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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
At its best, I suppose it's a quirky adventure and spiritual quest with plenty of trickery and deception. But the episodes quickly get very repetitious.
This is a new translation and abridgment of the 16th century Chinese novel. It is packed with humor and action and provides a fascinating, satirical look at China during the time of its writing. The Chinese novel is a fantastical version of a historical journey made by the Chinese Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, in the 7th century. Xuanzang traveled to India to get more Buddhist texts to bring back to China. The novel adds several supernatural disciples to the monk to help him along his way. The Monkey King is the major character. He is an irreverent, troublemaking, trickster, rebellious anthropomorphic Monkey who learns martial arts, how to transform and multiply himself, and how to jump 108,000 miles at a time. Before joining the monk on his pilgrimage, Monkey goes to heaven where he wreaks havoc until the Buddha finally traps him under a mountain for 500 years. Then the monk frees him in return for protecting him on his journey. Throughout the journey Monkey has to fight off a variety of demons and rescue cities from oppression.
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
Translated and abridged retelling of Journey to the West. Great intro to Chinese Mythology if you can get past the archaisms. Second half of the book is definitely better than the first as finally gets to the main plot besides gotta love a good ol' epic quest.
I read this to my kids as a bedtime story and did all the voices and it was absolutely fantastic! Granted there are a lot of sections involving religious doctrine and you learn a lot about the processes involved in the ritual side of things, however when you reach especially the point where Tripitaka, Monkey, Sandy and Pigsy head off on their adventure things ratchet up a significant notch and become exciting and incredibly vivid, resulting in some of the most interesting visual vistas that I've ever read. As a baseline I visualised Jack Black as Monkey. Far as I'm concerned that's an adaptation I would love to see.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot