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A review by millennial_dandy
One Thousand and One Nights, Volume 2 of 11 by Jeon JinSeok
3.0
In this second installment in the series we get to move away from the familiar premise and go off in a new direction. Instead of just taking place in (I suppose) the sultan's bedroom as is the case in the original collection, in Jeon JinSeok's reimagining, we start off on an adventure outside the palace!
This is where the series starts to pick up in terms of its central narrative and character development. We learn a bit more about sultan Shahryar and the consequences within his kingdom to his murderous streak, adding some much needed depth to both his character and the broader story. Here we start to get a sense of JinSeok's moral messaging as well in terms of the tension between retribution and forgiveness.
Sehara also gets to play more of an active role in this volume, choosing to protect the sultan rather than following his sister to safety. A nice touch is that this choice is not presented as one made out of infatuation as would have been the case in a typical BL, but from a genuine place of pacifism, which allows him to be more of a well-rounded character.
The story Sehara tells in this volume is slightly less on the nose than the previous one, in terms of how it relates to the main story. I'd argue it isn't as strong as the first one, partially for this reason. Apparently it's based on a fairly well-known legend about a God named Cho-Yong, who forgives a cheating wife. This fits well into the established pattern of the story-within-a-story being based on, not the original 1001 Nights stories (Aladdin, Ali Baba, etc.), but other, typically Asian legends and myths.
Given that in an interview, JinSeok specfically talks about wanting the women of his versions of these stories to have more agency, I find it odd that so far the women in both of the side stories are the ones who act immorally and the men are each very rightious and likable. Not making any strong statements on that yet--just an observation. Especially since there's clearly an intent to weave modern sensibilities into a story that otherwise feels rather morally dusty.
Onto volume 3!
This is where the series starts to pick up in terms of its central narrative and character development. We learn a bit more about sultan Shahryar and the consequences within his kingdom to his murderous streak, adding some much needed depth to both his character and the broader story. Here we start to get a sense of JinSeok's moral messaging as well in terms of the tension between retribution and forgiveness.
Sehara also gets to play more of an active role in this volume, choosing to protect the sultan rather than following his sister to safety. A nice touch is that this choice is not presented as one made out of infatuation as would have been the case in a typical BL, but from a genuine place of pacifism, which allows him to be more of a well-rounded character.
The story Sehara tells in this volume is slightly less on the nose than the previous one, in terms of how it relates to the main story. I'd argue it isn't as strong as the first one, partially for this reason. Apparently it's based on a fairly well-known legend about a God named Cho-Yong, who forgives a cheating wife. This fits well into the established pattern of the story-within-a-story being based on, not the original 1001 Nights stories (Aladdin, Ali Baba, etc.), but other, typically Asian legends and myths.
Given that in an interview, JinSeok specfically talks about wanting the women of his versions of these stories to have more agency, I find it odd that so far the women in both of the side stories are the ones who act immorally and the men are each very rightious and likable. Not making any strong statements on that yet--just an observation. Especially since there's clearly an intent to weave modern sensibilities into a story that otherwise feels rather morally dusty.
Onto volume 3!