Shahnameh; the Epic of the Persian Kings

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Few years ago my son became friends with a boy whose family is from Iran,and I grew fascinated with Persian culture and when I learned about Shahnameh, I quickly jumped to read and review this epic. I think what I thought was that the story would make a brief mention of my ancestors who have lost their land to Persians thousands of years ago, and I also hoped to see historical figures that frightened the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt. While I was disappointed neither of my hopes were realized, I was not disappointed to be introduced to the stories of valiant kings, both fictional and historical who have left such amazing tales in their wake, long after the beauty of Persian culture has succumbed to Islam. The story reads more as a prose than poetry, although one does get poetry too.  The story is also divided into two parts: the longest focusing on ancient mythology, and shortest on historical personages. With historical personages I wish that time could have been given so I could know better on how to relate the setting to wider world.  

This was given for review 

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)