Ḥikāyat Abī al-Qāsim

Re-introduces a poorly understood, provocative and unusual work to a new audience Hikayat Abi al-Qasim , probably written in the 11th century by the otherwise unknown al-Azdi, tells the story of a gate-crasher from Baghdad named Abu l-Qasim, who shows up uninvited at a party in Isfahan. Dressed as a holy man and reciting religious poetry, he soon relaxes his demeanour, and, growing intoxicated on wine, insults the other dinner guests and their Iranian hometown. Widely hailed as a narrative uniqu