The Book of Uzbek Humour: Parables and Jokes about Nasreddin Afandi, author unknown

[sophia_sol]

Eh, I've read better. I mean for starters the English translation was pretty poor and that made it hard to catch on to what was meant in places. And it's really more a collection of jokes than parables, which is the opposite of what I was hoping. Some of the jokes are funny, some I have no idea what's supposed to be funny despite clearly being intended to be funny, and some I can see what's supposed to be funny but find it supremely unfunny. And there's not enough detail to make it worth much as a look into another culture. I am glad to have learned about Nasreddin being a thing though!

Comments

[jedusaur]

*wikis* oh hey, Mullah Nasrudin! We used to have a book of those when I was a kid.

[sophia_sol]

Oh cool! Was the book you had a good one? Maybe I should seek out other collections of stories about the dude.

[jedusaur]

I remember enjoying it a lot, but a) I was probably nine years old the last time I read it, so don't put too much stock in my taste, and b) I don't remember enough to help you find it (I'm not in contact with the parent I'm pretty sure was the owner of it). I remember the cover was red, and I'm pretty sure it used the "Mullah Nasrudin" spelling, but that's all I got. I am fairly confident the translation aspect was okay, though, because even at nine I was very critical of bad grammar and nonsensical sentences.

[sophia_sol]

Yeah, nine-year-old taste is not always to be relied upon. :) Thanks for the info! I will keep the idea in mind.

[avanti-90.livejournal.com]

Huh, I did not know Nasruddin was Uzbek humor. I grew up with Nasruddin stories, in India.

[sophia-sol.livejournal.com]

I gather that he's a popular figure in a fair number of cultures, and the Uzbek people aren't the only ones who claim him as their own - that's cool that you grew up with stories about him!