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dylans's review
Highlight was the 1000 year old poem that read:
Can this world
From of old
Have always been so sad,
Or did it become so for the sake
Of me alone?
Can this world
From of old
Have always been so sad,
Or did it become so for the sake
Of me alone?
lev0001's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
spacestationtrustfund's review
3.0
Many of the translations are outdated, but the book as a whole has not been superseded since its publication in the 1950s.
melanie_reads's review
3.0
Throughout this book, my greatest challenge was trying to be understanding of the time and place in which this book was released. It serves its purpose as an anthology, albeit a tad light for my tastes, and as a brief introduction to Japanese literature throughout history. But I had a hard time with the fact that there were very few Japanese translators, mostly a bunch of old white academics, whom I daresay were without the cultural context of what many of these pieces were apart. Which leads me to my final criticism, I was disappointed with the brief introductions for the pieces, as an historical context would have provided a better reading experience.
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