KALILA & DIMNA

Fables of Friendship and Betrayal

Retold by Ramsay Wood from from ancient Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Syriac and Renaissance English versions. Introduction by Doris Lessing.

'Contemporary, racy, vigorous, full of zest. It is also funny. I defy anyone to sit down with it and not finish it at a sitting.' Doris Lessing ‘These wise and vigorous, sly and funny tales are contemporary: they are eternal … Kalila and Dimna is the greatest present of the Islamic heritage; it is a fountain, ever running, of sensual joy against mortified stone, against the eventual solemnity of Christian office (power and incense); overrunning with the knowledge we dare not rediscover, for fear of its negating us, in the tradition of Islam. Today when we need, more than ever, to understand the Muslim nations, Ramsay Wood’s fresh recreation of these tales becomes indispensable reading for the West. Indispensable more than for political, for human, artistic, glad reasons. Wood’s superb stories should be set alongside Italo Calvino’s recent retelling of the folktales of Italy. No higher praise is necessary.’ Carlos Fuentes

'Wood’s version will be much more attractive to modern readers than the older translations, with their drier narratives and unfamiliar oriental hyperbole. Given the same zestful treatment, a further collection could hardly fail to be as enjoyable as the present one.' TLS

Kalila and Dimna or The Panchatnatra (also known as The Fables of Bidpai) is a collection of animal stories that has been part of world literature for over 2000 years. It migrated across ancient cultures in many different formats. There is no ultimate, definitive text as dozens of classic versions exist in a multitude of languages. All our beast fables from Aesop through La Fontaine to Uncle Remus owe this book a debt. These tales ostensibly constitute a handbook for rulers, a so-called ‘Mirrror for Princes’ illustrating and explaining a series of narrative admonitions on how to run a kingdom. But in their slyly profound grasp of human nature at its best - and its worst - they offer wise counsel for all of us, especially today.

Based on a collation of scholarly translations from key Sanskrit, Syriac, Arabic and Persian texts, as well as the 1570 English rendition by Thomas North this is the first uncompromisingly modern re-telling in either the East or West for over 400 hundred years. Ramsay Wood brings us two of the five parts of Kalila and Dimna in a self-standing version brilliantly rendered for today's reader.

Kalila and Dimna are two jackal brothers, and their king is a lion who befriends a sweet-natured, wandering bull named Schanzabeh. Turtles, crows, fish, insects and rats tell their tales, and in Ramsay Wood’s version the profound meanings behind these ancient fables shine forth. Wood captures this great World Classic in modern English making it utterly relevant, fascinating, insightful and hugely readable. This is a necessary book, accessible to all ages and readers, completely addictive and informative. This first volume is about friendship – making friends, losing them, cooperation, coercion, betrayal, trust, loyalty and love. Wood is preparing a second volume of further fables from the same
material entitled Kalila and Dimna, Fables of Conflict and Intrigue.

Material: Finished copies.

Sold to: Albin Michel France; Kairos Spain; Neri Pozza Italy (2007); Saqi Books UK & US (first volume published Spring 2008, second volume to be published 2009).