You can't marry a jinn

Nights 756-778

These nights, we have a nested story about a king looking for a great story. The great story turns out to be that of Saif al-Muluk and Badi’ al-Jamal. In part, it’s a story about a prince and his friend who becomes vizier. But it’s more about the prince who has fallen in love with a picture of a jinn princess he has seen on a garment owned by Solomon. It’s all competently told, if not largely rehashed from other nights so far. But I found myself wondering if I’m wasting my time going through this much of the repetitive Nights. I thought of Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons when we got to the forbidden love between human and jinn: “Aqua Man, you can’t marry a woman without gills. You’re from two different worlds! [sees a missile heading directly for him, meaning certain death] Oh, I’ve wasted my life.”

In some ways, this has some of the greatest hits. The story recalls some of Sindbad’s adventures including the Old Man of the Sea / marids (Nights 765 and 771, pp. 113, 128-129). Like Sindbad’s stories, it feels like the Odyssey again, with a cruel man-eating giant in a cave (Night 772, p. 130). There is even a “mentor” (Night 773, p. 131) who helps the hero dispatch the giant.

And like some of the other good stuff so far, this story is set in early Biblical times: Babel still stands, Solomon still lives, and we encounter the palace of Noah’s son Japhet (Night 768 pp. 119-120; there is also a footnote for the Koran at 22.44). All that said, however capable it was, this will be forgettable for having very little new to it. I’m ready for something different.