Monkey: Folk Novel of China
by Wu Ch'eng-en
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Book Summary Information
Author: Wu Ch'eng-enTranslator: Arthur Waley
Introduction: Hu Shih
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1994-01-12
ISBN: 0802130860
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Evergreen Books by Grove Weidenfeld
Book Reviews of Monkey: Folk Novel of China
Book Review: A true jewel of the imagination
Summary: 5 Stars
I believe that this is one of the greatest books ever written.
Yes, I know that's quite a claim to make! But this book actually deserves it. It's accessible, it's a ripping yarn, and quite simply it's an absolute joy to read. All this it achieves while balancing profundity and pure playfulness with a lightness and deftness of touch that leaves modern fantasists like Tolkien trailing in its wake. I realise that many people will feel I've just committed sacrilege. But... Well, like I said before, this book genuinely deserves such high praise.
READ IT! Your life will be the richer for it.
If you're after something a little more concrete, here's a brief - and spoiler free - summary...
A 20th century translation of a 16th century Chinese classic, this book tells the story of one priest's journey from China to India to fetch Mahayana Buddhist scriptures. While it is very (and I do mean VERY) loosely based on an actual priest and an actual journey, that's really not the point. This is a richly mythologised account intended as fable, not history. Gods, demons, buddhas and bodhisattvas, and even Taoist immortals all get in on the action.
As with so many tales of pilgrimage, the physical journey becomes an allegory for something more. And because we are dealing with a Buddhist allegory, in this case the metaphore is for the journey towards enlightenment.
The only qualifier I want to insert is that this is a review of the Arthur Waley traslation of Monkey (or "Journey to The West" as it is known in China) in general. I have not seen the particular edition on sale here. I do, however, have one minor quibble about this edition: the subtitle "a folk novel of China" is highly misleading. This is no folk tale. It is a serious work of high culture - cleverly disguised as a fairy tale though it may be.
Incidentally, I do realize that much of what I've just said may make this book sound somewhat dry and ponderous. Religious allegory? Serious work of high culture? Doesn't exactly sound like fun reading, does it? Yet nothing could be further from the truth. From a less skilled author and translator, religious allegory may indeed be reduced to dry sermonizing. Not so here.
This book is, like I said in the beginning, an absolute joy to read.
Theo.
Summary of Monkey: Folk Novel of China
Probably the most popular book in the history of the Far East, this classic sixteenth century novel is a combination of picaresque novel and folk epic that mixes satire, allegory, and history into a rollicking adventure. It is the story of the roguish Monkey and his encounters with major and minor spirits, gods, demigods, demons, ogres, monsters, and fairies. This translation, by the distinguished scholar Arthur Waley, is the first accurate English version; it makes available to the Western reader a faithful reproduction of the spirit and meaning of the original.
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