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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Mpreg river
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-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
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5⭐ (Near Perfection)
This book was SO much fun. Monkey is a truly fun and interesting character to follow, and I was happy to follow his journey to the west through to the end.
I can see why there has been so many inspirations and adaptations that have come from the Monkey King saga. From things like Dragon Ball to Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. And numerous countless others. This story is filled with all kinds of different things like cloud jumping to transformations to a staff that listens to what the owner tells it to do. There are so many interesting ideas baked in throughout this story its almost hard to keep up. And yet it is amazing how it all fits into this novel and still makes sense. A lot of that has to do when it was written. It seems quaint in some ways how this story was told. Every author as of late has to explain in great detail why and how something works. We could get a 100 page diatribe on how and why the staff of honesty listens and does what it says with its own backstory. In this book it is described in a couple sentences. And you either accept it, or you don't. It was a breath of fresh air for me. Don't get me wrong. I love the detailed stories we get now, but they don't ALL have to be that way, and I appreciated this book for what it was very much.
In many ways this felt like a book of fairy tales. It isn't, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that since I had that thought multiple times while reading. But if it feels like a fairy tale, then it's an extremely long one with one main character. It does still have that air about it though.
I have to mention how absolutely awesome this translation is too. For a book that was written in the 1500's, it's endlessly impressive to me how easy this was to follow. I love older literature, but I usually have to focus more when I read it because of the language it is written in. This book truly made me appreciate how much a good translation can bring alive a story. Julia Lovell is a treasure and did an amazing job. Her heart was clearly in this to the end.
An absolute classic that I'm happy to have randomly found at the library. What a fun read.
This book was SO much fun. Monkey is a truly fun and interesting character to follow, and I was happy to follow his journey to the west through to the end.
I can see why there has been so many inspirations and adaptations that have come from the Monkey King saga. From things like Dragon Ball to Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. And numerous countless others. This story is filled with all kinds of different things like cloud jumping to transformations to a staff that listens to what the owner tells it to do. There are so many interesting ideas baked in throughout this story its almost hard to keep up. And yet it is amazing how it all fits into this novel and still makes sense. A lot of that has to do when it was written. It seems quaint in some ways how this story was told. Every author as of late has to explain in great detail why and how something works. We could get a 100 page diatribe on how and why the staff of honesty listens and does what it says with its own backstory. In this book it is described in a couple sentences. And you either accept it, or you don't. It was a breath of fresh air for me. Don't get me wrong. I love the detailed stories we get now, but they don't ALL have to be that way, and I appreciated this book for what it was very much.
In many ways this felt like a book of fairy tales. It isn't, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that since I had that thought multiple times while reading. But if it feels like a fairy tale, then it's an extremely long one with one main character. It does still have that air about it though.
I have to mention how absolutely awesome this translation is too. For a book that was written in the 1500's, it's endlessly impressive to me how easy this was to follow. I love older literature, but I usually have to focus more when I read it because of the language it is written in. This book truly made me appreciate how much a good translation can bring alive a story. Julia Lovell is a treasure and did an amazing job. Her heart was clearly in this to the end.
An absolute classic that I'm happy to have randomly found at the library. What a fun read.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am not the target audience… I found it agonizing to follow and I didn’t care about anyone or anything. But I’m glad I read it. Cultural enrichment.
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This would have been four stars, but the tales got somewhat repetitive toward the fourth quarter Much like Don Quixote, this is a collection of tales that don't weave together; their main draw is that they're fanciful, colorful, funny and exciting for the most part.