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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
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
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not realise this was abridged until half way through and to be honest much as i love the story of Monkey this was about the right amount for me. I do not think i could have made it through the 4 volumes of the unabridged book.
I received a NetGalley copy of this title in exchange for an honest review and I genuinely had no idea how I was going to feel about this version.
I grew up with a television version of Journey to the West and have encountered several reimaginings since. I’m happy to report that despite this being an adaptation or abbreviation of sorts (several episodes have been cut as the translator herself explains at the beginning) it is a good version. Yes, Sandy is rather quiet compared to the other pilgrims but otherwise, the episodes work very well together and both the logic and the delivery are humorous in a whimsical way at that keeps you reading. The episodes are relatively short and keep the moralising to a minimum and our heroes mostly have to ask for help... something we could all do more of.
I enjoyed reading The Monkey King: Journey to West. The beginning flows but catches you unawares as flashbacks do not occur (although the odd recap may come up) so everything is chronological in a way modern writing often actively avoids. Recommended reading style: in snippets. Do not be like Pigsy. Maybe be more Monkey? Read it to see if you want to!
I grew up with a television version of Journey to the West and have encountered several reimaginings since. I’m happy to report that despite this being an adaptation or abbreviation of sorts (several episodes have been cut as the translator herself explains at the beginning) it is a good version. Yes, Sandy is rather quiet compared to the other pilgrims but otherwise, the episodes work very well together and both the logic and the delivery are humorous in a whimsical way at that keeps you reading. The episodes are relatively short and keep the moralising to a minimum and our heroes mostly have to ask for help... something we could all do more of.
I enjoyed reading The Monkey King: Journey to West. The beginning flows but catches you unawares as flashbacks do not occur (although the odd recap may come up) so everything is chronological in a way modern writing often actively avoids. Recommended reading style: in snippets. Do not be like Pigsy. Maybe be more Monkey? Read it to see if you want to!
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book falls under the category of things I would not usually read. Yet another shout out to r/fantasy and the book bingo reading challenge.
I normally don't leave a review or rating if I think a book is not good but I figure this book has no ratings or reviews so maybe I could give some insight here.
I cannot comment on the translation really, I have not read any others previously. I am most familiar with the Monkey King from Dota 2. I have also not seen any of the other various media incarnations of these stories be it movies or TV shows or comics.
With all that taken into consideration, this book is really broken into thirds. The first third is the introduction by Daniel Kane describing the translations (specifically Timothy Richard's) and the history of how the Monkey King and his lore began. He also has some interesting comments on the Buddhist teachings involved in the stories as well as some commentary on the differences in how the stories have been perceived over the years. The second third is the origins of the Monkey King, how he was born and how he learned and grew in all his many powers. The final third is the "Journey to the West" if you will. This is the core story of the Monkey King to me, the episodic tellings of the Monkey King's travel with the monk to gain the scriptures from India.
My big complaint with this book is the format. There are huge walls of text. I read this on my kindle so a page is relative but there are some paragraphs that lasted over 4 pages long. There are few page breaks for some poems or small pictures and the dialogue is presented in a dense, all encompassing, paragraph as well. The prose is also dense and describes things quickly. Let me give an example. I took what I think of as a shorter paragraph. In this paragraph Sun is referring to the Monkey King.
I feel as if the contents of this paragraph could easily be an entire episode of a 30 minute animated show. There is a lot going on. And with page after page of these walls of text I quickly grew tired of the format.
The Monkey King himself was hard to cheer for as well. The majority of the story I thought of him as an arrogant jerk. He was also super powerful. He has more abilities than I care to mention in this review. This is my video game mindset but the power structure in the story was murky at best. I had a hard time discerning who would be a worthy fight for our Monkey King or who would be a one line sentence of "and then the Monkey King hit him once with his club and defeated him."
What I did like was the introduction. The history of the stories and the perception of them throughout the years and the comments on the translation were interesting to me. I also enjoyed the moments of philosophy and spirituality at different points in the story. For example:
Overall, this book is a two star for me because of how often I found reading it to be hard and slow. It takes a different type of reader than me and my normally fantasy books to truly enjoy this tale.
I normally don't leave a review or rating if I think a book is not good but I figure this book has no ratings or reviews so maybe I could give some insight here.
I cannot comment on the translation really, I have not read any others previously. I am most familiar with the Monkey King from Dota 2. I have also not seen any of the other various media incarnations of these stories be it movies or TV shows or comics.
With all that taken into consideration, this book is really broken into thirds. The first third is the introduction by Daniel Kane describing the translations (specifically Timothy Richard's) and the history of how the Monkey King and his lore began. He also has some interesting comments on the Buddhist teachings involved in the stories as well as some commentary on the differences in how the stories have been perceived over the years. The second third is the origins of the Monkey King, how he was born and how he learned and grew in all his many powers. The final third is the "Journey to the West" if you will. This is the core story of the Monkey King to me, the episodic tellings of the Monkey King's travel with the monk to gain the scriptures from India.
My big complaint with this book is the format. There are huge walls of text. I read this on my kindle so a page is relative but there are some paragraphs that lasted over 4 pages long. There are few page breaks for some poems or small pictures and the dialogue is presented in a dense, all encompassing, paragraph as well. The prose is also dense and describes things quickly. Let me give an example. I took what I think of as a shorter paragraph. In this paragraph Sun is referring to the Monkey King.
They fought a terrible battle, and the demon was allowed to strike three times before Sun began to strike. At one stroke Sun was cut in two like a melon. But he laughed, saying, “I am now two complete Suns, and if cut into ten thousand pieces I shall be ten thousand Suns!” The demon said, “To multiply yourself is easy, but you cannot unite yourself again.” At this Sun turned a somersault and was united into one as before. Then the demon chief opened his gigantic mouth and swallowed him alive. Now Sun gave him great pains, so that the demon took emetics to cast him out. But Sun said he was too comfortable to come out; he meant to pass the winter there as it was warm; he would set up a kitchen, and cook the demon’s vitals on a tripod of bones, from time to time, as he required food. Soon he produced such terrible agony inside, that the demon was thrown into convulsions on the ground.
I feel as if the contents of this paragraph could easily be an entire episode of a 30 minute animated show. There is a lot going on. And with page after page of these walls of text I quickly grew tired of the format.
The Monkey King himself was hard to cheer for as well. The majority of the story I thought of him as an arrogant jerk. He was also super powerful. He has more abilities than I care to mention in this review. This is my video game mindset but the power structure in the story was murky at best. I had a hard time discerning who would be a worthy fight for our Monkey King or who would be a one line sentence of "and then the Monkey King hit him once with his club and defeated him."
What I did like was the introduction. The history of the stories and the perception of them throughout the years and the comments on the translation were interesting to me. I also enjoyed the moments of philosophy and spirituality at different points in the story. For example:
He found all men were in search of fame or riches, and none sought for everlasting life.
Overall, this book is a two star for me because of how often I found reading it to be hard and slow. It takes a different type of reader than me and my normally fantasy books to truly enjoy this tale.
In the Táng dynasty, a monk named Xuánzàng set off alone, under a political cloud, to seek Buddhist scriptures in India. Seventeen years later, at the end of an arduous, successful journey, he returned to a hero's welcome and spent the last years of his life translating and popularizing the scriptures. That's history; but such a memorable, legend-inspiring accomplishment also became part of the complex, syncretic religious and cultural lore of China, accreting plenty of supernatural elements. Nearly a thousand years later, during the Míng dynasty, a skillful anonymous author (probably identified as Wú Chéng'ēn) shaped a long, adventure-filled, allegorical novel out of this stock, the richness of which is likely to bewilder anyone coming to Chinese writing for the first time.
Xuánzàng, or Tripitaka as he is more often called, may be the virtuous center of the Journey to the West, but readers don't find him the most memorable character in the novel. That honor belongs to Sūn Wùkōng, the Monkey King, a fantastic folkloric figure of outrageous proportions. An indestructible warrior who fights and defeats gods, whose pride and ambition don't stop even at the throne of Heaven, impulsive and arrogant, always quick with an apt insult, he almost shatters the bounds of the novel whose pious pilgrimage he's been recruited into. No god, it turns out, can defeat him save the Buddha; yet when the divine preceptor ordains that he shall act as Tripitaka's protector on the journey, it remains an uneasy partnership, only kept from falling apart by the coercion of a golden fillet around the monkey's head.
The difficult joining of disparate elements is an important theme throughout the novel. The author is introducing arguments in favor of sānjiào héyī, the joining of three religions in one (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism), even though they can only with difficulty be seen to harmonize, as a court historian points out at one point (only to be firmly silenced by the emperor). Though the author takes Confucianism and Daoism seriously, he gives pride of place to Buddhism as the great unifying, peacemaking factor. The repeated invocation of Buddhism to contain turbulent spirits, bring political peace, and act as mediator, contains an unmistakable political message.
The Journey to the West is also a very elaborate religious allegory, drawing from the symbolism of Daoist alchemy and Buddhist scriptures equally; this is the aspect of the book least accessible to outsiders. Although perhaps it is admirable if you wish to draw a religious message from it, from my point of view the religious reshaping of the material almost fatally undermines the novel. Consider: the Buddha has declared that the selfish, turbulent people of China need scriptures for their salvation; but they won't value them if they're just handed over. Thus, they need to have their attention captured and be educated by an exemplary pilgrimage. So, Xuánzàng's journey, so long and so apparently dangerous, is really an act of theater; he is being shepherded at every step by the Bodhisattva Guānyīn, and every event is planned in advance. The monk may often tremble with fright, but he is really in no danger at all; he simply will not be allowed to fail. This, in my opinion, is like seeing the wires behind a puppet show. But I know that there are cultural perspectives from which the simple carrying out of the foreoredained is not only a satisfying narrative, but the only sensible way to think about the world. From a similar perspective, the role of the dragon-horse in the pilgrimage makes sense: although he did nothing but steadfastly carry the monk on his back for so many miles, he achieved immortality just as much as the other members of the party. To do his job, to keep walking ahead, was his merit. And all the others, too, kept walking, though some of them, notably Sūn Wùkōng and the carnal Zhū Bājiè, needed much prodding from the Bodhisattva to do so.
Luckily for the possibility of non-Buddhists enjoying the Journey to the West, it is written with tremendous brio, full of colorful incident, comic situations, snappy witticisms, fierce demons, wild battles, and lush descriptions of scenery. It frequently drops into verse, which actually comes across well in Yu's translation, and enhances scenes like combats. These qualities, rather than its edifying ones, are what has made it widely beloved for so long.
Xuánzàng, or Tripitaka as he is more often called, may be the virtuous center of the Journey to the West, but readers don't find him the most memorable character in the novel. That honor belongs to Sūn Wùkōng, the Monkey King, a fantastic folkloric figure of outrageous proportions. An indestructible warrior who fights and defeats gods, whose pride and ambition don't stop even at the throne of Heaven, impulsive and arrogant, always quick with an apt insult, he almost shatters the bounds of the novel whose pious pilgrimage he's been recruited into. No god, it turns out, can defeat him save the Buddha; yet when the divine preceptor ordains that he shall act as Tripitaka's protector on the journey, it remains an uneasy partnership, only kept from falling apart by the coercion of a golden fillet around the monkey's head.
The difficult joining of disparate elements is an important theme throughout the novel. The author is introducing arguments in favor of sānjiào héyī, the joining of three religions in one (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism), even though they can only with difficulty be seen to harmonize, as a court historian points out at one point (only to be firmly silenced by the emperor). Though the author takes Confucianism and Daoism seriously, he gives pride of place to Buddhism as the great unifying, peacemaking factor. The repeated invocation of Buddhism to contain turbulent spirits, bring political peace, and act as mediator, contains an unmistakable political message.
The Journey to the West is also a very elaborate religious allegory, drawing from the symbolism of Daoist alchemy and Buddhist scriptures equally; this is the aspect of the book least accessible to outsiders. Although perhaps it is admirable if you wish to draw a religious message from it, from my point of view the religious reshaping of the material almost fatally undermines the novel. Consider: the Buddha has declared that the selfish, turbulent people of China need scriptures for their salvation; but they won't value them if they're just handed over. Thus, they need to have their attention captured and be educated by an exemplary pilgrimage. So, Xuánzàng's journey, so long and so apparently dangerous, is really an act of theater; he is being shepherded at every step by the Bodhisattva Guānyīn, and every event is planned in advance. The monk may often tremble with fright, but he is really in no danger at all; he simply will not be allowed to fail. This, in my opinion, is like seeing the wires behind a puppet show. But I know that there are cultural perspectives from which the simple carrying out of the foreoredained is not only a satisfying narrative, but the only sensible way to think about the world. From a similar perspective, the role of the dragon-horse in the pilgrimage makes sense: although he did nothing but steadfastly carry the monk on his back for so many miles, he achieved immortality just as much as the other members of the party. To do his job, to keep walking ahead, was his merit. And all the others, too, kept walking, though some of them, notably Sūn Wùkōng and the carnal Zhū Bājiè, needed much prodding from the Bodhisattva to do so.
Luckily for the possibility of non-Buddhists enjoying the Journey to the West, it is written with tremendous brio, full of colorful incident, comic situations, snappy witticisms, fierce demons, wild battles, and lush descriptions of scenery. It frequently drops into verse, which actually comes across well in Yu's translation, and enhances scenes like combats. These qualities, rather than its edifying ones, are what has made it widely beloved for so long.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Monkey is a brat...there’s just no way around that fact