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spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
3.0
Meredith McKinney's translation is the best, in my opinion; don't read Arthur Waley's. I haven't read Ivan Morris's translation yet (I'll update this when I do) but I've heard good things about the footnotes.
smj322's review against another edition
2.0
Provides an interesting look into court society during the Heian Period of Japanese history, so it's particularly helpful for historians. Still, it's hard to sympathize with the author, who is way too concerned with frivolous things; she seems like a deeply insecure person living in an already self-conscious society.
nipipis's review against another edition
4.0
The book was written in Japan in the 10th century. The traditions may have changed, but people have not and the sarcasm still is on point.
"things later regretted -
(..)
An adopted child who turns out to have an ugly face"
"things later regretted -
(..)
An adopted child who turns out to have an ugly face"
kahell's review against another edition
4.0
Awe-inspiring things — The first leaf appearing from a seed planted weeks ago.
Sunset from the mountain you've spent the whole day scaling.
The realization that no matter how many years, miles, or walls separate us, humans are essentially the same. The specific objects of our preoccupations may differ, but intrinsically we are all looking for an answer to the same question – why keep living?
Sei Shōnagon delightfully demonstrates the Heian period's answer to that: an acute appreciation of beauty and harmony, the development of a keen sense of poetic sensibility. I almost can't believe that I related as much as I did to someone who lived a whole millennium ago, but I did and it was an amazing experience.
I find myself going back to her quirky lists again and again, imagining the sensation evoked by every little scene. I've written some of my own and enjoyed the process of categorizing the trivial occurrences of everyday. It's singular in its purpose and it's refreshing, especially living in an age where everything seems to need to be all-encompassing solutions in themselves to be considered good.
Sometimes you just want to lay under the sun and attempt to put in words the way the sunlight reflecting on a particular leaf is making you feel, and that's okay. As we work to make things better, we should also appreciate the things that already are.
Sunset from the mountain you've spent the whole day scaling.
The realization that no matter how many years, miles, or walls separate us, humans are essentially the same. The specific objects of our preoccupations may differ, but intrinsically we are all looking for an answer to the same question – why keep living?
Sei Shōnagon delightfully demonstrates the Heian period's answer to that: an acute appreciation of beauty and harmony, the development of a keen sense of poetic sensibility. I almost can't believe that I related as much as I did to someone who lived a whole millennium ago, but I did and it was an amazing experience.
I find myself going back to her quirky lists again and again, imagining the sensation evoked by every little scene. I've written some of my own and enjoyed the process of categorizing the trivial occurrences of everyday. It's singular in its purpose and it's refreshing, especially living in an age where everything seems to need to be all-encompassing solutions in themselves to be considered good.
Sometimes you just want to lay under the sun and attempt to put in words the way the sunlight reflecting on a particular leaf is making you feel, and that's okay. As we work to make things better, we should also appreciate the things that already are.
quiettalker's review against another edition
4.0
I do not recommend this addition. I'm leaving looking forward to reading another addition when I get the chance.
snowgray's review against another edition
5.0
I've heard this book described as "medieval tumblr" and that's pretty accurate. It's a mix of personal anecdotes, poems, fiction, and aphorisms. Very light and funny. My edition's endnotes were helpful (as was reading it as an e-book, because you'll want to switch between the notes and the text frequently).
mhall's review against another edition
4.0
Heavily featured in Ruth Ozeki's novel [b:My Year of Meats|12349|My Year of Meats|Ruth Ozeki|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388513889s/12349.jpg|265218], I picked this up and read it in fragments here and there, basically the same way it was written. Lists of precise, interesting things and anecdotes about court life in Japan in the tenth century. Amazingly modern. The aesthetic is interesting, the lines of poetry carefully transcribed and delivered to a paramour, the women waiting for men to steal into their bedrooms at night.
Hateful things: "One is telling a story about old times when someone breaks in with a little detail that he happens to know, implying that one's own version is inaccurate - hateful behavior!
Very hateful is a mouse that scurries all over the place."
Pronouncements: "A Palm-Leaf Carriage Should Move Slowly.
"Oxen Should Have Very Small Foreheads.
A Preacher Ought To Be Good-Looking."
Beautifully precise descriptions of nature and weather.
Hateful things: "One is telling a story about old times when someone breaks in with a little detail that he happens to know, implying that one's own version is inaccurate - hateful behavior!
Very hateful is a mouse that scurries all over the place."
Pronouncements: "A Palm-Leaf Carriage Should Move Slowly.
"Oxen Should Have Very Small Foreheads.
A Preacher Ought To Be Good-Looking."
Beautifully precise descriptions of nature and weather.
brantelg's review against another edition
4.0
I thought that Sei's thoughts were intriguing, but I skipped most of the narration of her life and focused on the lists.