Scan barcode
talentedcain's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
anneliehyatt's review against another edition
5.0
“He felt her there beside him, just as she had always been on evenings like this when he had called for music, and when her touch on her instrument, or the least word to him, had been so much her own; except that he would have preferred even to this vivid dream her simple reality in the dark.”
The Tale of Genji begins, fittingly, with the birth of its eponymous protagonist. From the beginning, Genji’s fate is double-sided: although he is of imperial lineage through the Emperor, his mother is merely one of his concubines. However, his father recognizes Genji’s exceptional character instantly and favors him after the untimely death of his mother.
The next several chapters are an exciting bildungsroman of Genji’s life as he rises through the ranks of society alongside his best friend Tō no Chujō. For a time, each chapter features a different woman with whom Genji becomes enamored. From the beginning, the contradiction of his devotion to certain women compared to his womanizing tendencies emerges as a focal, irrevocable part of his character, as much as he tries to cure himself.
He expresses his love to these women through waka poems, a central medium for articulating emotion in Heian era Japan. Beyond its function as a means of communicating passion, the quality of a waka poem was also used to judge a person’s cultural sophistication, a quality that did not strictly adhere to class and gender lines. “I would not be known for flitting lightheartedly to every flower / but this bluebell this morning I would be sad not to pick,” he says to Utsusemi, a woman who repeatedly rejects his advances.
While Genji becomes embroiled with many women throughout his life, and becomes absorbed with them in turn, none compare to Murasaki, a girl whom he kidnaps at a young age and raises at his home, Nijō.
However, his life of carefree debauchery, pining after women, and basking under the adulation of everyone around him is interrupted when Genji is exiled to the rural coast of Suma for starting an affair with the emperor’s consort. His father, recently expired, was unable to protect him. This is the first real trial in Genji’s life, and changes both the tone of the novel as well as his personality when he returns.
"He had seen clearly and all too briefly the sight he had longed for through the years but always missed, even in his dreams... that lingering presence [in which] he felt boundless trust and joy."
When Genji is pardoned, his return is met with plenty of celebration. The chapters after this point see the steady decline of Genji’s philandering, and the increasingly complicated affairs of his progeny—which, in particular, strains the relationship between him and his friend, Tō no Chujō. Much of this section chronicles the experiences of these two men’s children.
“Lost in my sorrows, I never knew months and days were still passing by—is the year really over, and my time, too, in the world?”
After Genji’s death, which occurs late in the book, the story transitions abruptly to trace the narratives of two other members of Heian era nobility, both related to Genji in different capacities: Niou, a man who carries on Genji’s relentless sensuality, and Kaoru, an exceptionally stoic individual who differs from virtually all other men in Tale of Genji by being monogamous in his passions. The last part of the novel narrates their rivalry over a trifecta of sisters.
This book took me almost a year to read. Over this time, I went through so many events that changed me forever: I had a fairly traumatic rift with my friends, the events of which absorbed me emotionally for the rest of the school term, and also met people whom I came to view as my second family. It was a really emotionally turbulent year, one I’m not really sure how to feel about.
Through it all, reading this book was a steady source of linguistic and emotional satisfaction. Lady Murasaki is an unparalleled writer: she has a masterful command of prose, as well as a sensitive understanding of other human beings. Regardless of what modern readers say about him, Genji is a complicated individual and intricately rendered by Lady Murasaki. I also found the secondary characters to be interesting, flawed, and emotionally vibrant: Kashiwagi is a fascinating antagonist (although this is a clumsy title for him—I wouldn’t say that there are any “antagonists” in the novel), and Kaoru, as well, was very interesting to watch.
However, the women are also elaborately characterized: in particular, I really enjoyed reading about the Lady of Akashi and Tamakazura. Instead of being merely objects of lust for the male characters, they are in fact exemplars of resistance and utilize power in their own ways: running off, converting to nunnery, rejecting a man’s advances and not permitting him entrance into her curtain, or—the most interesting method—spirit possession.
The plot of Tale of Genji does not provide a lot of closure. I agree that reading it is similar to “floating through a dream,” in which it is more useful to appreciate Murasaki’s beautiful imagery about clothes and the scenery rather than get too wound up in action.
Tale of Genji is a work of genius. It is psychological, leisurely, and romantic, yet also dense and shot through with a dark sensuality; it is filled with a cast of characters whom I came to love deeply and for a long time. It is a soap opera as well as high literature. The length of time that it took me to read this book, and thus the period of time to which it is welded, has made this book incredibly close to my heart. I am so grateful that I got to experience this book, and don’t know what I’m going to do now that I’ve read it. Still, I feel as if I’m not through with this book—I want to keep reading it, I feel as if her writing is still flowing through me. Thank you, Lady Murasaki.
P.S. I find people calling Genji a “slut” or Tale of Genji a “trashy chick-flick” incredibly rude and stupid. If you’re boycotting Tale of Genji because Genji is a problematic character, please understand that your “moral decision” is depriving you of the ability to appreciate this unique literary masterpiece—this is honestly a much more complex debate to be had, but judging a book by how closely it follows your own moral compass is just random and narcissistic and completely misses the point of literature.
The Tale of Genji begins, fittingly, with the birth of its eponymous protagonist. From the beginning, Genji’s fate is double-sided: although he is of imperial lineage through the Emperor, his mother is merely one of his concubines. However, his father recognizes Genji’s exceptional character instantly and favors him after the untimely death of his mother.
The next several chapters are an exciting bildungsroman of Genji’s life as he rises through the ranks of society alongside his best friend Tō no Chujō. For a time, each chapter features a different woman with whom Genji becomes enamored. From the beginning, the contradiction of his devotion to certain women compared to his womanizing tendencies emerges as a focal, irrevocable part of his character, as much as he tries to cure himself.
He expresses his love to these women through waka poems, a central medium for articulating emotion in Heian era Japan. Beyond its function as a means of communicating passion, the quality of a waka poem was also used to judge a person’s cultural sophistication, a quality that did not strictly adhere to class and gender lines. “I would not be known for flitting lightheartedly to every flower / but this bluebell this morning I would be sad not to pick,” he says to Utsusemi, a woman who repeatedly rejects his advances.
While Genji becomes embroiled with many women throughout his life, and becomes absorbed with them in turn, none compare to Murasaki, a girl whom he kidnaps at a young age and raises at his home, Nijō.
However, his life of carefree debauchery, pining after women, and basking under the adulation of everyone around him is interrupted when Genji is exiled to the rural coast of Suma for starting an affair with the emperor’s consort. His father, recently expired, was unable to protect him. This is the first real trial in Genji’s life, and changes both the tone of the novel as well as his personality when he returns.
"He had seen clearly and all too briefly the sight he had longed for through the years but always missed, even in his dreams... that lingering presence [in which] he felt boundless trust and joy."
When Genji is pardoned, his return is met with plenty of celebration. The chapters after this point see the steady decline of Genji’s philandering, and the increasingly complicated affairs of his progeny—which, in particular, strains the relationship between him and his friend, Tō no Chujō. Much of this section chronicles the experiences of these two men’s children.
“Lost in my sorrows, I never knew months and days were still passing by—is the year really over, and my time, too, in the world?”
After Genji’s death, which occurs late in the book, the story transitions abruptly to trace the narratives of two other members of Heian era nobility, both related to Genji in different capacities: Niou, a man who carries on Genji’s relentless sensuality, and Kaoru, an exceptionally stoic individual who differs from virtually all other men in Tale of Genji by being monogamous in his passions. The last part of the novel narrates their rivalry over a trifecta of sisters.
This book took me almost a year to read. Over this time, I went through so many events that changed me forever: I had a fairly traumatic rift with my friends, the events of which absorbed me emotionally for the rest of the school term, and also met people whom I came to view as my second family. It was a really emotionally turbulent year, one I’m not really sure how to feel about.
Through it all, reading this book was a steady source of linguistic and emotional satisfaction. Lady Murasaki is an unparalleled writer: she has a masterful command of prose, as well as a sensitive understanding of other human beings. Regardless of what modern readers say about him, Genji is a complicated individual and intricately rendered by Lady Murasaki. I also found the secondary characters to be interesting, flawed, and emotionally vibrant: Kashiwagi is a fascinating antagonist (although this is a clumsy title for him—I wouldn’t say that there are any “antagonists” in the novel), and Kaoru, as well, was very interesting to watch.
However, the women are also elaborately characterized: in particular, I really enjoyed reading about the Lady of Akashi and Tamakazura. Instead of being merely objects of lust for the male characters, they are in fact exemplars of resistance and utilize power in their own ways: running off, converting to nunnery, rejecting a man’s advances and not permitting him entrance into her curtain, or—the most interesting method—spirit possession.
The plot of Tale of Genji does not provide a lot of closure. I agree that reading it is similar to “floating through a dream,” in which it is more useful to appreciate Murasaki’s beautiful imagery about clothes and the scenery rather than get too wound up in action.
Tale of Genji is a work of genius. It is psychological, leisurely, and romantic, yet also dense and shot through with a dark sensuality; it is filled with a cast of characters whom I came to love deeply and for a long time. It is a soap opera as well as high literature. The length of time that it took me to read this book, and thus the period of time to which it is welded, has made this book incredibly close to my heart. I am so grateful that I got to experience this book, and don’t know what I’m going to do now that I’ve read it. Still, I feel as if I’m not through with this book—I want to keep reading it, I feel as if her writing is still flowing through me. Thank you, Lady Murasaki.
P.S. I find people calling Genji a “slut” or Tale of Genji a “trashy chick-flick” incredibly rude and stupid. If you’re boycotting Tale of Genji because Genji is a problematic character, please understand that your “moral decision” is depriving you of the ability to appreciate this unique literary masterpiece—this is honestly a much more complex debate to be had, but judging a book by how closely it follows your own moral compass is just random and narcissistic and completely misses the point of literature.
kxiong5's review against another edition
5.0
This book does not care what I think of it. It's going to outlive me. I have no words.
pbinterrupted's review against another edition
too slow and uninteresting; will likely reread
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I had a long journey with this book, starting and stopping it before the pandemic, picking it up again only to dribble through it over a year.
For me, it was worth the time as the moments of clear humor and human recognition outweighed the more pedestrian pieces.
I loved the snobbery. Genji's blantant womanizing and then complaining about people pointing out his inability to keep it in his pants.
It was very real. There's plenty more for the modern reader, just be prepared to give up on any plot expectations.
For me, it was worth the time as the moments of clear humor and human recognition outweighed the more pedestrian pieces.
I loved the snobbery. Genji's blantant womanizing and then complaining about people pointing out his inability to keep it in his pants.
It was very real. There's plenty more for the modern reader, just be prepared to give up on any plot expectations.
chairmanbernanke's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting look at court life and the constants in human personality.
sara_unlost's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A classic and an elegantly translated book overall. It’s an investment to read, but well worth it.
noteworthy_fiction's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
saidahgilbert's review against another edition
3.0
I only read the Tale of Genji and the first few chapters of the next book. That's all I could get through.