Stranger Magic Charmed States & the Arabian Nights

WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD 2012 WINNER OF THE TRUMAN CAPOTE AWARD 2013 WINNER OF THE SHEIKH ZAYED BOOK AWARD 2013 Magic is not simply a matter of the occult arts, but a whole way of thinking, of dreaming the impossible. The supreme fiction of magical thinking is the Arabian Nights, with its flying carpets, hidden treasure and sudden revelations. As part of her exploration into the prophetic enchantments of the Nights, Marina Warner retells some of the most wonderful and lesser-known stories. She explores the figure of the dark magician or magus, from Solomon to the wicked uncle in 'Aladdin'; the complex vitality of the genies or jinn; and animal metamorphoses. With startling originality and impeccable research, this groundbreaking book shows how magic, in the deepest sense, helped to create the modern world, and how profoundly it is still inscribed in the way we think today.