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A review by heidinyc
The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon
This is a collection of writings and notes kept by a lady-in-waiting for the Japanese Empress circa 900s. I loved the fact that it gave you such an intimate portrayal of the royal court of the Heian period. But at the same time, I was skeptical as to how much was accurate due to Shonagon's egotistic nature. She tends to portray things she likes in an exaggerated positive light and others in completely opposite way. Definitely not the most objective outlook on life, people and ideas.
I really disliked Shonagon as a person. She seemed really petty and loved to self-promote - but in a subtle way, which made it seem even more conniving. The book is filled with how impressed other courtesans were with her wit and poetry - but how would she have known that? People may have told her that she was brilliant, but it may have been out of politeness - but she records it as a fact.
The translator, Ivan Morris, does a brilliant job. In the preface, he says that he didn't want to do a literal translation (e.g. one who purrs, to mean a cat, for instance). He wanted the english reader to understand the thoughts as much as possible - so he used a lot of liberties to get the ideas across. I'm glad, b/c some other translated books try to make the other culture overly exotic, and may miss the essence of the story.
I really disliked Shonagon as a person. She seemed really petty and loved to self-promote - but in a subtle way, which made it seem even more conniving. The book is filled with how impressed other courtesans were with her wit and poetry - but how would she have known that? People may have told her that she was brilliant, but it may have been out of politeness - but she records it as a fact.
The translator, Ivan Morris, does a brilliant job. In the preface, he says that he didn't want to do a literal translation (e.g. one who purrs, to mean a cat, for instance). He wanted the english reader to understand the thoughts as much as possible - so he used a lot of liberties to get the ideas across. I'm glad, b/c some other translated books try to make the other culture overly exotic, and may miss the essence of the story.