Tahir Shah's lush descriptions of his adventures in the East and Africa make him one of my favorite authors. This book is somewhat a departure from his earlier books, focusing not so much on Shah's personal observations and analysis of far-flung worlds often sublime, surreal, absurd, but always achingly beautiful (he manages to make even squalor sound somehow like something I want to see). Instead, this book is about his journey, both physical and spiritual, in search of is father's copy of Arabian Nights. The story is more focused but no less enchanting.

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