the struggles of being a woman. When Fatima is born, her father is initially in favour of infanticide in order to be spared the shame of having a daughter. However, he grows to love his daughter and respect her autonomy, allowing her to explore and refusing to force her marriage with Walid. There are some parts of the text which are a little uncomfortable, such as her father's dismissal of Walid's marital rape, and the pseudoscientific reason for her child being born black. The plights of being a woman, from constant threats of assault to men's desire to control, is maddening, and the timelessness of such issues really shines through.
Plot aside, the translation has notable drawbacks. It is a little disappointing that the 6,000 page source material was abridged to less than 160 pages, especially when it is the only English translation available to date. It means a lot of the characterisation of the eponymous character is lost, as she doesn't feature prominently in a handful of the tales included. The language also doesn't flow very well, with abrupt shifts between the formal language traditional for an epic, followed by a sentence like "What a creep!" It's almost as if Magidow was unsure of whether she wanted this to be a lofty translation, or a YA adaptation. My bigger gripe with the translation is the liberties it takes. For example, Magidow makes the choice to downplay religious references, deeming them distracting. However, these references are integral to understanding Fatima's character and the cultural context of the narrative.
I look forward to reading a full translation of the epic, should it be published, as it really does have the potential to cement itself into the literary canon.
The narrative itself is a refreshing departure from other epics, such as the Iliad, wherein women remain largely voiceless and passive to their fates, often including rape. Fatima is an incredibly captivating character, a fearsome warrior who far surpasses any man and is delightfully strong-willed. I loved that she was a devout Muslim, whose beliefs neither oppressed not limited her freedoms. In fact, she isn't the only strong female character within the epic, there are several warrior princesses throughout, and not once are they criticised for their conduct, rather they are renowned for it.
Of course, being both set and written in heavily patriarchal societies, The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman isn't without its depictions of misogyny and the struggles of being a woman. When Fatima is born, her father is initially in favour of infanticide in order to be spared the shame of having a daughter. However, he grows to love his daughter and respect her autonomy, allowing her to explore and refusing to force her marriage with Walid. There are some parts of the text which are a little uncomfortable, such as her father's dismissal of Walid's marital rape, and the pseudoscientific reason for her child being born black. The plights of being a woman, from constant threats of assault to men's desire to control, is maddening, and the timelessness of such issues really shines through.
Plot aside, the translation has notable drawbacks. It is a little disappointing that the 6,000 page source material was abridged to less than 160 pages, especially when it is the only English translation available to date. It means a lot of the characterisation of the eponymous character is lost, as she doesn't feature prominently in a handful of the tales included. The language also doesn't flow very well, with abrupt shifts between the formal language traditional for an epic, followed by a sentence like "What a creep!" It's almost as if Magidow was unsure of whether she wanted this to be a lofty translation, or a YA adaptation. My bigger gripe with the translation is the liberties it takes. For example, Magidow makes the choice to downplay religious references, deeming them distracting. However, these references are integral to understanding Fatima's character and the cultural context of the narrative.
I look forward to reading a full translation of the epic, should it be published, as it really does have the potential to cement itself into the literary canon.
rebeccazh's review against another edition
3.0
Picked this up as I'm trying to read more diversely. However, like other reviews mentioned, the translator said that she was taking very creative liberties in her translation choices which leaves me quite unsure of how faithful or true to the original this is. Overall, I enjoyed reading this series of stories centered around Fatima.
heather_freshparchment's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Violence, War, and Racism
Minor: Grief and Pregnancy
hannahjs's review against another edition
2.0
This story was very interesting but the style/narrative voice of the translation really took me out of it.
ihashem's review against another edition
4.0
In modern times Princess Fatima colloquially speaking is a "badass". I firstly wish the story kept going on and was the full 5000 original pages, secondly that my Arabic was good enough to read the 5000 pages. Thirdly a great effort by Melanie for introducing us to highlights of this warrior women's story.
Even though the story is set in the Arab medevial times, the struggles and persuits of this warrior women can be drawn from to represent some of the same social sexist battles women have been fighting against for thousands of years. I love the new door this book has opened, a world of a time and people I look forward to exploring even more.
Even though the story is set in the Arab medevial times, the struggles and persuits of this warrior women can be drawn from to represent some of the same social sexist battles women have been fighting against for thousands of years. I love the new door this book has opened, a world of a time and people I look forward to exploring even more.
vivacissimx's review against another edition
2.0
A very bare translation of a selection of epics. A lot of the poeticism is lost in this specific version, hence the low rating. However, kudos to this passion project for sparking interest.
rasy's review against another edition
3.0
First Arabic Epic. Reminds me of IRK and Islamic History lessons, but with a more feminist take and a heroine this time round, which personally felt like approaching this area of study from a new lens. The translation notes are helpful.
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
3.0
This wasn't my favourite, but I think it's partly related to the abridged nature and the translation. Glad I read it, it was interesting and it inspired further research and reading in the future.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Death, War, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infidelity
colourism, rape culturesiria's review against another edition
3.0
Despite the title, in the Epic of the Commander Dhat al-Himma Melanie Magidow translates only part of this medieval Arabic epic—perhaps unsurprisingly, given that the original stretches to some 5,000 pages in print. She focuses on an early part of the epic, in which the eponymous heroine is abducted by a neighbouring tribe while still a girl and grows to become a renowned warrior.
As I don't read Arabic, I can't comment specifically on Magidow's translation choices, though her prose is crisp and should be accessible to undergraduates at any level of study. However, I found myself a little bemused by some of her methodological choices as explained in the introduction. It's one thing to produce a rather loose translation in order to better capture the spirit of the original. It's another to say that you've altered the translation—in ways that can't be observed by most of the edition's readers—because you disagree with the worldview of the epic's first tellers. The process of translation inevitably involves choices, but this seemed an odd and not particularly defensible one to me.
As I don't read Arabic, I can't comment specifically on Magidow's translation choices, though her prose is crisp and should be accessible to undergraduates at any level of study. However, I found myself a little bemused by some of her methodological choices as explained in the introduction. It's one thing to produce a rather loose translation in order to better capture the spirit of the original. It's another to say that you've altered the translation—in ways that can't be observed by most of the edition's readers—because you disagree with the worldview of the epic's first tellers. The process of translation inevitably involves choices, but this seemed an odd and not particularly defensible one to me.