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kassandraadelgado's review against another edition
5.0
tender and clever - the lists were equally cutting as they were just plain silly. i wrote some lines into my pocket notebook so i could always have them with me, but far and above the best part was when she wrote that priests being ugly should be a sin
plumpeony's review against another edition
3.0
This is such an incomplete translation, and somewhat odd in that it's a mix of translation and translator notes. Although it was bulky, I preferred the two volume version I read a few years ago.
carwen's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
4.25
emilykulzer's review against another edition
3.0
The Pillow Book is a unique, interesting read. The translation by Meredith McKinney is the one that I read. It provides a great Chronology and Introduction at the beginning to put the text into context. Although I would recommend reading the chronology, introduction and appendices first before the primary text as I often did not get some of the references Sei Shonagon was talking about. I found that turning to the back every time to find a note was a little tedious as there are quite a few. The text in itself is quite fascinating as it seems so modern. This book is almost like reading Sei Shonagon's Twitter feed as most of the passages are just random thoughts or lists. I would have to say that is what I liked most about this book but only gave it 3 stars because although it was interesting, it isn't a book I would probably read again.
yew676's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
5.0
mmoitie's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.25
spiritualkungfu's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty interesting look at Heian era Japan, I wasn't so interested in anything other then that, Shonagon talks about this and that but nothing of great importance but it was still worth reading.
zmb's review against another edition
3.0
This book is something. It's delightful how it manages to simultaneously be incredibly conversational, making you feel like you know Sei and the people of the court, and elegant, because that court is so very refined. Sei is not as interested in disclosing her faults as, say, Rousseau, and yet, because of the quality of her writing I feel like I know at least as much about her.