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The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman: The Arabic Epic of Dhat Al-Himma by Melanie Magidow
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: Death, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Sexual harassment, and War
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.
lilacs_book_bower's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
3.5
This is a fast paced series of tales about the Amira Princess Fatima, who was an amazing warrior featured in an Arabic epic tale. It is fantastic to see a woman be heralded and honored in an ancient text. This is an abridgment, as it is quite a long text. I enjoyed reading the tales, and seeing Princess Fatima prevail, but there are a lot of trigger warnings, so please check those. Fatima's son experiences a lot of racism as well. The translation leaves a bit to be desired. Parts read almost like stage directions, they are just actions, rather than emotions or feelings. Also, some of the dialogue is what you would expect in an epic and more formal, "she was as beautiful as a full moon," and then there are parts that are more along the lines of "beats me!" So there is definitely some uneven whiplash there, but I appreciate the translation nonetheless and Dr. Magidow working to make this available to English speakers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and War
throneofpages1's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
fast-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and War
Moderate: Incest, Racism, and Slavery
babymoomoocow's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
3.0
This is definitely a book to be read allowed. It is a great epic and one that should be shared in the west more.
I know this is translated and it reads like stream of consciousness. But because of this I was less engaged. I wished there to be more elegant prose. But that’s not what this book is for. So don’t go into it if you expect that.
I would also say look up the Trigger warnings.
This is definitely a book I can see being in an AP lit class or translated literature college course.
I know this is translated and it reads like stream of consciousness. But because of this I was less engaged. I wished there to be more elegant prose. But that’s not what this book is for. So don’t go into it if you expect that.
I would also say look up the Trigger warnings.
This is definitely a book I can see being in an AP lit class or translated literature college course.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Incest
lbelow's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape and Islamophobia
ayaha's review against another edition
2.0
So I was super excited for this book--not least because of the epic cover!
Honestly, over all, I can see how this story has the potential of inspiring fictional characters (the author compares her to Wonder Woman and other fictional characters like Katniss Everdeen, which is a bit of a weird comparison if you ask me, but I do see how a cool novel/comic book/movie can be made about Princess Fatima based on this epic).
But I have multiple problems with this translation. I didn't read the Arabic, so I don't know what the original is really like. But the translation is not very smooth--the prose is very stiff, as if I'm reading a bullet list of events that happened. The dialogue is also really weird--they sometimes speak very casually and use slang phrases, and other times speak in older/more "proper" sentences. If the translation stuck to one form of dialogue (either slang or proper) and removed the weird idioms that seem to only exist in English, I'd have been more convinced with their language.
Also, the translator says she selected only a few dozen out of the hundreds of stories in this epic--which is understandable, and I'm glad she acknowledges her bias when picking these. But I wish she elaborated on the selection criteria. Although I can see the general arc of the narrative--it starts from Fatima's birth, to her childhood, early adulthood, motherhood, and later adventures--they often seemed very disjointed. The end was incredibly abrupt. We were given several adventures and then suddenly only a very short paragraph at on the last page says that she peacefully.
There was also one story that seemed to be deliberately included because it was easy to twist a line in Arabic to claim that a character was lesbian. The translator includes a footnote about what the original Arabic line literally translated as, but then proceeded to translate the line in the text to make it seem like the character had homosexual attractions. I'm honestly sick of Western writers and translators who translate Muslim stories and poetries based on their own views.
In terms of the epic itself, not the translation: it was pretty interesting. I came to like Princess Fatima a lot, and I loved that she constantly called out to Allah in duaa for strength. I also loved the depiction of tribal relationships, hierarchies, inter-tribal battles and Bedouin life. I also loved that the Abbasid caliphs were included and that Princess Fatima had direct correspondence with him--and even carried out some missions for him with the Christian Rum/Byzantines of Anatolia! Those political details really fascinated me. It was upsetting to read about how some men in Fatima's family treated her--like her marriage and pregnancy--that was just terrible but I suppose it depicts the reality of some tribes at the time. Also the whole ordeal with the skin-color of Fatima's child--I found that kind of weird, but I suppose the end message was that skin color doesn't determine one's honor, righteousness, and strength. The whole reasoning they give on *why* he was that color was bizarre though.
Anyway, I'm glad I read it because of the interesting characters and depictions on Arab tribal culture and Abbasid history and the royals' relationship with the Bedouins. But some aspects of the original epic unsurprisingly do not align with our views on Islam today, and the translation could use a whole lot of improvement.
Honestly, over all, I can see how this story has the potential of inspiring fictional characters (the author compares her to Wonder Woman and other fictional characters like Katniss Everdeen, which is a bit of a weird comparison if you ask me, but I do see how a cool novel/comic book/movie can be made about Princess Fatima based on this epic).
But I have multiple problems with this translation. I didn't read the Arabic, so I don't know what the original is really like. But the translation is not very smooth--the prose is very stiff, as if I'm reading a bullet list of events that happened. The dialogue is also really weird--they sometimes speak very casually and use slang phrases, and other times speak in older/more "proper" sentences. If the translation stuck to one form of dialogue (either slang or proper) and removed the weird idioms that seem to only exist in English, I'd have been more convinced with their language.
Also, the translator says she selected only a few dozen out of the hundreds of stories in this epic--which is understandable, and I'm glad she acknowledges her bias when picking these. But I wish she elaborated on the selection criteria. Although I can see the general arc of the narrative--it starts from Fatima's birth, to her childhood, early adulthood, motherhood, and later adventures--they often seemed very disjointed. The end was incredibly abrupt. We were given several adventures and then suddenly only a very short paragraph at on the last page says that she peacefully.
There was also one story that seemed to be deliberately included because it was easy to twist a line in Arabic to claim that a character was lesbian. The translator includes a footnote about what the original Arabic line literally translated as, but then proceeded to translate the line in the text to make it seem like the character had homosexual attractions. I'm honestly sick of Western writers and translators who translate Muslim stories and poetries based on their own views.
In terms of the epic itself, not the translation: it was pretty interesting. I came to like Princess Fatima a lot, and I loved that she constantly called out to Allah in duaa for strength. I also loved the depiction of tribal relationships, hierarchies, inter-tribal battles and Bedouin life. I also loved that the Abbasid caliphs were included and that Princess Fatima had direct correspondence with him--and even carried out some missions for him with the Christian Rum/Byzantines of Anatolia! Those political details really fascinated me. It was upsetting to read about how some men in Fatima's family treated her--like her marriage and pregnancy--that was just terrible but I suppose it depicts the reality of some tribes at the time. Also the whole ordeal with the skin-color of Fatima's child--I found that kind of weird, but I suppose the end message was that skin color doesn't determine one's honor, righteousness, and strength. The whole reasoning they give on *why* he was that color was bizarre though.
Anyway, I'm glad I read it because of the interesting characters and depictions on Arab tribal culture and Abbasid history and the royals' relationship with the Bedouins. But some aspects of the original epic unsurprisingly do not align with our views on Islam today, and the translation could use a whole lot of improvement.