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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
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
Arthur Waley, bless him. He did his best. This is a much-abridged section from 西遊記, containing only around 17% of the original. This version is around 300 pages... a lot, huh? Yeah, the full thing is nearly ten times that. But I'm not dismissing Waley's version entirely: it has its merits, I promise. Waley's Monkey is by far the most easily accessible version of the absolute nightmare of a conglomerate story that is 西遊記—and the Sun Wukong stuff is the best part of the whole thing, anyway. Quote me on that.
adventurous
fast-paced
how delightful, how distant. read this with a class if possible
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
I love when an introduction prepares you for the novel. The historical criticism at the beginning provides a nice framework for the importance/context of Journey to the West.
The actual text however is fresh and exciting. Action filled, fast paced, comedic and poking at authority, it's clear how this story and character serves as the inspiration of anime, martial artists and superheroes. Excellent mythology told in great detail, a fun read with unforgettable characters.
The actual text however is fresh and exciting. Action filled, fast paced, comedic and poking at authority, it's clear how this story and character serves as the inspiration of anime, martial artists and superheroes. Excellent mythology told in great detail, a fun read with unforgettable characters.
This is the abridged version of The Journey to the West. Anthony C. Yu translated the original piece into four volumes. The Monkey and The Monk is the condensed version from four to one volume. I love how the author mixed the poetry with narration. The first two chapters were very similar to The Creation in the Holy Bible. Very beautiful.
I was very intrigued by how complicated and bureaucratic heaven is. There is a god for every task no matter how small.
I was disappointed by the amount of the book dedicated to the monkey king. He is definitely a trouble maker. The book is 497 pages long and The Journey west begins on page 203. That is a lot of monkey business! There is a list of all the trials the monk had to overcome on page 466. Reading the list I thought over and over again that I wished that adventure had been included. I do question the adventures Yu did include regarding women. I guess there is a backstory to that. I am also curious about the many pages devoted to characters and situations that dead-ended. We were introduced to woodcutters which had no connection to the story. At least as far as I could tell.
Don’t get me wrong. This edition is a marvelous feat but it focuses on the monkey king. I would love to read an edition that focuses on the adventures on the Journey west. I know that this story is huge in Asia. A correlation might be Star Wars. I would love to see the movie and tv series. I have read and watched the Japanese Saiyuki anime version which I dearly love.
This was a fun read!
I was very intrigued by how complicated and bureaucratic heaven is. There is a god for every task no matter how small.
I was disappointed by the amount of the book dedicated to the monkey king. He is definitely a trouble maker. The book is 497 pages long and The Journey west begins on page 203. That is a lot of monkey business! There is a list of all the trials the monk had to overcome on page 466. Reading the list I thought over and over again that I wished that adventure had been included. I do question the adventures Yu did include regarding women. I guess there is a backstory to that. I am also curious about the many pages devoted to characters and situations that dead-ended. We were introduced to woodcutters which had no connection to the story. At least as far as I could tell.
Don’t get me wrong. This edition is a marvelous feat but it focuses on the monkey king. I would love to read an edition that focuses on the adventures on the Journey west. I know that this story is huge in Asia. A correlation might be Star Wars. I would love to see the movie and tv series. I have read and watched the Japanese Saiyuki anime version which I dearly love.
This was a fun read!
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
finished reading the story on 15 september, went back and read introduction+translation notes
so glad i finally read this… ive always known the story but never read an actual text and this edition/translation is so fun. maybe one day ill try read a different translation… though i dont know if i could ever read an unabridged edition LOL. i love monky
so glad i finally read this… ive always known the story but never read an actual text and this edition/translation is so fun. maybe one day ill try read a different translation… though i dont know if i could ever read an unabridged edition LOL. i love monky