Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Spent a lot of time confused and trying to figure out which version & translation I should read — i think the chi chen wang version seemed good to start with - very approachable and some beautiful language. From reading some lit criticism it seems like it is missing a lot of important beats, but gets the arch of the story for the most part. I do think i’ll at least read the hawkes/minford vol1 for the prologue / frame which is no question my favorite part.
My first piece of chinese literature! I think the themes and language are really beautiful. Chapter 1 & chapter 5 were seriously some of my favorite things ive read in a while. Illusory / red dust / jade / heaven / dream all so good in word and collection it makes me want to do a little jig or maybe go to sleep and dream a long dream i never wake up from
Really really really highly recommend this lin 1992 article about dreams and dreaming bc i thought it was sooooo beautiful and interesting and fun. Wake be yin and sleep be yang. Gazing into the murky water and reaching for something in the red dust but then you jolt awake as a stone again
Lin, S. (1992). Chia Pao-yü’s First Visit to the Land of Illusion: An Analysis of a Literary Dream in Interdisciplinary Perspective. Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR), 14, 77–106. https://doi.org/10.2307/495404
My first piece of chinese literature! I think the themes and language are really beautiful. Chapter 1 & chapter 5 were seriously some of my favorite things ive read in a while. Illusory / red dust / jade / heaven / dream all so good in word and collection it makes me want to do a little jig or maybe go to sleep and dream a long dream i never wake up from
Really really really highly recommend this lin 1992 article about dreams and dreaming bc i thought it was sooooo beautiful and interesting and fun. Wake be yin and sleep be yang. Gazing into the murky water and reaching for something in the red dust but then you jolt awake as a stone again
Lin, S. (1992). Chia Pao-yü’s First Visit to the Land of Illusion: An Analysis of a Literary Dream in Interdisciplinary Perspective. Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR), 14, 77–106. https://doi.org/10.2307/495404
Een boek over het einde van een feodaal regime.
120 hoofdstukken van ongeveer 20 bladzijden.
Mooi boek, maar je hebt er best een handleiding bij om de verhalen te duiden op hun diepere inhoud.
120 hoofdstukken van ongeveer 20 bladzijden.
Mooi boek, maar je hebt er best een handleiding bij om de verhalen te duiden op hun diepere inhoud.
This was quite interesting to read. I enjoyed learning of various aspects of Chinese culture while following the human stories which transcend culture.
A deep exploration of a Chinese household of means - its adults, children, servants, relatives. Dream of the Red Chamber beguiles you with its strongly written characters, who are almost always one step ahead of the reader. The subtlety of their dialogue and decisions reveal an intricate world - lived-in, failing, and suddenly lost.
This is an abridged translation, and while the translator did a good job, I don’t think it allows one to have fully read Dream of the Red Chamber nor understand the work’s associated cultural and literary significance.
This is an abridged translation, and while the translator did a good job, I don’t think it allows one to have fully read Dream of the Red Chamber nor understand the work’s associated cultural and literary significance.
challenging
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s hard to write about such an important book. Whenever I approach a novel like this, that is such an important book for world literature, I find myself with conflicting emotions of having to like it and find its grandeur, while at the same time find myself bored and not engaging with the story being told.
I didn’t find myself so much bored, as lost at some conventionalism I feel I should have known.
I should say that even when reading modern books, I find stories about rich people’s problems far from my interest. So approaching this story which seems to deal mostly with an affluent family and its trouble. The young trio of characters seem to be in an imposible love story, that also doesn’t manage to catch my attention.
Maybe it was not the best choice for diving into Chinese literature.
I didn’t find myself so much bored, as lost at some conventionalism I feel I should have known.
I should say that even when reading modern books, I find stories about rich people’s problems far from my interest. So approaching this story which seems to deal mostly with an affluent family and its trouble. The young trio of characters seem to be in an imposible love story, that also doesn’t manage to catch my attention.
Maybe it was not the best choice for diving into Chinese literature.
Loved it, but wish I'd known this was only the first 56 chapters (of 120)- and it turns out that you can't get more than those chapters without turning to multi-volume hard-copy editions. Thanks to amazon, I should get to read the rest soon, though.
slow-paced
Story was slow and boring, and the main character was horrifically annoying.
This book is a work of literature in its time - described in carefully crafted narratives with symbolic poetry to show a tragic tale of demise of four rich families, but also a brave critique of the corrupted society of upper classes around that time. While I needed literary and character analyzes to help decipher the rich poetry and symbolism in this book, it was a wonderful read.