Arabian Nights

The Arabian Nights: Vol 2 (Everyman's Library Classics)
This is the translation by Husain Haddawi.

Not in the league of Vol 1, but has Sinbad, Ali-Baba, and Alladin.
Worth a read. More interesting for the little touches, the verse and the aphorisms than for the stories, most of which are either well-known or follow standard patterns. The last story, of Qamar-al-Zaman and his two sons, strays rather more than the others in the direction of plain pornography, displays extreme misogeny, and features unconvincing personality changes by some characters. (In the opening episodes, the hero and his lover endure reciprocal torment, until happily united, then are separated, pass through hellish trials, and finally unite again. Somewhat oddly, the girl passes herself off as her husband, and marries another girl. This ends up with both girls happily married to the hero. Both bear him sons, and then it goes completely off the rails: each woman falls in love with the other's son, and behave quite disgracefully...) In general, I enjoyed the frequent flourishes of Islamic piety, and the perorations, such as: ...they continued to enjoy their fellowship and friendship, in all cheer and joy, until there came to them death, the destroyer of delights, sunderer of companies, wrecker of palaces, and builder of tombs.