{"product_id":"brains-confounded-by-the-ode-of-abu-shaduf-expounded-9781479840212","title":"Brains Confounded by the Ode of Abu Shaduf","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWitty, bawdy, and vicious, Yusuf al-Shirbini's \u003ci\u003eBrains Confounded\u003c\/i\u003e pits the coarse rural masses against the refined urban population. In Volume One, al-Shirbini describes the three rural typespeasant cultivator, village man-of-religion, and rural dervishoffering anecdotes testifying to the ignorance, dirtiness, and criminality of each. In Volume Two, he presents a hilarious parody of the verse-and-commentary genre so beloved by scholars of his day, with a 47-line poem supposedly written by a peasant named Abu Shaduf, who charts the rise and fall of his fortunes. Wielding the scholarly tools of elite literature, al-Shirbini responds to the poem with derision and ridicule, dotting his satire with digressions into love, food, and flatulence. \u003cbr\u003eVolume Two of \u003ci\u003eBrains Confounded\u003c\/i\u003e is followed by \u003ci\u003eRisible Rhymes\u003c\/i\u003e, a concise text that includes a comic disquisition on rural verse, mocking the pretensions of uneducated poets from Egypt's countryside. \u003ci\u003eRisible Rhymes\u003c\/i\u003e al\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Lucid and imaginative...the translation is thankfully reliable and delightfully readable...a remarkable achievement in many ways.\" -- Li Guo * Journal of the American Oriental Society *\u003cbr\u003e\"Paints a sharp portrait of Egyptian villagers. . . . This book has long had its passionate Egyptian adherents: both for its bawdy depictions of village life and for its language, which moves deftly between colloquial and 'high' classical expressions.\" * Middle East Eye *\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"New York University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49409074135383,"sku":"9781479840212","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781479840212.jpg?v=1730505342","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/brains-confounded-by-the-ode-of-abu-shaduf-expounded-9781479840212","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}