Written by: Diana Wynn Jones
First line: Far to the south of the land of Ingary, in the Sultanates of Rashpuht, a young carpet merchant called Abdullah lived in the city of Zanzib.
Why you should read this book: It is technically a sequel to the delighting Howl's Moving Castle, although for the majority of the book, it feels more like an homage to 1,001 Arabian Nights, and the connection to the original story doesn't become clear until chapter fourteen. Our protagonist, Abdullah, makes a modest living as a carpet salesman, barely tolerating the aggressive meddling of his distant relations, and dreaming primarily of beautiful gardens beyond his reach, until the day he is bullied into purchasing a shabby but magical flying carpet. Suddenly true happiness in the form of a beautiful princess is within his grasp, but Abdullah's quest to marry Flower-in-the-Night is constantly foiled by mortal and supernatural opposition, and he has a long road ahead of him if he is to ever come to the happy conclusion of his quest.
Why you shouldn't read this book: Although I have seen the Miyazaki film about a hundred times, it's obviously different from the original novel, which I wish I had read before reading this one.
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