A very interesting, scholarly book about everything related to jinn/genies. This book covers the nature of jinn, their origins (before and during Islam), jinn behaviors, types of jinn, historical encounters, locations and jinn in cultural contexts. No "new-agey", fluffy stuff.
I admire here, as in his other books, Shah's ability to soak up an environment and describe details and conversations that heighten both its familiar and alien aspects. That said, if someone hung a cat where my child could see it, however much I understood the culture, I'd have my family on the next...
Shah turns a pretty phrase, even when it's about shrunken heads or disgusting food. Here he pursues the legend of the birdmen, a quest that includes colorful and sometimes alarming fellow travelers, grave robbing, hallucinogenic vines, crumbling textiles, matter-of-fact mystics, and the Nazca lines....
The Caliph's House is an account of the first year Shah and his family spent in Casablanca, renovating a dilapidated traditional house and attempting to fit in with the locals.Unfortunately, not all of my expectations were met. In many ways, The Caliph's House is a wonderful book full of simple but...
3.5 Stars
This book is a detailed history of jinn and not the Robin Williams Hollywood version. Lebling is engaging and discusses many different sources while looking carefully at the stories. The book is full of interesting facts. The only draw back is that towards the end, it starts feeling like a list.
Jinn-spirational!I know it's a poor pun, but it's the honest to goodness truth. This book has inspiration on every page if you're a paranormal/fantasy author -- and even if you're not.I have little knowledge of Islamic teachings and tradition. "Legends of the Fire Spirits" is a window into the lived...
I feel like I enjoyed this book way more having read it while actually in Morocco. Everything is so much more meaningful when you're actually looking at the stuccowork, driving between the different neighborhoods of Casablanca, etc etc etc! Am still a little weirded out by the almost complete nonent...
This picks up roughly where The Caliph's House left off. (But you don't need to have read Caliph's House to enjoy this one.) With the house fully renovated, the author has time to travel around Morocco collecting old stories from the ancient oral tradition. With his trademark knack for finding adv...
Tahir Shah wearies of London and its safe banality. He finally convinces his pregnant wife to buy a disaster of a mansion in Morocco and relocate there with their young daughter. From the beginning, their adventure feels doomed. Cats are found hanging by ropes from trees, strangled. The next door ne...
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