Paperback, 278 pages

English language

Published Oct. 11, 1984 by Penguin.

ISBN:
978-0-14-044434-6
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3 stars (2 reviews)

Composed in the twelfth century in north-eastern Iran, Attar's great mystical poem is among the most significant of all works of Persian literature. A marvellous, allegorical rendering of the Islamic doctrine of Sufism - an esoteric system concerned with the search for truth through God - it describes the consequences of the conference of the birds of the world when they meet to begin the search for their ideal king, the Simorgh bird. On hearing that to find him they must undertake an arduous journey, the birds soon express their reservations to their leader, the hoopoe. With eloquence and insight, however, the hoopoe calms their fears, using a series of riddling parables to provide guidance in the search for spiritual truth. By turns witty and profound, The Conference of the Birds transforms deep belief into magnificent poetry.

1 edition

reviewed The conference of the birds by Farīd al-Dīn Attār (The Penguin classics)

charming, to a point

3 stars

I was quite charmed by The Conference of the Birds for some time, but eventually it became rather repetitive. The basic theme is delightful: the hoopoe painstakingly convincing all the other birds to join it on a spiritual quest, which they keep making excuses to cover up their cowardice about. But I was hoping a work of this length would have more breadth of discussion, without which it starts to feel like the same argument over and over again.

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rated it

3 stars

Subjects

  • Sufi poetry.
  • Sufi poetry, Persian.
  • Sufism -- Early works to 1800.