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A review by grayjay
The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon
2.0
Having enjoyed The Tale of Genji, I thought I'd tackle it's twin classic, The Pillow Book, as well. Unfortunately, I didn't do any translation research before I ordered a copy, and I ended up with Arthur Waley.
Waley, having translated The Tale of Genji (not the one I read), created interest in Japanese translations and decided to extend his success by translating The Pillow Book.
I was disappointed to learn that he deemed only a quarter of it worthy of translating. The rest he found either too dull to bother with or too complicated to explain to his readers. His version contains nearly as much commentary as actual translation and is full of evaluative editorializing like, "Shonagon's reply...contains puns and ineguities, which it would be tedious to explain."
It is hard for me to assess my enjoyment of Shonagon's actual writing so I'll save that for an opportunity to read a better translation.
Waley, having translated The Tale of Genji (not the one I read), created interest in Japanese translations and decided to extend his success by translating The Pillow Book.
I was disappointed to learn that he deemed only a quarter of it worthy of translating. The rest he found either too dull to bother with or too complicated to explain to his readers. His version contains nearly as much commentary as actual translation and is full of evaluative editorializing like, "Shonagon's reply...contains puns and ineguities, which it would be tedious to explain."
It is hard for me to assess my enjoyment of Shonagon's actual writing so I'll save that for an opportunity to read a better translation.