A review by henrado74
Monkey King: Journey to the West by Julia Lovell, Wu Ch'eng-En

adventurous funny lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Such a classic. Thats really the throughline of this book. Monkey is awesome, it's got some very prominent religious (Buddhist) undertones, and the story is that of a typical episodic epic.  I love the characters, the plot is awesome. I give it 4.5 stars because it didn't blow my mind. With that being said. This book is everything you could ask for from an epic. Unique world-building (I personally am thinking of all the bureaucracy with the immortals and Heaven). Rich and creative characters (them giving birth in the land of women was hilarious). And a grand scale (biggg numbers - monkeys cloud summersault takes him 108,000 miles) 

Basically. It the journey to the west. Its awesome.