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belovedacquaintance's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
ehsan1358's review against another edition
5.0
Actually I listened it rather than reading. And I listened it as a podcast. John Zhou, an awesome Chinese American guy, narrates it in a professional and cheerful way. You never get bored with this if you're into classics. Find it here:
http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/
http://www.3kingdomspodcast.com/
kireteiru's review
4.0
Some misspellings in the edition I got, but overall an interesting and dramatic if overlong tale.
hbelle01's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rochen's review
5.0
Novels of epic scale, that will leave you sad towards the 4th volume when your favorite heros and villains have died in battle or of old age. Particularly book 2 is phenomal with the introduction of Zhuge Liang(Kongming)
mary_soon_lee's review
This is Moss Roberts's translation of the Mao version of the Chinese classic "Three Kingdoms," a highly-influential historical novel that covers a sweep of over a century from 168 A.D. to 280 A.D., encompassing the fall of the Han dynasty, and the ensuing struggle between the resulting three kingdoms, as signaled by the book's opening sentences: "Here begins our tale. The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus has it ever been." The authorship of the novel is traditionally attributed to Luo Guanzhong, writing in the fourteenth century, over a millennium after the novel's events. Complicating the novel's history, there were at least two main versions of the narrative: a print edition from 1522 (well after Luo Guanzhong's death), and a subsequent major revision of this dating from the 1660s. The version from the 1660s edited by Mao Lun and Mao Zonggang (father and son) is the dominant one, and this is the version that Moss Roberts has translated.
The novel is episodic, very lengthy, and has a vast cast of roughly a thousand characters, over a hundred of which Moss Roberts classifies as major characters. The original audience would have been very familiar with the story's heroes, who were the subject of popular stories and plays that predate the book. I, however, was entirely unfamiliar with the characters and the historical period, and would have struggled to make sense of it but for Roberts's extensive and very helpful notes. Even with the notes, I found the book an effort to read. While I cannot exactly say that I enjoyed it, I am glad that I read it. The scale of the story is epic: men scheme and betray each other, factions vie for control of the empire, huge armies -- sometimes of over a hundred thousand soldiers -- battle. The book also reminds me of China's long history of civilization. Despite dynastic struggles, such as those shown in Three Kingdoms, China's organized bureaucracy lasted for millennia, run by highly-educated officials (and helped by the invention of paper). The book raises questions of what makes an ideal ruler, an ideal minister, an ideal general, and includes many instances of ruses and clever schemes.
The novel's opening chapter includes the swearing of an oath of brotherhood between three heroes, Liu Bei (known as Xuande), Lord Guan, and Zhang Fei in a peach orchard. The scene is renowned, yet I found it underwhelming, as I likewise found other famous moments in the story underwhelming. The lengthy story never once brought me close to tears; I never came to love its heroes. If I had the stamina to re-read the whole book, perhaps this would change. Knowing what lay ahead, having familiarity with the characters, the events might have more emotional weight for me. On my first reading, I was interested rather than moved. And the initial impact of the novel, for me, was bleak: kingdoms fall and rise, cruel and selfish individuals may prosper, heroes are imperfect, everyone dies, women are largely relegated to the sidelines.
A handful more assorted comments.... Firstly, I read this in parallel with Brewitt-Taylor's 1925 translation(*), and I considerably prefer Moss Roberts's version, both for its prose style and for its invaluable footnotes (plus an illuminating one-hundred-page-long afterword). Secondly, as the afterword clarifies, the book drew heavily on historical records, but amended and added to them, so that one scholar, Zhang Xuecheng, later characterized it as "seven parts fact and three parts fiction." Thirdly, this edition includes occasional illustrations, which I welcomed, though their reproduction quality was sometimes poor. Fourthly, the book contains many fantastical elements: portents and sorcery and ghosts. Fifthly, the book contains a fair amount of poetry.
(*) [b:Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1 of 2|158771|Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1 of 2 (chapter 1-60)|Luo Guanzhong|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364138285l/158771._SY75_.jpg|70688781] and [b:Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 2 of 2|561291|Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 2 of 2 (chapter 61-120)|Luo Guanzhong|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364137727l/561291._SY75_.jpg|70688785]
The novel is episodic, very lengthy, and has a vast cast of roughly a thousand characters, over a hundred of which Moss Roberts classifies as major characters. The original audience would have been very familiar with the story's heroes, who were the subject of popular stories and plays that predate the book. I, however, was entirely unfamiliar with the characters and the historical period, and would have struggled to make sense of it but for Roberts's extensive and very helpful notes. Even with the notes, I found the book an effort to read. While I cannot exactly say that I enjoyed it, I am glad that I read it. The scale of the story is epic: men scheme and betray each other, factions vie for control of the empire, huge armies -- sometimes of over a hundred thousand soldiers -- battle. The book also reminds me of China's long history of civilization. Despite dynastic struggles, such as those shown in Three Kingdoms, China's organized bureaucracy lasted for millennia, run by highly-educated officials (and helped by the invention of paper). The book raises questions of what makes an ideal ruler, an ideal minister, an ideal general, and includes many instances of ruses and clever schemes.
The novel's opening chapter includes the swearing of an oath of brotherhood between three heroes, Liu Bei (known as Xuande), Lord Guan, and Zhang Fei in a peach orchard. The scene is renowned, yet I found it underwhelming, as I likewise found other famous moments in the story underwhelming. The lengthy story never once brought me close to tears; I never came to love its heroes. If I had the stamina to re-read the whole book, perhaps this would change. Knowing what lay ahead, having familiarity with the characters, the events might have more emotional weight for me. On my first reading, I was interested rather than moved. And the initial impact of the novel, for me, was bleak: kingdoms fall and rise, cruel and selfish individuals may prosper, heroes are imperfect, everyone dies, women are largely relegated to the sidelines.
A handful more assorted comments.... Firstly, I read this in parallel with Brewitt-Taylor's 1925 translation(*), and I considerably prefer Moss Roberts's version, both for its prose style and for its invaluable footnotes (plus an illuminating one-hundred-page-long afterword). Secondly, as the afterword clarifies, the book drew heavily on historical records, but amended and added to them, so that one scholar, Zhang Xuecheng, later characterized it as "seven parts fact and three parts fiction." Thirdly, this edition includes occasional illustrations, which I welcomed, though their reproduction quality was sometimes poor. Fourthly, the book contains many fantastical elements: portents and sorcery and ghosts. Fifthly, the book contains a fair amount of poetry.
(*) [b:Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1 of 2|158771|Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 1 of 2 (chapter 1-60)|Luo Guanzhong|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364138285l/158771._SY75_.jpg|70688781] and [b:Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 2 of 2|561291|Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Vol. 2 of 2 (chapter 61-120)|Luo Guanzhong|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1364137727l/561291._SY75_.jpg|70688785]
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first half of C. H. Brewitt-Taylor's translation of the 14th-century Chinese classic. I am reading his translation in parallel with Moss Roberts's translation: [b:Three Kingdoms: Classic Novel in Four Volumes|158770|Three Kingdoms Classic Novel in Four Volumes|Luo Guanzhong|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1519909801s/158770.jpg|153244]. While I am unable to judge the comparative accuracy of the two renditions, as a reader I considerably prefer Roberts's translation, primarily due to his extensive and illuminating endnotes. Lacking the information in those endnotes, I think I would have been unable to appreciate the narrative.
There are two respects in which I do prefer the Brewitt-Taylor translation. Firstly, he inserts paragraph breaks when the text switches from one speaker to another, which aids clarity. Secondly, I mostly prefer his renditions of the poetry. He also adopts a somewhat more archaic prose style than Roberts does, which may appeal to some readers (though not me) as suggesting the story's venerable age. The original Chinese novel was penned over six hundred years ago, and is based on historical events from about 200 A.D.
I note that I am finding it helpful to read each chapter twice, once in each translation. The book has a vast cast of characters, none of whom I was familiar with before, but many of whom would have been known to its original audience. Reading a chapter again allows me a sense of what it would be like if I wasn't trying to remember who everybody was and which faction they supported. (Although this is slightly undermined by the two translations using different schemes for transliterating Chinese names.)
I will postpone comment on the book's quality as a story until I eventually make my way to the end.
P.S. My rating of 3 out of 5 stars is as much a rating for the translation as for the underlying story, and I may well end up giving the Roberts's translation a higher rating.
There are two respects in which I do prefer the Brewitt-Taylor translation. Firstly, he inserts paragraph breaks when the text switches from one speaker to another, which aids clarity. Secondly, I mostly prefer his renditions of the poetry. He also adopts a somewhat more archaic prose style than Roberts does, which may appeal to some readers (though not me) as suggesting the story's venerable age. The original Chinese novel was penned over six hundred years ago, and is based on historical events from about 200 A.D.
I note that I am finding it helpful to read each chapter twice, once in each translation. The book has a vast cast of characters, none of whom I was familiar with before, but many of whom would have been known to its original audience. Reading a chapter again allows me a sense of what it would be like if I wasn't trying to remember who everybody was and which faction they supported. (Although this is slightly undermined by the two translations using different schemes for transliterating Chinese names.)
I will postpone comment on the book's quality as a story until I eventually make my way to the end.
P.S. My rating of 3 out of 5 stars is as much a rating for the translation as for the underlying story, and I may well end up giving the Roberts's translation a higher rating.
k_wright's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
daladala's review
5.0
Erinomainen, mahtava, kiinalainen klassikkoteos. Kirjallisuuden helmi, vaan ken sen suomentaisi?
dantastic's review
4.0
Around the time the earth cooled and life spread across the continents, I was a huge fan of the game Destiny of an Emperor for the NES. Chinese generals with names I couldn't pronounce duking it out for the fate of China enthralled me.
Years later, I was thinking fondly of the game and decided to investigate the source, Three Kingdoms. Three Kingdoms is one of the four great classics of Chinese literature.
Imagine my surprise while on my 2300+ page journey that the story of the game wasn't very much like. While the game depicts the rise of Liu Bei, the book depicts his rise and fall, as well as fleshing out the stories of his companions and enemies.
At 2300 pages, you can imagine the amount of characters to absorb. Still, it was very satisfying to read years after playing the game. The writing was a little rough getting used to but to be fair, it was written centuries ago in Chinese! The stories of Liu Bei, Lord Guan, Zhang Fei, Pang Tong, and the rest were very interesting. I was glad LuBu met his fate at the hands of Cao Cao. When he left my party, he had a lot of good equipment the rest of them could have used!
Years later, I was thinking fondly of the game and decided to investigate the source, Three Kingdoms. Three Kingdoms is one of the four great classics of Chinese literature.
Imagine my surprise while on my 2300+ page journey that the story of the game wasn't very much like. While the game depicts the rise of Liu Bei, the book depicts his rise and fall, as well as fleshing out the stories of his companions and enemies.
At 2300 pages, you can imagine the amount of characters to absorb. Still, it was very satisfying to read years after playing the game. The writing was a little rough getting used to but to be fair, it was written centuries ago in Chinese! The stories of Liu Bei, Lord Guan, Zhang Fei, Pang Tong, and the rest were very interesting. I was glad LuBu met his fate at the hands of Cao Cao. When he left my party, he had a lot of good equipment the rest of them could have used!