1400 Years -- Vertigo Guaranteed
2 stars
Roger Allen's An Introduction to Arabic Literature is a serviceable tool to learn exactly what is in the title. However, the individual chapters are inconsistent. The first half of the chapter on belletristic prose, and the entire chapter on poetry happen at such rapid speed that it's guaranteed that you'll get lost. There are so many names and unfamiliar genres here, most of whom were NOT contemporaneous with one another, that it's hard to tease out any serious thread--which is all well, as there might not be a thread. However, the chapters on drama and the Qur'an were much more digestible.