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The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
In medieval Baghdad, a penniless man is brought before the most powerful man in the world, the caliph himself, to tell his story. It begins with a walk in the bazaar, but soon grows into a tale unlike any other told in the caliph's empire. It's a story that includes not just buried treasure and a band of thieves, but also men haunted by their past and others trapped by their future; it includes not just a beloved wife and a veiled seductress, but also long journeys taken by caravan and even longer ones taken with a single step. Above all, it's a story about recognizing the will of Allah and accepting it, no matter what form it takes.
60 pages, Hardcover
First published July 23, 2007
38 people are currently reading
10404 people want to read
About the author
Ted Chiang
112 books10.7k followersTed Chiang is an American science fiction writer. His Chinese name is Chiang Feng-nan. He graduated from Brown University with a Computer Science degree. He currently works as a technical writer in the software industry and resides in Bellevue, near Seattle, Washington. He is a graduate of the noted Clarion Writers Workshop (1989) and has been an instructor for it (2012, 2016). Chiang is also a frequent non-fiction contributor to the New Yorker, where he writes on topics related to computing such as artificial intelligence.
Chiang has published 18 short stories, to date, and most of them have won prestigious speculative fiction awards - including multiple Nebula Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, and British Science Fiction Association Awards, among others. His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis of the film Arrival (2016). He has never written a novel but is one of the most decorated science fiction writers currently working.
Chiang's first eight stories are collected in "Stories of Your Life, and Others" and the next nine, in "Exhalation: Stories".
Chiang has published 18 short stories, to date, and most of them have won prestigious speculative fiction awards - including multiple Nebula Awards, Locus Awards, Hugo Awards, and British Science Fiction Association Awards, among others. His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis of the film Arrival (2016). He has never written a novel but is one of the most decorated science fiction writers currently working.
Chiang's first eight stories are collected in "Stories of Your Life, and Others" and the next nine, in "Exhalation: Stories".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 594 reviews
September 10, 2024
Fate guides Fuwaad ibn Abbas, a well-travelled purveyor of fine fabrics, to an intriguing shop in the metalsmiths' quarter of Baghdad.
What follows is a delightful Arabian Nights-style succession of short parables, all within a parable parcel, that focus on a time-travelling portal that Scheherazade herself would have liked to have discovered.
I loved this! The entire story takes less than half an hour to read and took me on a magical carpet ride back to my childhood memories of Ali Baba and Sinbad the Sailor.
This is a pocket-sized piece of escapism that I heartily recommend.
https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
What follows is a delightful Arabian Nights-style succession of short parables, all within a parable parcel, that focus on a time-travelling portal that Scheherazade herself would have liked to have discovered.
I loved this! The entire story takes less than half an hour to read and took me on a magical carpet ride back to my childhood memories of Ali Baba and Sinbad the Sailor.
This is a pocket-sized piece of escapism that I heartily recommend.
https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
August 19, 2019
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate is made up of four intricately woven stories: the titular story, "The Tale of the Fortunate Rope-Maker," "The Tale of the Weaver Who Stole from Himself," and "The Tale of the Wife and Her Lover." As Fuwaad the fabric merchant wanders the bazaar of Baghdad, he discovers a new merchant with a marvelous assortment of goods. Perhaps impulsively, the merchant Bashaarat decides to show the him one of his more unusual alchemical experiments, a hoop whose sides are separated by time:
"Using the Gate is like taking a secret passageway in a palace, one that lets you enter a room more quickly than by walking down the hallway. The room remains the same, no matter which door you use to enter.'
This surprised me. 'The future is fixed, then? As unchangeable as the past?'
'It is said that repentance and atonement erase the past.'"
Bashaarat shares the stories of a few of the users of the Gate and how they attempted to influence their lives. Unsurprisingly, the stories reflect both fulfilling and unsatisfying ways the Gate may be used. Plotting is intricate and occasionally mind-bending in a timeless atmosphere of Baghdad and Cario. Language is evocative. Winner of both a Hugo and a Nebula, it is the kind of tale develops more that it is re-read.
pdf: http://attach3.bdwm.net/attach/boards...
October 23, 2024
"Coincidence and intention are two sides of a tapestry, my lord. You may find one more agreeable to look at, but you cannot say one is true and the other is false."
And so I entered the world of Fuwaad ibn Abbas, a merchant from Baghdad, who by coincidence (or intention) stumbles upon a wondrous metalsmith’s shop.
Bashaarat, the store owner, cordially greets Fuwaad. As he peruses the fascinating items on display, the craftsman casually mentions that he has something even more fantastic in the next room. Would Fuwaad like to see this extraordinary object? He wondered.
"Of course he would!" I exclaimed. "Take us to see this magical marvel at once!" My anticipation was electric, sparking like a molten blade in the process of being forged.
The clanging of metalwork faded into the background as Bashaarat spoke of his discovery — a gateway of seconds. He then stepped up to a metal hoop positioned chest-high in the middle of the room and gave a demonstration.
“Bashaarat thrust his arm through the hoop from the right side, but it did not extend out from the left. Instead, it was as if his arm were severed at the elbow, and he waved the stump up and down, and then pulled his arm out intact.
I had not expected to see such a learned man perform a conjuror's trick, but it was well done, and I applauded politely.
"Now wait a moment," he said as he took a step back.
I waited, and behold, an arm reached out of the hoop from its left side, without a body to hold it up. The sleeve it wore matched Bashaarat's robe. The arm waved up and down, and then retreated through the hoop until it was gone”
Fuwaad and I were both skeptical, but our curiosity was piqued, and we were eager to unravel this mystery.
The metalsmith shared with the merchant that there was more.
How could there be more? I pondered as I hurried after the two men as they entered another chamber. A large, polished metal circle waited silently — a gateway of years…
This is the best short story I’ve read this year! The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate is a brilliant tale that left me mesmerized. Take an hour to visit Bashaarat’s emporium. You’ll be glad you did.
Many thanks to my Goodreads friends for pointing the way to this terrific tale.
It’s free to read HERE.
And so I entered the world of Fuwaad ibn Abbas, a merchant from Baghdad, who by coincidence (or intention) stumbles upon a wondrous metalsmith’s shop.
Bashaarat, the store owner, cordially greets Fuwaad. As he peruses the fascinating items on display, the craftsman casually mentions that he has something even more fantastic in the next room. Would Fuwaad like to see this extraordinary object? He wondered.
"Of course he would!" I exclaimed. "Take us to see this magical marvel at once!" My anticipation was electric, sparking like a molten blade in the process of being forged.
The clanging of metalwork faded into the background as Bashaarat spoke of his discovery — a gateway of seconds. He then stepped up to a metal hoop positioned chest-high in the middle of the room and gave a demonstration.
“Bashaarat thrust his arm through the hoop from the right side, but it did not extend out from the left. Instead, it was as if his arm were severed at the elbow, and he waved the stump up and down, and then pulled his arm out intact.
I had not expected to see such a learned man perform a conjuror's trick, but it was well done, and I applauded politely.
"Now wait a moment," he said as he took a step back.
I waited, and behold, an arm reached out of the hoop from its left side, without a body to hold it up. The sleeve it wore matched Bashaarat's robe. The arm waved up and down, and then retreated through the hoop until it was gone”
Fuwaad and I were both skeptical, but our curiosity was piqued, and we were eager to unravel this mystery.
The metalsmith shared with the merchant that there was more.
How could there be more? I pondered as I hurried after the two men as they entered another chamber. A large, polished metal circle waited silently — a gateway of years…
This is the best short story I’ve read this year! The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate is a brilliant tale that left me mesmerized. Take an hour to visit Bashaarat’s emporium. You’ll be glad you did.
Many thanks to my Goodreads friends for pointing the way to this terrific tale.
It’s free to read HERE.
November 25, 2024
"Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough."
If you are looking for a stimulating shot read with One Thousand and One Nights flavor, this story might fit the bill.
We have four tales that revolve around time travel. They emphasize the interconnectedness of past, present, and future.
The little book transports us to medieval Baghdad and takes us to a shop offering nothing other than time travel. If you happen to enter this shop, the unbelievable may come true. Some of your wildest dreams may suddenly convert into reality. But reality risks turning into an illusion if you dare to try to fix the past and change your present.
The magical gate allows you to step back in time and meet yourself 20 years earlier. Are you ready to talk to your older self? But take your time as you have another offer. You can take a trip 20 from now to meet your future self. Both options are tempting and frightening in their own way. Traveling to the past or to the future, which sounds more appealing to you?
"Do you now understand why I say the future and the past are the same? We cannot change either, but we can know both more fully."
There are some interesting ideas to unpack here. I found myself both agreeing and disagreeing with them. In my view, the future is not predetermined and nothing is inevitable, except death and taxes, of course. Everything we do has the potential to change the path of our lives. At the same time, no one can go back in time and change their past. Thus, the only way to deal with the past is to acknowledge it, accept it, and learn to live with it.
As one of the tales suggests, refusing to accept the past and trying to fix the future by modifying what happened in the past is dangerous, even life-threatening.
At the same time, it is so human to occasionally imagine having the opportunity to go back in time and correct some of the mistakes we have made. The past is unflinching and unchangeable, but we can work on doing our best in the present... or in some cases, steal from our future selves if we happen to run into that magic shop.
Here is the link to the story.
If you are looking for a stimulating shot read with One Thousand and One Nights flavor, this story might fit the bill.
We have four tales that revolve around time travel. They emphasize the interconnectedness of past, present, and future.
The little book transports us to medieval Baghdad and takes us to a shop offering nothing other than time travel. If you happen to enter this shop, the unbelievable may come true. Some of your wildest dreams may suddenly convert into reality. But reality risks turning into an illusion if you dare to try to fix the past and change your present.
The magical gate allows you to step back in time and meet yourself 20 years earlier. Are you ready to talk to your older self? But take your time as you have another offer. You can take a trip 20 from now to meet your future self. Both options are tempting and frightening in their own way. Traveling to the past or to the future, which sounds more appealing to you?
"Do you now understand why I say the future and the past are the same? We cannot change either, but we can know both more fully."
There are some interesting ideas to unpack here. I found myself both agreeing and disagreeing with them. In my view, the future is not predetermined and nothing is inevitable, except death and taxes, of course. Everything we do has the potential to change the path of our lives. At the same time, no one can go back in time and change their past. Thus, the only way to deal with the past is to acknowledge it, accept it, and learn to live with it.
As one of the tales suggests, refusing to accept the past and trying to fix the future by modifying what happened in the past is dangerous, even life-threatening.
At the same time, it is so human to occasionally imagine having the opportunity to go back in time and correct some of the mistakes we have made. The past is unflinching and unchangeable, but we can work on doing our best in the present... or in some cases, steal from our future selves if we happen to run into that magic shop.
Here is the link to the story.
January 24, 2017
Full review, first posted on Fantasy Literature:
Arabian Nights meets time travel in this Hugo and Nebula award-winning novelette, containing a story ― or more precisely, three stories ― within a story. Fuwaad ibn Abbas is brought before the caliph in medieval Baghdad, to whom he tells his story, as “a warning to those who would be warned and a lesson to those who would learn.”
Fuwaad tells the caliph that one day he chanced to enter a shop in the market place that was filled with a wondrous assortment of goods. He visits with the aged proprietor of the shop, who shows him a large ring powered, the old man says, by alchemy. It is a portal, a gate through time that will take you either twenty years into the past or twenty years into the future, depending on the way you step through it. But before Fuwaad tries the gate, the proprietor tells him three tales of others who have gone through the gate: one who makes his fortune, one who lives to regret going through the gate, and a third who finds something entirely unexpected. And Fuwaad has his own story, as he seeks the chance to fix a mistake he made many years ago.
The stories relate to each other thematically as well as sharing some of the characters, each story shedding a different light on what was told before. Ted Chiang is a talented SF author, but I think The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate is the first work of his that I’ve loved as well as admired. He channels the Persian storytelling style so well, while offering insights into life, time, repentance and forgiveness.
A copy of this novelette is free online here at Web archive.
Thanks to Tatiana for the recommend!
Arabian Nights meets time travel in this Hugo and Nebula award-winning novelette, containing a story ― or more precisely, three stories ― within a story. Fuwaad ibn Abbas is brought before the caliph in medieval Baghdad, to whom he tells his story, as “a warning to those who would be warned and a lesson to those who would learn.”
Fuwaad tells the caliph that one day he chanced to enter a shop in the market place that was filled with a wondrous assortment of goods. He visits with the aged proprietor of the shop, who shows him a large ring powered, the old man says, by alchemy. It is a portal, a gate through time that will take you either twenty years into the past or twenty years into the future, depending on the way you step through it. But before Fuwaad tries the gate, the proprietor tells him three tales of others who have gone through the gate: one who makes his fortune, one who lives to regret going through the gate, and a third who finds something entirely unexpected. And Fuwaad has his own story, as he seeks the chance to fix a mistake he made many years ago.
The stories relate to each other thematically as well as sharing some of the characters, each story shedding a different light on what was told before. Ted Chiang is a talented SF author, but I think The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate is the first work of his that I’ve loved as well as admired. He channels the Persian storytelling style so well, while offering insights into life, time, repentance and forgiveness.
A copy of this novelette is free online here at Web archive.
Thanks to Tatiana for the recommend!
December 27, 2016
If this was my first exposure to Ted Chiang I would have thought “Very good storyteller but not sure what the fuss is about”. The best introduction to Ted Chiang is to read the anthology Stories of Your Life and Others, definitely one of the all-time greats. Also, quite a few of his stories are legitimately available for reading online (or download), here is a link to the available stories (some of the links on that page no longer work, sorry).
That opening remark may sound like a criticism, but it is more of a testament to Ted Chiang’s stellar talent. I have higher expectations of him than of most authors I read regularly. Having said that I should tell you right now that The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate won both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards or “Best Novelette*” (2008 and 2007 respectively).
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate is a time traveling science fantasy (or perhaps soft sci-fi), it is also a fable and morality tale in the classic tradition of The Arabian Nights, with a frame story and story within story (frame within frame?). Set in Baghdad and Cairo in ancient times, Fuwaad ibn Abbas, a fabric merchant, visits a shop in a marketplace where he strikes up an instant rapport with the shop owner who claims to be an alchemist. Naturally, Fuwaad is very skeptical of the claim. The shop owner then shows him his time machine which is a portal to twenty years in the future. The alchemist then tells several related stories of his clients who use his “Gate of Years” to travel to their future, one man enriches himself with the guidance from his future self, another tries to do the same but failed miserably, and a woman uses it to save her future husband. Convinced, Fuwaad formulates a time traveling project of his own which involves a trip to Cairo to enter an older portal that works both ways, twenty years to the past or to the future.
There are many models of time travel in sci-fi, in some, the future can be changed by altering key historical events, or even just by someone stepping on a butterfly . In other models, the future is written in stone, completely immutable. Chiang uses the "immutable" model for The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate. The story (about 50 pages long) is a fable about fate, honesty (“living upright”) and closure (or “letting go”). It is an intelligent, compassionate, and beautifully told story, very accessible and even something of a page turner; quite uplifting really. My only complaint is that the central "timey-wimey" conceit is not original, not mind-blowing by Chiang’s standard. Still, you may want to ignore this mild complaint entirely because of the double awards it won (just another ordinary day for Mr. Chiang, and pretty much de rigueur for Hugo voters and the SFWA).
Rating:
______________________
Notes:
• At the time of writing a hardback copy of The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate can be bought for the bargain price of $10,121 from Amazon.
They only have one used copy and the link may be dead by the time you read this. Better hurry while stock lasts!
• This story is not included in Stories of Your Life and Others, and I don’t know if it is included in some other books. If you want a PDF copy of this story Google is your friend (not sure about the copyright status but you can find it in a jiffy, don’t forget the keyword “PDF”!).
• The Guardian calls Chiang a "niche superstar" in their recent article, but with the success of the movie "Arrival", based on his story, this is set to change.
* A work of fiction of between 7,500 and 17,500 words, according to Hugo’s standard.
______________________
Quotes:
“Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.”
“Coincidence and intention are two sides of a tapestry. You may find one more agreeable to look at, but you cannot say one is true and the other is false.”
“Four things do not come back: the
spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity”
“He offered an explanation, speaking of his search for tiny pores in the skin of reality, like the holes that worms bore into wood, and how upon finding one he was able to expand and stretch it the way a glassblower turns a dollop of molten glass into a long-necked pipe, and how he then allowed time to flow like water at one mouth while causing it to thicken like syrup at the other.”
That opening remark may sound like a criticism, but it is more of a testament to Ted Chiang’s stellar talent. I have higher expectations of him than of most authors I read regularly. Having said that I should tell you right now that The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate won both the Hugo and the Nebula Awards or “Best Novelette*” (2008 and 2007 respectively).
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate is a time traveling science fantasy (or perhaps soft sci-fi), it is also a fable and morality tale in the classic tradition of The Arabian Nights, with a frame story and story within story (frame within frame?). Set in Baghdad and Cairo in ancient times, Fuwaad ibn Abbas, a fabric merchant, visits a shop in a marketplace where he strikes up an instant rapport with the shop owner who claims to be an alchemist. Naturally, Fuwaad is very skeptical of the claim. The shop owner then shows him his time machine which is a portal to twenty years in the future. The alchemist then tells several related stories of his clients who use his “Gate of Years” to travel to their future, one man enriches himself with the guidance from his future self, another tries to do the same but failed miserably, and a woman uses it to save her future husband. Convinced, Fuwaad formulates a time traveling project of his own which involves a trip to Cairo to enter an older portal that works both ways, twenty years to the past or to the future.
There are many models of time travel in sci-fi, in some, the future can be changed by altering key historical events, or even just by someone stepping on a butterfly . In other models, the future is written in stone, completely immutable. Chiang uses the "immutable" model for The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate. The story (about 50 pages long) is a fable about fate, honesty (“living upright”) and closure (or “letting go”). It is an intelligent, compassionate, and beautifully told story, very accessible and even something of a page turner; quite uplifting really. My only complaint is that the central "timey-wimey" conceit is not original, not mind-blowing by Chiang’s standard. Still, you may want to ignore this mild complaint entirely because of the double awards it won (just another ordinary day for Mr. Chiang, and pretty much de rigueur for Hugo voters and the SFWA).
Rating:
______________________
Notes:
• At the time of writing a hardback copy of The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate can be bought for the bargain price of $10,121 from Amazon.
They only have one used copy and the link may be dead by the time you read this. Better hurry while stock lasts!
• This story is not included in Stories of Your Life and Others, and I don’t know if it is included in some other books. If you want a PDF copy of this story Google is your friend (not sure about the copyright status but you can find it in a jiffy, don’t forget the keyword “PDF”!).
• The Guardian calls Chiang a "niche superstar" in their recent article, but with the success of the movie "Arrival", based on his story, this is set to change.
* A work of fiction of between 7,500 and 17,500 words, according to Hugo’s standard.
______________________
Quotes:
“Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.”
“Coincidence and intention are two sides of a tapestry. You may find one more agreeable to look at, but you cannot say one is true and the other is false.”
“Four things do not come back: the
spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity”
“He offered an explanation, speaking of his search for tiny pores in the skin of reality, like the holes that worms bore into wood, and how upon finding one he was able to expand and stretch it the way a glassblower turns a dollop of molten glass into a long-necked pipe, and how he then allowed time to flow like water at one mouth while causing it to thicken like syrup at the other.”
August 18, 2019
Nested stories of portals to alternative lives, set and told like a Tale of the Arabian Knights.
"Coincidence and intention are two sides of a tapestry, my lord. You may find one more agreeable to look at, but you cannot say one is true and the other is false."
Image: Front and back of tapestry cushion depicting Esther and Ahasuerus in a wreath (Northern Netherlands, 1650-80 - so yes, wrong culture and wrong period!) (Source.)
Traditional sci-fi writers tackle the mechanics and paradoxical consequences of time travel. They include futuristic space-faring, alien planets, and exotic lifeforms. Chiang takes a theological, philosophical, alchemical approach, and sets it on Earth, hundreds of years ago.
Sit comfortably and submit to the tangled enchantment of a matryoshka-like story with an ancient, mythical tone. See, hear, and touch the buzz of a Baghdad bazaar long ago. Wander, wonder, and ponder. This has a moral, but does not preach. It might be a tale of Scheherazade.
Framing Story
“My heart was troubled, and neither the purchase of luxuries nor the giving of alms was able to soothe it. Now I stand before you without a single dirham in my purse, but I am at peace.”
A penniless man tells his story to a mighty caliph.
Middle Layer
His story begins when he entered the shop of a metalsmith, where he found wares more varied, exotic, and fine than he had ever seen (“an astrolabe equipped with seven plates inlaid with silver, a water-clock that chimed on the hour, and a nightingale made of brass that sang when the wind blew”). The owner chatted and then took him to a back room, where he told three fantastic stories, all relating to knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of the past and the future: free will versus destiny - the will of Allah. The “alchemy” of which the metalsmith spoke is a time portal.
“He offered an explanation, speaking of his search for tiny pores in the skin of reality, like the holes that worms bore into wood, and how upon finding one he was able to expand and stretch it the way a glassblower turns a dollop of molten glass into a long-necked pipe, and how he then allowed time to flow like water at one mouth while causing it to thicken like syrup at the other.”
Three More Stories
The metalsmith’s tales are of those who used his gate: The Fortunate Rope Maker, The Weaver Who Stole From Himself, and The Wife and Her Lover. All of life is here: treasure, travel, love, loss, robbers, deceit, disguise, and sacrifice.
Most importantly, there is guilt, repentance, atonement, and forgiveness. “That is all, but that is enough.”
What Does it Mean?
Chiang does confront paradoxes, but not the “What if I kill my grandfather?” kind. He drills into the human psyche and soul. And the deeper he goes, the more pleasingly tangled the knots in the back of the tapestry become.
“Past and future are the same, and we cannot change either, only know them more fully. My journey to the past had changed nothing, but what I had learned had changed everything.”
Links
There are echoes of style, setting, and tone of JL Borges’ stories. See my overview review HERE.
Telling a wondrous story to a great man reminded of Calvino’s Invisible Cities, which I reviewed HERE.
This story was published in Chiang’s collection, Exhalation. See HERE for my reviews of the other stories.
"Coincidence and intention are two sides of a tapestry, my lord. You may find one more agreeable to look at, but you cannot say one is true and the other is false."
Image: Front and back of tapestry cushion depicting Esther and Ahasuerus in a wreath (Northern Netherlands, 1650-80 - so yes, wrong culture and wrong period!) (Source.)
Traditional sci-fi writers tackle the mechanics and paradoxical consequences of time travel. They include futuristic space-faring, alien planets, and exotic lifeforms. Chiang takes a theological, philosophical, alchemical approach, and sets it on Earth, hundreds of years ago.
Sit comfortably and submit to the tangled enchantment of a matryoshka-like story with an ancient, mythical tone. See, hear, and touch the buzz of a Baghdad bazaar long ago. Wander, wonder, and ponder. This has a moral, but does not preach. It might be a tale of Scheherazade.
Framing Story
“My heart was troubled, and neither the purchase of luxuries nor the giving of alms was able to soothe it. Now I stand before you without a single dirham in my purse, but I am at peace.”
A penniless man tells his story to a mighty caliph.
Middle Layer
His story begins when he entered the shop of a metalsmith, where he found wares more varied, exotic, and fine than he had ever seen (“an astrolabe equipped with seven plates inlaid with silver, a water-clock that chimed on the hour, and a nightingale made of brass that sang when the wind blew”). The owner chatted and then took him to a back room, where he told three fantastic stories, all relating to knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of the past and the future: free will versus destiny - the will of Allah. The “alchemy” of which the metalsmith spoke is a time portal.
“He offered an explanation, speaking of his search for tiny pores in the skin of reality, like the holes that worms bore into wood, and how upon finding one he was able to expand and stretch it the way a glassblower turns a dollop of molten glass into a long-necked pipe, and how he then allowed time to flow like water at one mouth while causing it to thicken like syrup at the other.”
Three More Stories
The metalsmith’s tales are of those who used his gate: The Fortunate Rope Maker, The Weaver Who Stole From Himself, and The Wife and Her Lover. All of life is here: treasure, travel, love, loss, robbers, deceit, disguise, and sacrifice.
Most importantly, there is guilt, repentance, atonement, and forgiveness. “That is all, but that is enough.”
What Does it Mean?
Chiang does confront paradoxes, but not the “What if I kill my grandfather?” kind. He drills into the human psyche and soul. And the deeper he goes, the more pleasingly tangled the knots in the back of the tapestry become.
“Past and future are the same, and we cannot change either, only know them more fully. My journey to the past had changed nothing, but what I had learned had changed everything.”
Links
There are echoes of style, setting, and tone of JL Borges’ stories. See my overview review HERE.
Telling a wondrous story to a great man reminded of Calvino’s Invisible Cities, which I reviewed HERE.
This story was published in Chiang’s collection, Exhalation. See HERE for my reviews of the other stories.
August 15, 2017
OH MY GOD. This novelette absolutely blew me away. It's very rarely that one finds terrific imagination mixed with high quality narration in an SF story - when it happens, the moment is to be treasured.
The 'story within a story' structure is a very common device in the east. It is present in the The Katha Sarit Sagara and Pancha Tantra - Five Wise Lessons: A Vivid Retelling of India's Most Famous Collection of Fables in India, and as is common knowledge, in The Arabian Nights. The style of the last has been adopted in this story, and the author pulls off the trick effortlessly.
Fuwad Ibn Abbas, a merchant who is in the Caliph's presence, has a strange story to tell - about a magic door which takes one twenty years into the future (if one enters it from the left) or twenty years into the past if one enters from the other side. One can interact with the past (even meet oneself), but changing either the past or future is impossible. After hearing the tale of three people who make that journey from the portal's designer Bashaarat, Fuwad decides to go back to his past - to ameliorate a wrong, as righting it would be impossible. However, his experience is unexpected - and bittersweet.
Time travel stories play hell with our brains by their impossible logical conundrums. Isaac Asimov gets around this by problem by providing an "eternal stream" outside the temporal one in The End of Eternity; Stephen King, in 11.22.63, has a future which changes every time one tinkers with the past, then gets automatically "reset" the moment another trip to the past is made... there are umpteen number of examples I could quote to illustrate how writers creatively tackle the contradictions. Ted Chiang makes both the past and the future unchangeable - it's all "written" (to borrow an old Eastern concept). What we call chance arises out of our lack of knowledge. As Bashaarat says:
So nothing changes: the tapestry is complete in itself. But we humans, its threads, learn our fate as we fulfill our destiny while meandering through time's convoluted pathways.
Five stars, all the way!
The 'story within a story' structure is a very common device in the east. It is present in the The Katha Sarit Sagara and Pancha Tantra - Five Wise Lessons: A Vivid Retelling of India's Most Famous Collection of Fables in India, and as is common knowledge, in The Arabian Nights. The style of the last has been adopted in this story, and the author pulls off the trick effortlessly.
Fuwad Ibn Abbas, a merchant who is in the Caliph's presence, has a strange story to tell - about a magic door which takes one twenty years into the future (if one enters it from the left) or twenty years into the past if one enters from the other side. One can interact with the past (even meet oneself), but changing either the past or future is impossible. After hearing the tale of three people who make that journey from the portal's designer Bashaarat, Fuwad decides to go back to his past - to ameliorate a wrong, as righting it would be impossible. However, his experience is unexpected - and bittersweet.
Time travel stories play hell with our brains by their impossible logical conundrums. Isaac Asimov gets around this by problem by providing an "eternal stream" outside the temporal one in The End of Eternity; Stephen King, in 11.22.63, has a future which changes every time one tinkers with the past, then gets automatically "reset" the moment another trip to the past is made... there are umpteen number of examples I could quote to illustrate how writers creatively tackle the contradictions. Ted Chiang makes both the past and the future unchangeable - it's all "written" (to borrow an old Eastern concept). What we call chance arises out of our lack of knowledge. As Bashaarat says:
"Coincidence and intention are two sides of a tapestry, my lord. You may find one more agreeable to look at, but you cannot say one is true and the other is false."
So nothing changes: the tapestry is complete in itself. But we humans, its threads, learn our fate as we fulfill our destiny while meandering through time's convoluted pathways.
Five stars, all the way!
March 13, 2011
Let's try this again, Goodreads. Bad gateway. Hmmph.
Though I suppose a bad gateway is apropos for this book, as it is about a gateway through time, and depending on your actions in the past/future, the outcome might be bad. Oh server error, I see what you did there. Next time, though, try not to DELETE MY REVIEW to make a point*.
Anyway.
I wanted to read this very slim book for threefold reasons:
1) It's very short, but if I tag it with "2011," it gets added to my read total just like any other book, and no one can tell that it was only 60 pages (and with pictures at that!). This makes it look like I have read more books this year and therefore, I am smart. It fuels my ego. (But not as much as when someone "likes" one of my reviews. Just saying.)
2) It is by Ted Chiang. I read two of his books last year, and both were pretty satisfying, to say the least.
3) I recently encountered a short story by Daniel Abraham called The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics via the Podcastle podcast (also available in print in this well-named collection), and I thought it was fascinating, a logical and engaging exploration of economics and the value of worth in an alt-history European setting. I later wikipediad that it lost the Hugo for Best Novelette (novelette? who knew there were so many ways to win a Hugo?) to this story, and so I wanted to see if the right guy won.
I didn't even know until I started reading that it is about time travel, which I think we can agree is the best of all the travels (you might say space travel, but if you can time travel you can just go forward in time until space travel is cheap and plentiful). In ancient Baghdad, a man visits an alchemist's shop and learns of astargate strange circular gate that can send him forward or backward in time two decades. As always, there's a catch, because in addition to being the best of all the travels, time travel is a bitch.
The setting gives the tale the feel of fantasy, but the ideas Chiang is playing with are classic sci-fi/time travel tropes, specifically self-causality (a man tells his past self where treasure is buried, a fact he only knows because a self from the future once told him). I love time travel stories -- I love thinking them through, making sure the logic works, that the universe adheres to the set of rules as presented.
I wouldn't say any of the ideas here are exactly fresh, but as always, Chiang proves a master at taking a well-trodden idea and making it seem novel not through plot mechanics, but character. His stories aren't about the how (the time travel device is explained away by alchemy), but the heart. Talking with the alchemist, the traveler hears several tales of past time travelers, and how they attempted to use the gate to secure future comforts and were met with success or failure depending no so much on their actions, but their intentions; the power to see the future doesn't necessarily grant the power to change your base nature. The protagonists story is heartbreaking -- his only desire is to use the gate to right a grievous wrong in his past, but he learns, as we all must, that you can't do anything to change what has already happened. Yet in looking back, we can also somethings find the strength to finally move forward.
We all hold our own futures in our hands. It is fun to daydream about the ability to manipulate our destinies to a desired outcome. But we don't need magic gates to do it, and that can be a terrifying realization. Or a transcendent one.
Or you could just go back to the 1950s and bet on horse races or whatever.
*OHMIGOD it happened AGAIN! Luckily this time I was wise enough to copy the text first. Why does Goodreads hate this review?
Though I suppose a bad gateway is apropos for this book, as it is about a gateway through time, and depending on your actions in the past/future, the outcome might be bad. Oh server error, I see what you did there. Next time, though, try not to DELETE MY REVIEW to make a point*.
Anyway.
I wanted to read this very slim book for threefold reasons:
1) It's very short, but if I tag it with "2011," it gets added to my read total just like any other book, and no one can tell that it was only 60 pages (and with pictures at that!). This makes it look like I have read more books this year and therefore, I am smart. It fuels my ego. (But not as much as when someone "likes" one of my reviews. Just saying.)
2) It is by Ted Chiang. I read two of his books last year, and both were pretty satisfying, to say the least.
3) I recently encountered a short story by Daniel Abraham called The Cambist and Lord Iron: A Fairy Tale of Economics via the Podcastle podcast (also available in print in this well-named collection), and I thought it was fascinating, a logical and engaging exploration of economics and the value of worth in an alt-history European setting. I later wikipediad that it lost the Hugo for Best Novelette (novelette? who knew there were so many ways to win a Hugo?) to this story, and so I wanted to see if the right guy won.
I didn't even know until I started reading that it is about time travel, which I think we can agree is the best of all the travels (you might say space travel, but if you can time travel you can just go forward in time until space travel is cheap and plentiful). In ancient Baghdad, a man visits an alchemist's shop and learns of a
The setting gives the tale the feel of fantasy, but the ideas Chiang is playing with are classic sci-fi/time travel tropes, specifically self-causality (a man tells his past self where treasure is buried, a fact he only knows because a self from the future once told him). I love time travel stories -- I love thinking them through, making sure the logic works, that the universe adheres to the set of rules as presented.
I wouldn't say any of the ideas here are exactly fresh, but as always, Chiang proves a master at taking a well-trodden idea and making it seem novel not through plot mechanics, but character. His stories aren't about the how (the time travel device is explained away by alchemy), but the heart. Talking with the alchemist, the traveler hears several tales of past time travelers, and how they attempted to use the gate to secure future comforts and were met with success or failure depending no so much on their actions, but their intentions; the power to see the future doesn't necessarily grant the power to change your base nature. The protagonists story is heartbreaking -- his only desire is to use the gate to right a grievous wrong in his past, but he learns, as we all must, that you can't do anything to change what has already happened. Yet in looking back, we can also somethings find the strength to finally move forward.
We all hold our own futures in our hands. It is fun to daydream about the ability to manipulate our destinies to a desired outcome. But we don't need magic gates to do it, and that can be a terrifying realization. Or a transcendent one.
Or you could just go back to the 1950s and bet on horse races or whatever.
*OHMIGOD it happened AGAIN! Luckily this time I was wise enough to copy the text first. Why does Goodreads hate this review?
August 8, 2019
” The story I have to tell is truly a strange one, and were the entirety to be tattooed at the corner of one's eye, the marvel of its presentation would not exceed that of the events recounted, for it is a warning to those who would be warned and a lesson to those who would learn.”
This is a fantasy novelette that was written in 2007, but feels as ancient as the desert sands of the Baghdad of long ago. It follows a fabric merchant in ancient Baghdad who discovers a new shop whose owner invites him into his workshop and shows him his gateway to the future.
”All the while I thought on the truth of Bashaarat's words: past and future are the same, and we cannot change either, only know them more fully.”
Another short story that I was led to read by my friend Kevin’s (always) wonderful review. It is, indeed, a “pocket-sized piece of escapism,” and well worth half an hour of your time!
Kevin’s review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read the story for free: https://web.archive.org/web/200803020...
This is a fantasy novelette that was written in 2007, but feels as ancient as the desert sands of the Baghdad of long ago. It follows a fabric merchant in ancient Baghdad who discovers a new shop whose owner invites him into his workshop and shows him his gateway to the future.
”All the while I thought on the truth of Bashaarat's words: past and future are the same, and we cannot change either, only know them more fully.”
Another short story that I was led to read by my friend Kevin’s (always) wonderful review. It is, indeed, a “pocket-sized piece of escapism,” and well worth half an hour of your time!
Kevin’s review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read the story for free: https://web.archive.org/web/200803020...
September 13, 2024
I found this to be a marvelous short story about the ability to see into the past or into the future and accepting how it was and what may be.
Fuwaad ibn Abbas one day stumbles upon a man at a bazaar in Baghdad who invites him to see a wonderment--a gate that can transport a person back or forward in time. He at a later time is brought before the caliph to recount his, and others' experience with the gate. Woven into these sections of the tale are enticing plot elements of .
I was very moved to tears by this story--tears that helped me to feel cleansed and healed. I really love the concept of time travel to the past. I've always desired to travel back and to correct my mistakes. This tale helped me to understand why I have that desire and to have acceptance and more understanding about it.
I'd like to read more of Chiang's work.
Many thanks to my friend Mark whose review enticed me to indulge in this story.
Link to story: https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
Fuwaad ibn Abbas one day stumbles upon a man at a bazaar in Baghdad who invites him to see a wonderment--a gate that can transport a person back or forward in time. He at a later time is brought before the caliph to recount his, and others' experience with the gate. Woven into these sections of the tale are enticing plot elements of .
I was very moved to tears by this story--tears that helped me to feel cleansed and healed. I really love the concept of time travel to the past. I've always desired to travel back and to correct my mistakes. This tale helped me to understand why I have that desire and to have acceptance and more understanding about it.
I'd like to read more of Chiang's work.
Many thanks to my friend Mark whose review enticed me to indulge in this story.
Link to story: https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
June 5, 2016
The story was written in Arabian night style (stories within story) with a time machine as the magical device. I have no need to spoil more about the stories . For time travel story fans, you could guess the promised interwoven plot twists.
I like the message at the ending of the story. It maybe could help for a little introspection, especially for readers who preparing for the fasting (Yes, I intentionally write this review D-1 before holy month).
The free link of the story is here:
http://attach3.bdwm.net/attach/boards...
I like the message at the ending of the story. It maybe could help for a little introspection, especially for readers who preparing for the fasting (Yes, I intentionally write this review D-1 before holy month).
The free link of the story is here:
http://attach3.bdwm.net/attach/boards...
February 6, 2017
Ted Chiang is such an elegant, concise writer!
This is a fantastic time travel story, and available online for free!
https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
This is a fantastic time travel story, and available online for free!
https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
November 28, 2024
At long last I finally read my first work by Ted Chiang. The Merchant and the Alchemist Gate is an impressive piece of speculative fiction.
On the wings of Chiang’s magic carpet, I took a wild ride to Baghdad and Cairo, facilitated by a time portal aptly named 'The Gate of Years.’
The story is narrated by the merchant, Fuwaad ibn Abbas, a purveyor of fine fabrics. Fuwaad confesses to being ‘a prosperous but troubled man’ now rendered ‘penniless but at peace.’ He presents the travails of this transformation to the powerful Caliph.
Fuwaad’s journey begins when he meets Bashaarat, owner of a metalsmith shop in Baghdad that offers a range of rare and beautifully crafted products. Bashaarat claims to be the ultimate alchemist as he can offer his customers a gateway to their past and their future. What a fascinating but also frightening premise! Through the Gate of Years, Fuwaad can meet his younger self of twenty years ago and his older self of twenty years later.
Bashaarat shares stories of three individuals who had met their older and younger selves for better or for worse. However, he makes it clear that no one can change the past nor the future. Yet, a trip like this presents opportunities to better understand and come to terms with one’s losses and regrets.
“Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.” I read this several times and find it somewhat comforting.
There is more than meets the eye in this time travel novelette. It raises several questions: How does the past affect the future? Do our actions in the present determine the future? Or is there a will greater than our own (Allah’s for the characters in this story) that shapes the future? How do we make peace with the past and with ourselves?
Structurally, The Merchant and the Alchemist Gate is metafiction. There are five stories stacked together like a set of Russian dolls: three stories told by Basharaat, Fuwaad’s own story presented to the Caliph, and this story by Ted Chiang. Brilliant.
The story can be read here:
https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
On the wings of Chiang’s magic carpet, I took a wild ride to Baghdad and Cairo, facilitated by a time portal aptly named 'The Gate of Years.’
The story is narrated by the merchant, Fuwaad ibn Abbas, a purveyor of fine fabrics. Fuwaad confesses to being ‘a prosperous but troubled man’ now rendered ‘penniless but at peace.’ He presents the travails of this transformation to the powerful Caliph.
Fuwaad’s journey begins when he meets Bashaarat, owner of a metalsmith shop in Baghdad that offers a range of rare and beautifully crafted products. Bashaarat claims to be the ultimate alchemist as he can offer his customers a gateway to their past and their future. What a fascinating but also frightening premise! Through the Gate of Years, Fuwaad can meet his younger self of twenty years ago and his older self of twenty years later.
Bashaarat shares stories of three individuals who had met their older and younger selves for better or for worse. However, he makes it clear that no one can change the past nor the future. Yet, a trip like this presents opportunities to better understand and come to terms with one’s losses and regrets.
“Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.” I read this several times and find it somewhat comforting.
There is more than meets the eye in this time travel novelette. It raises several questions: How does the past affect the future? Do our actions in the present determine the future? Or is there a will greater than our own (Allah’s for the characters in this story) that shapes the future? How do we make peace with the past and with ourselves?
Structurally, The Merchant and the Alchemist Gate is metafiction. There are five stories stacked together like a set of Russian dolls: three stories told by Basharaat, Fuwaad’s own story presented to the Caliph, and this story by Ted Chiang. Brilliant.
The story can be read here:
https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
September 28, 2019
Completely in keeping with the stories of the Arabian Nights, right down to the stories with the story, the Baghdad and Cairo setting, the characters / character types and the format of the story. This one however revolves around time travel / alternative lives.
I found it excellent, and a quick and satisfying read. The free download pdf is only 18 pages long, so doesn't take long!
Available for free download here
4 stars.
I found it excellent, and a quick and satisfying read. The free download pdf is only 18 pages long, so doesn't take long!
Available for free download here
4 stars.
January 4, 2024
An exquisite novelette with an Arabian Nights flavor, involving time travel: a merchant discovers a new shop in medieval Baghdad's market, in which there's a gateway through time.
It is written in the form of stories (3 stories of different people using the gateway) within a story (the story of the merchant and the gateway) within a story (the present, when the merchant narrate all the former to the caliph).
Beautifully written and with a nice message:
_________________
More beautiful quotes:
It is written in the form of stories (3 stories of different people using the gateway) within a story (the story of the merchant and the gateway) within a story (the present, when the merchant narrate all the former to the caliph).
Beautifully written and with a nice message:
“Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.”
_________________
More beautiful quotes:
“Four things do not come back: the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.”
“Past and future are the same, and we cannot change either, only know them more fully. My journey to the past had changed nothing, but what I had learned had changed everything, and I understood that it could not have been otherwise. If our lives are tales that Allah tells, then we are the audience as well as the players, and it is by living these tales that we receive their lessons.”
“Do you now understand why I say the future and the past are the same? We cannot change either, but we can know both more fully.”
April 15, 2017
3.5 stars.
This story is like a maze where characters criss cross in their present as well as 20 years past. Husbands meet their wives who are 20 years younger or older and vice versa, self meets self, friends meet for the first time and the last, and events occur in a loop.
All this because an Alchemist merchant has doors from his shop, leading into the past as well as the future.
The narrator decides to go back to his past to try and modify an unpleasant and saddening event that occured due to his mulishness, and he narrates the bizarre events which occur after his decision to the Caliph.
it was a short read, taking less than 30 minutes, and I enjoyed it for its uniqueness and how it nibbled the recesses of my mind making me think of my past, present and future. Am left daydreaming and contemplating the current me and a child me meeting each other.
I would never have read this book, but for Manju who suggested it as a weekend group read. :-)
This story is like a maze where characters criss cross in their present as well as 20 years past. Husbands meet their wives who are 20 years younger or older and vice versa, self meets self, friends meet for the first time and the last, and events occur in a loop.
All this because an Alchemist merchant has doors from his shop, leading into the past as well as the future.
The narrator decides to go back to his past to try and modify an unpleasant and saddening event that occured due to his mulishness, and he narrates the bizarre events which occur after his decision to the Caliph.
it was a short read, taking less than 30 minutes, and I enjoyed it for its uniqueness and how it nibbled the recesses of my mind making me think of my past, present and future. Am left daydreaming and contemplating the current me and a child me meeting each other.
I would never have read this book, but for Manju who suggested it as a weekend group read. :-)
December 9, 2015
In short, this was the best story of 2015 for me.
Ted Chiang somehow creates a version of time travel that's both fun and believable. While as entertaining as Harry Potter, this story touches on everything from happiness to free will and fate. And it does so in a magical voice that transports you back in time and makes you feel like a king listening to a jester's top tale. And make no mistake, The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate is one of the best around!
Ted Chiang somehow creates a version of time travel that's both fun and believable. While as entertaining as Harry Potter, this story touches on everything from happiness to free will and fate. And it does so in a magical voice that transports you back in time and makes you feel like a king listening to a jester's top tale. And make no mistake, The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate is one of the best around!
June 7, 2019
A wise and enchanting parable told in delightful fairytale fashion in the time of the Arabian Nights. Not to be missed! My thanks to Kevin Ansbro for the enlightening, delightful find!
November 13, 2023
“You could seek out your older self and have a conversation with him. Afterwards, you could step back through the Gate of Years and return to the present day.”
Fuwaad Ibn Abbas was beset by an inconsolable grief that nothing could pacify. When Bashaarat, a merchant, revealed and demonstrated to him a time-travel portal, an unquenched desire began coursing through his veins. Recounted before a Caliph, this is a distraught man’s slow journey into the previously unsought true arms of peace.
As much as I would love to gush about the incontrovertible lessons that this fable offers, or how fully a medley of Damascene merchandise gratified my senses, I must center my approbation around the author’s straightforward glide of storytelling that monopolized three of my days so deeply that I clearly saw myself slip through the Gate of Years, the time-travelling portal. The narration bears a virtuosity that produces immediate immersion and welcomes raw emotions of wonder and anticipation, faster than a tyre rolling downhill, until the reader is caught off guard somewhere eight-tenths from the end.
Broken into three segments, with pauses inspiring contemplation, this novelette is available for a free online read->
https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
Many thanks to author Kevin Ansbro for recommending this enchanting novella.
His fabulous review is here-->https://goodreads.com/review/show/189...
Fuwaad Ibn Abbas was beset by an inconsolable grief that nothing could pacify. When Bashaarat, a merchant, revealed and demonstrated to him a time-travel portal, an unquenched desire began coursing through his veins. Recounted before a Caliph, this is a distraught man’s slow journey into the previously unsought true arms of peace.
As much as I would love to gush about the incontrovertible lessons that this fable offers, or how fully a medley of Damascene merchandise gratified my senses, I must center my approbation around the author’s straightforward glide of storytelling that monopolized three of my days so deeply that I clearly saw myself slip through the Gate of Years, the time-travelling portal. The narration bears a virtuosity that produces immediate immersion and welcomes raw emotions of wonder and anticipation, faster than a tyre rolling downhill, until the reader is caught off guard somewhere eight-tenths from the end.
Broken into three segments, with pauses inspiring contemplation, this novelette is available for a free online read->
https://web.archive.org/web/200802141...
Many thanks to author Kevin Ansbro for recommending this enchanting novella.
His fabulous review is here-->https://goodreads.com/review/show/189...
July 20, 2013
Another excellent story by Ted Chiang... actually, it's three stories, set in a framing device.
In the medieval Middle East, an alchemist has developed a kind of time machine. When a potential customer walks in, the inventor offers him the chance to go through his gateway and through time - but first he tells the stories of three other people who took such a journey, and what befell them.
Like a tale of the Arabian Nights, the story has a fairy-tale feel to it, told simply and briefly, but with a lot of food for thought wrapped into its pages. As the last line makes clear, the themes are repentance, atonement and forgiveness.
In the medieval Middle East, an alchemist has developed a kind of time machine. When a potential customer walks in, the inventor offers him the chance to go through his gateway and through time - but first he tells the stories of three other people who took such a journey, and what befell them.
Like a tale of the Arabian Nights, the story has a fairy-tale feel to it, told simply and briefly, but with a lot of food for thought wrapped into its pages. As the last line makes clear, the themes are repentance, atonement and forgiveness.
January 24, 2021
Tales within tales...with alchemy and magic mirrors that allow time travel. A wonderful short story which travels in unexpected directions!
August 9, 2019
What a lovely and meaningful tale. Many thanks to Cheri and Kevin for another delightful experience. I am trying to read more short-stories, because they give you such a lot of return for such a small investment!
To anyone who would like to read this one: https://web.archive.org/web/200803020...
To anyone who would like to read this one: https://web.archive.org/web/200803020...
April 17, 2017
An additional star for the enriching discussions...
Detailed review to follow...
Edit:
This invoked so much of childhood emotions - Tales of Arabian nights.
Being a short story with time travel concepts, you may be able to feel a few logical plot holes...
And that's the reason for loving it as a short story.
Had it been a full fledged novel, would have thrashed it left and right for wasting so much of time!
P.S. : I'm never going to repeat the mistake of writing a review from phone. Not very fond of the GR app, and the website version on phone has high chances of refreshing while scrolling to the top.
Detailed review to follow...
Edit:
This invoked so much of childhood emotions - Tales of Arabian nights.
Being a short story with time travel concepts, you may be able to feel a few logical plot holes...
And that's the reason for loving it as a short story.
Had it been a full fledged novel, would have thrashed it left and right for wasting so much of time!
P.S. : I'm never going to repeat the mistake of writing a review from phone. Not very fond of the GR app, and the website version on phone has high chances of refreshing while scrolling to the top.
June 16, 2021
ছোটবেলায় পড়া আরব্য রজনীর কথা মনে আছে? এই বইটা সেই আরব্য রজনীর একটা গল্প। কিন্তু গল্পটা আপডেটেড। দৈত্য জ্বীন নেই এখানে, তার বদলে পাবেন টাইম পোর্টাল এবং মনোমুগ্ধকর দর্শন!
November 18, 2017
“Past and future are the same, and we cannot change either, only know them more fully. My journey to the past had changed nothing, but what I had learned had changed everything, and I understood that it could not have been otherwise. If our lives are tales that Allah tells, then we are the audience as well as the players, and it is by living these tales that we receive their lessons.”
If you enjoyed the The Alchemist then you would presumably enjoy this too! The audio-book is interesting with all those great demonstrations of various characters by the very same voice over. Outstanding performance actually. I liked the idea that we cannot change our lives and our destiny through time traveling, so to speak.
If you enjoyed the The Alchemist then you would presumably enjoy this too! The audio-book is interesting with all those great demonstrations of various characters by the very same voice over. Outstanding performance actually. I liked the idea that we cannot change our lives and our destiny through time traveling, so to speak.
June 3, 2022
The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate by Ted Chiang is a short story in the Exhalation collection of stories. It is a science fiction book involving time travel. The narration follows the story-within-a-story style and delivers quite a few interesting stories to feed upon.
What advice would you give your younger self if you could meet them right now? A character finds himself in a similar situation and the path his story takes teaches us a lot as humans. This crisp read made me wonder the decisions I took in life and how they shaped who I am today, and who I could have been.
I really liked this short story. I was done in around 20 minutes, and was left craving for more magic to satiate my timeless hunger.
Some of the quotes I liked:
What advice would you give your younger self if you could meet them right now? A character finds himself in a similar situation and the path his story takes teaches us a lot as humans. This crisp read made me wonder the decisions I took in life and how they shaped who I am today, and who I could have been.
I really liked this short story. I was done in around 20 minutes, and was left craving for more magic to satiate my timeless hunger.
Some of the quotes I liked:
"like infernal fire, grief burns but does not consume; instead, it makes the heart vulnerable to further suffering."
"Coincidence and intention are two sides of a tapestry, my lord. You may find one more agreeable to look at, but you cannot say one is true and the other is false."
"past and future are the same, and we cannot change either, only know them more fully."
"Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough."
May 2, 2011
A very short book set in medieval Baghdad. A poor man is brought before the Caliph. It's revealed that his circumstances and journey are extraordinary. The format is probably inspired by Scheherazade, but Chiang cuts to the heart with 3 or 4 tales. Again, amazing, how thoughts of life and living are spread before the reader in such a feast of words.
February 28, 2023
This was a surprising and fascinating read where Arabian nights meets time travel.
It is an interesting look at time travel where past and future is already decided. With things already fixed, what would going to the past or future mean? I loved the story within a story style of writing. And the lesson that while we cannot change past or future, we can find better ways to deal with and make our peace with it. And sometimes not knowing is actually better- as to be human is to have the joy of uncertainty and acting while not knowing what could happen is part of the fun.
I am impressed by the creativity and immersive-ness of this short story. And not surprised that it won all the awards.
It is an interesting look at time travel where past and future is already decided. With things already fixed, what would going to the past or future mean? I loved the story within a story style of writing. And the lesson that while we cannot change past or future, we can find better ways to deal with and make our peace with it. And sometimes not knowing is actually better- as to be human is to have the joy of uncertainty and acting while not knowing what could happen is part of the fun.
I am impressed by the creativity and immersive-ness of this short story. And not surprised that it won all the awards.
April 17, 2017
Loved the fairy tale like feel, the time travel, the narration. This was one story which went so smoothly like a river flowing....
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