Every Rising Sun, Jamila Ahmed
Every Rising Sun, Jamila Ahmed
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Every Rising Sun
A Novel

Author: Jamila Ahmed

Narrator: Sulin Hasso

Unabridged: 16 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/18/2023


Synopsis

"Sulin Hasso's melodic narration transports listeners to the twelfth-century Seljuk Empire (Persia) for a sumptuous retelling of ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS."- AudioFile

In this riveting take on One Thousand and One Nights, Shaherazade, at the center of her own story, uses wit and political mastery to navigate opulent palaces brimming with treachery and the perils of the Third Crusade as her Persian homeland teeters on the brink of destruction.

In twelfth century, Persia, clever and dreamy Shaherazade stumbles on the Malik’s beloved wife entwined with a lover in a sun-dappled courtyard. When Shaherazade recounts her first tale, the story of this infidelity, to the Malik, she sets the Seljuk Empire on fire.

Enraged at his wife’s betrayal, the once-gentle Malik beheads her. But when that killing does not quench his anger, the Malik begins to marry and behead a new bride each night. Furious at the murders, his province seethes on rebellion’s edge. To suppress her guilt, quell threats of a revolt, and perhaps marry the man she has loved since childhood, Shaherazade persuades her beloved father, the Malik’s vizier, to offer her as the next wife. On their wedding night, Shaherazade begins a yarn, but as the sun ascends she cuts the story short, ensuring that she will live to tell another tale, a practice she repeats night after night.

But the Malik’s rage runs too deep for Shaherazade to exorcise alone. And so she and her father persuade the Malik to leave Persia to join Saladin’s fight against the Crusaders in Palestine. With plots spun against the Seljuks from all corners, Shaherazade must maneuver through intrigue in the age’s greatest courts to safeguard her people. All the while, she must keep the Malik enticed with her otherworldly tales—because the slightest misstep could cost Shaherazade her head.

This suspenseful first-person retelling is vividly rendered through the voice of a fully imagined Shaherazade, a book lover whose late mother bestowed the gift of story that becomes her power. Created over fourteen years of writing and research, Jamila Ahmed’s gorgeously written debut is a celebration of storytelling and a love letter to the medieval Islamic world that brings to life one of the most enduring and intriguing woman characters of all time.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

About Jamila Ahmed

The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, Jamila Ahmed is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Barnard College, where she studied medieval Islamic history. Her writing has been published in the Normal School, Slate, Pittsburgh-Post Gazette, the Briar Cliff Review, and Colorlines.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Rosh ~on extended semihiatus~ on August 21, 2023

In a Nutshell: Not a retelling of the original Arabian classic but a spinoff with Shaherazade at the helm. Mixed feelings. The storytelling elements retain the same spirit and appeal as in the original, but Shaherazade’s personal story is somewhat YA-ish in writing approach (though not so in content......more

Goodreads review by Mai on March 12, 2025

Retellings are notoriously more miss than hit for me. That aside, I could not get over Shaherazade's stupidity. She displays notoriously pick-me girl behavior. "I'm different. I'm not like the other girls. I can save him." Spoiler alert. She is none of the above. 🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmilla......more

Goodreads review by Zainab on September 21, 2023

I will stand for absolutely zero criticism of this book. Not just any Scheherazade retelling - this evokes her as a Seljuk noblewoman, swept into the historical context of a waning Seljuk empire, a jealous Abbasid caliphate, a painful jihad alongside Salahuddin Ayyubi against the crusading Franks. An......more

Goodreads review by Priyanka on April 30, 2023

Ahmed's debut novel is breathtaking. Her prose is lyrical and rhythmic, and she paints a vivid description of the danger, temptation, and urgency Shaherazade faces. The plot is incredibly well-paced. The story explores relationships and identity from a range of angles, and it made me reflect on the......more

Goodreads review by Nancy on May 18, 2023

She was not safe. No woman was ever safe, anywhere in this world. from Every Rising Sun by Jamila Ahmed This richly imagined novel inspired by One Thousand and One Nights offers a vibrant Shaherazade, a flawed woman discovering the limitations of love and the power of words. She controls her husband’s......more


Quotes

"A sumptuous, delicious novel infused with the joys of storytelling. A bold, heady journey into the riches and passions of Crusader history, presenting a fresh and fascinating Muslim perspective."
Leila Aboulela, award-winning author of The Translator and River Spirit

"Jamila Ahmed’s Every Rising Sun is a beautifully imagined and fiercely feminist retelling of a cherished classic—and an audacious new invention all her own. You won’t want to miss Ahmed’s gorgeous writing, this rich and vibrant world, and of course, Shaherazade, a timeless heroine who speaks with an urgency it's impossible to deny. I turned the last page, grateful to be reminded of how during humanity’s darkest nights, stories are what keep us alive."
V. V. Ganeshananthan, author of Brotherless Night

"Richly imagined and sumptuously told. . . . Ahmed deftly interweaves history and myth to create a world that is as compelling as it is magical. Every chapter leaves you eager to sit at Shaherazade’s feet once more."
—​​G. Willow Wilson, author of The Bird King and co-creator of the award-winning comic series Ms. Marvel

"Beautifully rendered. . . . The exceptionally well-realized characters and Shaherazade's enchanting stories are major reasons for its success."
Booklist, starred review