Reading Notes : Tales of a Parrot, Part A

Tales of a Parrot have been so entertaining to read so far! I'm not bored at all and am thoroughly enjoying each one. One reason is because the chapters can stand individually; although there is an overarching plot, the individual stories can stand alone (kind of like Law&Order SVU or other crime show). Another thing I really like is that each chapter has a moral, but not each are directly related to the wife's conflict of loyalty and fidelity. The parrot uses strong irony to make a point. His stories often end with one of the characters ending in misfortune and learning a lesson as a result of his or her foolish actions. There is always one person who is fooled (like Chunder not knowing the Arab slept with her sister). One thing is ringing true through all of them: nothing good comes from betraying friendship. Not listening to your friends' advice is fatal (but cheating on your spouse is permissible it seems, although it inconveniences others). Also, I am pretty entertained how the cheating wives often get away with their endeavors through their quick wit, but this discourages Khojisteh, as the cheating wives are depicted as unloyal and wicked.

Image Details: Parrot; source

The language is really easy to follow, although this is due to the translation, not the original text. I much prefer a storytelling narrative as opposed to prose or something more difficult to read. I want what I write to be for enjoyment, something I would read as well, and Tales of a Parrot is something I want my own writing to resemble. There is humor in each story. The fact that a parrot is keeping his master's wife from cheating on him is humorous enough! This is very similar to what I imagine for my own storytelling project; I want the overarching story of the travelling hedgehog to link all the stories together (perhaps on a quest to become brave!), but he will have individual experiences in each chapter where he takes away something new from each new experience, just like this reading!

The Tooti Nameh (Tales of a Parrot). Ziya'al-Din Nakshabi (1801). Web Source.

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