The Tale of Genji
A Japan, Romance, History book. What need have I for a palace? Rather to lie with you where the weeds grow thick. Murasaki Shikibu,...
In the early eleventh century Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the Heian court of Japan, wrote what many consider to be the world’s first novel, more than three centuries before Chaucer. The Heian era (794—1185) is recognized as one of the very greatest periods in Japanese literature, and The Tale of Genji is not only the unquestioned prose masterpiece of that period but also the most lively and absorbing account we have of the intricate, exquisite, highly ordered court culture that made such a masterpiece possible. Genji is the favorite son of the emperor but also a man of dangerously passionate impulses. In his highly refined world, where every dalliance is an...
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- Filetype: PDF
- Pages: 1,224 pages
- ISBN: 9780679417385 / 679417389
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More About The Tale of Genji
The hanging gate, of something like trelliswork, was propped on a pole, and he could see that the house was tiny and flimsy. He felt a little sorry for the occupants of such a place--and then asked himself who in this world had a temporary shelter.[Anonymous, Kokinshuu 987:Where in all this world shall I call home?A temporary shelter is my home.]A hut, a jeweled pavilion, they were the same. A pleasantly green vine was climbing a board wall. The white flowers, he said to himself, had a rather self-satisfied look about them.'I needs must ask the lady... Real things in the darkness seem no realer than dreams. Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji // Why do you grieve so uselessly? Every uncertainty is the result of a certainty. There is nothing in this world really to be lamented. Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji //
Utterly meaningless star rating alert: what else could you give it? Now, granted, I suspect a lot of readers are just like me, in that we'll go hunting for really good things about this book, even if, on the surface, it perhaps does less for us than most 1400 page medieval tales. And I'm not afraid to admit that the overwhelming impression... You know, this book is a lot of things (what 1000+ pager isnt) but its nothing if not truthful. The character of Genji can be summed up in four totally accurate lines from the book:Genji felt like a child thief. The role amused him.Difficult and unconventional relationships always interested him.Self-loathing was not enough to overcome... Arguably the first novel ever written (using a modern definition of novel), and at the very least the first novel written by a woman, this essential work traces the life of a prince in medieval (Heian) Japan. The novel is intensely psychological and manages to very consistently portray the lives of hundreds of individuals across half...
