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

4.0

This edition of Monkey King (translated by Julia Lovell) is abridged, and the language modernized to make it more accessible to today's readers. Abridgements typically are anathema to me, but I think I understand the reasoning behind it - the adventures included in the novel seemed a bit repetitive, so adding more of the same would water down the meaning as well as slow down the action. That said, it's a fun allegorical romp - I'd imagine it to be much more fun than Pilgrim's Progress (which I have yet to read), or at the very least, more things hitting other things on the head, often times very hard, and with blunt objects.

Social and religious commentary can be found throughout - the bureaucratic nature of things, especially, but not limited to, the weather; religious leaders demanding donations before they will help believers, and ecumenical rivalries of Taoists, Buddhists, and Confucianism.