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Tahir Shah
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Scorpion Soup Paperback – December 11, 2020

by Tahir Shah (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 113 ratings
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Inspired by a book his grandfather wrote eighty years ago, master storyteller and author Tahir Shah set about creating Scorpion Soup, an intense experience of interlinked and overlapping tales.

Having been raised on stories from both East and West, Shah believes that tales work on numerous levels, subtly influencing the way we see the world, and the way we learn from it. Magical instruments and secret machineries in their own right, stories live within us all. And, the way we appreciate them from the cradle is, Shah believes, part of the default setting of Mankind.

Introduced in early childhood to the wonders of A Thousand and One Nights, Shah learned to receive and appreciate complex structures and storytelling devices. These have been used throughout history to pass on ideas, cultural values and information, as well as, of course, to entertain.

Having been inspired by The Nights, and the way that one story leads into another, and yet another, Shah uses this framing technique in Scorpion Soup.

An interwoven and intoxicating collection of tales, the book descends down through many layers, as one story progresses into the next, and eventually brings us back to the first.

Unlike anything that has been published in the Occidental world before, Scorpion Soup is a rich and diverse feast for the senses, a book that instructs as much as it does entertain.

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  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    December 11, 2020
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.56 x 8.5 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1912383705
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1912383702
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Secretum Mundi Publishing
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 11, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1912383705
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1912383702
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.56 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 113 ratings

About the author

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Tahir Shah

Tahir Shah

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Tahir Shah was born in London, and raised primarily at the family’s home, Langton House, in the English countryside – where founder of the Boy Scouts, Lord Baden Powell, was also brought up.

Along with his twin and elder sisters, Tahir was continually coaxed to regard the world around him through Oriental eyes. This included being exposed from early childhood to Eastern stories, and to the back-to-front humour of the wise fool, Nasrudin.

Having studied at a leading public school, Bryanston, Tahir took a degree in International Relations, his particular interest being in African dictatorships of the mid-1980s. His research in this area led him to travel alone through a wide number of failing African states, including Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Zaire.

After university, Tahir embarked on a plethora of widespread travels through the Indian subcontinent, Latin America, and Africa, drawing them together in his first travelogue, BEYOND THE DEVIL'S TEETH. In the years that followed, he published more than a dozen works of travel. These quests – for lost cities, treasure, Indian magic, and for the secrets of the so-called Birdmen of Peru – led to what is surely one of the most extraordinary bodies of travel work ever published.

In the early 2000s, with two small children, Tahir moved his young family from an apartment in London’s East End to a supposedly haunted mansion in the middle of a Casablanca shantytown. The tale of the adventure was published in his bestselling book, THE CALIPH'S HOUSE.

In recent years, Tahir Shah has released a cornucopia of work, embracing travel, fiction, and literary criticism. He has also made documentaries for National Geographic TV and the History Channel, and published hundreds of articles in leading magazines, newspapers, and journals. His oeuvre is regarded as exceptionally original and, as an author, he is considered as a champion of the new face of publishing.

www.tahirshah.com

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
113 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoy the book's storytelling style, particularly its endless stories within stories and adventure elements. They appreciate its readability, with one customer noting they wanted to keep reading. Customers find the book wise, with one mentioning it serves as a great teaching tool.

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10 customers mention "Readability"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a wonderful read, with one customer noting they couldn't put it down.

"...From the beautiful cover to the final word this book is a delight...." Read more

"...is one most Western readers have not encountered before and merits their attention if for no other reason...." Read more

"Tahir Shah is one of the most enjoyable writers to read of the 20th and 21st century. The breadth of subjects is second to none...." Read more

"...Each story is so unique, fantastical, with deep symbols of the human condition...." Read more

10 customers mention "Storytelling style"10 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the storytelling style of the book, which features endless stories within stories and an adventure narrative.

"...dolls which so fascinated me as a child this is a series of tales within tales within tales.....I would no doubt bore the reader if I was to apply..." Read more

"...;, but that's too simple a description, for it seems to be endless stories within stories drawing a reader deeper and deeper into a charming..." Read more

"...In this book each story takes another direction and each is as enjoyable as the one before" Read more

"Short stories interwoven in an effortless writing. Each story is so unique, fantastical, with deep symbols of the human condition...." Read more

3 customers mention "Wisdom"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the wisdom in the book, with one noting its effectiveness as a teaching tool.

"...Is also a great as teaching tool. Tahir Shah definitely inherited the gift of storytelling from his father." Read more

"...Tahir Shah is a master storyteller. Much wisdom to be found in these pages." Read more

"Wisdom; it's here..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Omar
    5.0 out of 5 stars If you only read one book this year - make it this one!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    In his introduction the author describes this book as 'a small hymn to the Thousand and One Nights'. I would prefer to describe it as a great anthem of the story teller's art. From the beautiful cover to the final word this book is a delight. Like the nested Russian matryoshka dolls which so fascinated me as a child this is a series of tales within tales within tales.....I would no doubt bore the reader if I was to apply the superlatives I feel it deserves. This a book which, like a deep sea pearl diver I will return to again and again, searching for its hidden treasure. The Shah family, like a special vineyard, produces the finest wine generation after generation and Tahir Shah's storytelling is no exception. We owe a great debt to him and his family for continuing that great Human endowment enshrined in the medium of a tale. Each story is just so enjoyable in so many ways. In the title story 'Scorpion Soup' Shah's description of a group of witches makes Macbeth's look like a ladies knitting circle! Each story has a unique and original 'feel' to it and yet at the same time imparts the timeless components of all great tales....I will re-read this book many times!
    10 people found this helpful
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  • Roger Schultz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Staleness of everyday washed away!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This book is flawless and shows Tahir Shah at his very best. The form is one most Western readers have not encountered before and merits their attention if for no other reason. It is subtitled "A Story in a Story", but that's too simple a description, for it seems to be endless stories within stories drawing a reader deeper and deeper into a charming wilderness and one's own preprocessed mind. When I lift my head at the end of a chapter my vision is clearer, fresher, even funnier. Like returning from an overly long vacation, the staleness of everyday has been washed away.
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  • David Brown
    4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Fiction
    Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2013
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    Tahir Shah is one of the most enjoyable writers to read of the 20th and 21st century. The breadth of subjects is second to none. In this book each story takes another direction and each is as enjoyable as the one before
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  • Product Purchaser
    3.0 out of 5 stars Tahir's parlor trick
    Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Tahir Shah is a very talented writer. I am sure this was fun for him to write. This tale is a number of fairly simple moderately entertaining short stories linked together. It is not something that I would ever want to read again.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars For people who like the short story genre I highly recommend this book
    Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Short stories interwoven in an effortless writing. Each story is so unique, fantastical, with deep symbols of the human condition. For people who like the short story genre I highly recommend this book. Is also a great as teaching tool. Tahir Shah definitely inherited the gift of storytelling from his father.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Delicious story telling. A modern Arabian Nights. Suitable for brave children of all ages.
    Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Loved balancing on that extraordinary fine line that Tahir Shah can maintain between impossible and utterly believable. Loved the characters. Loved the adventure story.

    While I recommend Arabian Nights (by Richard Burton only) for anyone who wants to plumb the real depths of nested stories, this new book felt just perfect for nowadays.

    I was impressed at the depth of passion without a need for obscenity. Parts were gruesome, but told in an ever so classy way. I imagined that Tahir Shah was writing the story for his own children, and that he left out the parts that they should not be polluted by, without diluting the message.
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  • Magpie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Magical
    Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Didn’t know what to expect with a title like Scorpion Soup...but I enjoyed every chapter! Didn’t want it to end!
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  • N. Hamlin
    4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This was a fun, light book filled with myths with moral judgements.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Wolfischer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Uma história numa história.
    Reviewed in Brazil on November 17, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Tahir Shah segue a tradição árabe dos contadores de histórias fantasiosas e imaginativas. O modelo de uma história dentro de outra, como nas Mil e Uma Noites, foi usado até no Brasil pelo grande Malba Tahan.
    Vale a pena sempre.
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  • BOOKFABULOUS
    5.0 out of 5 stars Magical!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 30, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Anyone who grew up in the Middle East in the mid-1980s or spent time there particularly during the month of Ramadan will remember the TV series "Alf Layla Wa Layla - A Thousand and One Nights" starring Egyptian actress Sherihan and directed by Famhy Abdel Hameed. Watched by millions in the Arab World, it owed its main success to the affinity people felt for the tales of Sheherazad and Shehrayar of 'The One Thousand and One Nights'. Not only was the older generation thrilled to have the tales of their childhood played out vividly on their screens but the show also succeeded in sparking an interest in the younger generation who had assigned these tales to the archives of the past only to find them dusted down and repackaged relevant to their own modern times.

    This brings me to storyteller and author Tahir Shah's latest release 'Scorpion Soup'; a work heavily influenced by 'A Thousand and One Nights' as attested by the author in his introduction whereby he writes that this book is 'a small hymn' to the tales that he 'feasted' on since early childhood and have shaped the man he is today. The work is a celebration of stories and storytellers in which ultimately he, Shah himself, emerges supreme.

    Shah in 'Scorpion Soup' introduces a network of tales that can only be compared to a set of Russian Dolls, you know the ones where you open up one doll to find another smaller one contained inside it and then that holds a smaller one too and so on until you get to the last and smallest doll in the set. And that is what Shah does in this book. He starts with one story and then this story is the beginning of another and that contains the beginnings of another all the way until the end when we are back at the first story we started with. All the while commanding the reader's full attention engaging the imagination, entertaining, instructing and questioning. Idle readers beware!

    The book begins in the hellish prison of Oran where a once-upon-a-time fisherman is now a shackled worn down slave slowly losing all hope of survival. However, we know he is going to survive because he is going to tell us how a tale recounted in a barely audible whisper by another inmate was key to his salvation. And so the reader's journey with Shah begins. From North Africa to Spain, Ethiopia and Egypt, China, Persia and Iceland. Lands of frogs, lands of cats and others ruled by dogs. We have wizened witches and a jinn in an urn at the bottom of the Red Sea. An old man in a cave and the story of a deity or two. The reader meets wise men, foolish men, knights, kings, queens, princes and princesses. A box with a rusty nail and a pendant with tears of a unicorn and still more and more and more.

    The stories are meant to entertain but Shah has an ulterior motive. He believes that stories are 'part of the default programming of Man' and as such carry an important role in the shaping of minds and souls. His work is not only a nod to a revival of storytelling, he seems to want a complete resurrection and by the looks of it he might just get his wish.

    'Scorpion Soup' is currently available as an e-book but hardback copies will be dispatched starting March 2013. The hardback cover is only available to purchase from Taher Shah's personal website.
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  • Egitto
    5.0 out of 5 stars so interesting
    Reviewed in Germany on February 24, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    a continuous tale, a read thread that keeps going, very lovely, would have enjoyed it much longer... an amazing author!
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  • Kevan
    5.0 out of 5 stars Magic tales magically interwoven
    Reviewed in Canada on July 7, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Scorpion Soup: A story in a story was released earlier this year by travel writer and novelist Tahir Shah. It is a marvelous collection of intricate tales, each one serving as the nest for the next, and the next, until they come around to - but read the book and you'll see. The stories are magical, practical, full of suffering yet vivifying, gentle yet strong. They remind me of mosaic tiles, each one carefully made, and all carefully combined to make a pattern. Or a number of patterns. The tales will repay many rereadings and reflections. The book is full of images vivid yet dreamlike, and wonderful transitions. One powerful image is the prisoners in the dark shed who must stay silent or they will be killed - and one prisoner whispers into the ear of another, and tells a story. On one level this could be a metaphor saying that human beings depend on stories, that they need stories even, perhaps, in order to survive; or, that stories cannot be silenced even in the most adverse conditions. By the end I had a sort of wondering whether the world is an entity in which people tell stories, or whether it is itself an element in a story (yet this seemed to have nothing in common with a `postmodern' conception that there is no objective truth, only subjective narratives). Scorpion Soup is a beautiful book, full of delight and instruction. Unreservedly recommended. Available as an ebook on Amazon -- and now the limited edition Scorpion Soup hardcover is available there as well: Amazon.com:http://amzn.to/12B9O8v
    Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/18o4c3a
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  • Eric T
    5.0 out of 5 stars Scorpion Soup: Dancing to a different drum
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Tahir Shah has been steeped in traditional storytelling, folklore, legend and creative mythology from an early age and he was brought up in a family gifted in the art and possessing vivid creative imagination. This shines through in the interlinked short stories which comprise "Scorpion Soup: A story in a story", which was inspired by the One Thousand and One Nights.

    As each tale is recounted and segues into the next -- as if hinting at and mimicking the world itself emerging and blossoming in a stream of consciousness -- the reader is tantalized by what he has read and drawn into and drawn along by what "moreish" tale might come next. Tales not only of creative imagination, but also -- as is the way of the world -- partly-cautionary tales about its wayward cousin, spurious imagination; at times recurring tales of wondrous destiny and also of less happy fate; tales whose apparently-opposing warp and weft are craftily and necessaily woven together to augment the rich tapestry of life.

    As a Westerner, brought up with the literary and technical products of the modern Western world and -- alas -- possessed of an all-too-analytical mind, I would have liked to have seen more clearly delineated dénouement along the way, and I must admit that I felt a certain discomfort and sadness in leaving behind one, not as yet fully resolved, story and moving onto the next. But the Eastern realm, in which these tales are set, dances to a different drum, has its own technical ways of operating and appeals to altogether different and more subtle faculties, and the world is that much richer as a consequence.

    I think the whole point is that this is a never-ending tale, with 1,001 possibilities and that it rightly leaves much to the reader to exercise their own imagination so that he or she may fill in the gaps. "What happened to the old witch?", they might ask, and yet another vivid story might be invoked in response, and this can happen because this fairytele framework is inherently open, fertile and liberating, rather than the often closed system, paradigm or prison to which we in the West are, alas, more accustomed.

    All in all, then, I heartily recommend "Scorpion Soup" to both the young and the young at heart.
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