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512 reviews for:
The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West
Wu Ch'eng-En, Anthony C. Yu
3.91 AVERAGE
512 reviews for:
The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West
Wu Ch'eng-En, Anthony C. Yu
3.91 AVERAGE
Ok, if you are into fantastic stories, you should definitely read Monkey.
Firstly, Waley's translation is an abridgement and as he points out in the introduction he did not follow the generally accepted method of keeping all the chapters while making each considerably shorter. What he did instead, was to keep only about one fourth of all the chapters, but the selected chapters appear in their complete form in the book.
Secondly, this book was written in China in the 14th century and the techniques of story telling are dramatically different than what we are used to in so-called "modern" times. To give you an example, the writer does not make use of suspense so much. In many cases, faced with a challenge, one character makes up a plan to solve it, and then everything happens according to that plan, no suspense, no surprise.
Thirdly, it is heavily influenced by Chinese mythology and thus, with Buddhist stories, anecdotes and frames of thinking. There are interesting chapters in the book where you see the conflicts of Buddhists and Daoists, the two main Chinese so-called "religions".
Firstly, Waley's translation is an abridgement and as he points out in the introduction he did not follow the generally accepted method of keeping all the chapters while making each considerably shorter. What he did instead, was to keep only about one fourth of all the chapters, but the selected chapters appear in their complete form in the book.
Secondly, this book was written in China in the 14th century and the techniques of story telling are dramatically different than what we are used to in so-called "modern" times. To give you an example, the writer does not make use of suspense so much. In many cases, faced with a challenge, one character makes up a plan to solve it, and then everything happens according to that plan, no suspense, no surprise.
Thirdly, it is heavily influenced by Chinese mythology and thus, with Buddhist stories, anecdotes and frames of thinking. There are interesting chapters in the book where you see the conflicts of Buddhists and Daoists, the two main Chinese so-called "religions".
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Incredibly fun and perhaps the most engaging classic I ever read. I really enjoyed the modernization of the language - not reading the terms and conditions of your reincarnation lives rent free in my head.
This version of Journey to the West is abridged and that worked very well for me. Already in this short book, the adventures can get repetitive. This means, of course, that a lot of the original (including all of the poetry) gets cut out.
Sometimes I wished for greater character development for Pigsy and for Sandy and the dragon/horse more presence would have been nice. In contrast to that, I really liked that Tripitaka started as a wimpy, useless man and remained that throughout the book and was rewarded for it by becoming a Buddha. The social commentary was on point.
Overall, I fun satire with very enjoyable worldbuilding people can still relate to after 400+ years.
This version of Journey to the West is abridged and that worked very well for me. Already in this short book, the adventures can get repetitive. This means, of course, that a lot of the original (including all of the poetry) gets cut out.
Sometimes I wished for greater character development for Pigsy and for Sandy and the dragon/horse more presence would have been nice. In contrast to that, I really liked that Tripitaka started as a wimpy, useless man and remained that throughout the book and was rewarded for it by becoming a Buddha. The social commentary was on point.
Overall, I fun satire with very enjoyable worldbuilding people can still relate to after 400+ years.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
I was first introduced to Monkey as a child, reading Laurence Yep's Dragon of the Lost Sea series. He was mischievous, clever, and a bit of a jerk. I went on to encounter him a few more times throughout my life, in comics (American Born Chinese), Anime (Dragonball Z), and music (Chen Shi-Zheng, Damon Albarn, and Jamie Hewlett's Monkey). After he got a triple-a video game (Black Myth Wukong), I figured it was time to finally read the original story.
While this is an abridged version of Journey to the West, it still feels appropriately epic. Monkey causes mischief, jokes, and receives his comeuppance, all within the first few chapters. I don't think I realized quite how much more there was to the story. There are demons galore, a magical quest, and a hilariously pathetic "hero" that our three monstrous attendants (Monkey is joined by Pigsy, a pig demon, and Sandy, some kind of ogre) must protect from himself and the world around him. While it's very obvious that it is an ancient book, what with its lack of what we might consider traditional story structure, it's a blast to read. Julia Lovell has done an excellent job abridging the story, while still keeping the humor and fun. Well worth your time.
While this is an abridged version of Journey to the West, it still feels appropriately epic. Monkey causes mischief, jokes, and receives his comeuppance, all within the first few chapters. I don't think I realized quite how much more there was to the story. There are demons galore, a magical quest, and a hilariously pathetic "hero" that our three monstrous attendants (Monkey is joined by Pigsy, a pig demon, and Sandy, some kind of ogre) must protect from himself and the world around him. While it's very obvious that it is an ancient book, what with its lack of what we might consider traditional story structure, it's a blast to read. Julia Lovell has done an excellent job abridging the story, while still keeping the humor and fun. Well worth your time.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes