The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki as translated by Arthur Waley is traditionally identified as the world's first novel. It was written in the 11th Century. I have no idea why I picked it up. The cover and back cover do not encourage me to read it now, so there must have been some other reason I chose it. Perhaps it is a revisiting of classical literature that one might have expected to have read in high school. I have no other explanation.
Started: 1/29/2016
Completed: 2/6/2016
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody
Words for which I sought help:
augue -- malaria or some other illness involving fever and shivering
blue-stocking -- a derogatory term for an intellectual or literary woman
censorious -- severely critical of others
coquetry -- flirtatious behavior or a flirtatious manner
effacement -- to wipe out; do away with; expunge
loggia -- a gallery or room with one or more open sides, especially one that forms part of a house and has one side open to the garden
lugubrious -- looking or sounding sad and dismal
parlous -- full of danger and uncertainty; precarious
plashing -- splashing
postilion -- a person who rides the leading left-hand horse of a team or pair drawing a coach or carriage, especially when there is no coachman
parlous -- full of danger and uncertainty; precarious
plashing -- splashing
postilion -- a person who rides the leading left-hand horse of a team or pair drawing a coach or carriage, especially when there is no coachman
preponderant -- predominant in influence, number, or importance
prosody -- the patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry
prosody -- the patterns of rhythm and sound used in poetry
viand -- an item of food
Review:
This is a story of court intrigue and basically follows Genji's effort to bed every woman of beauty in the land. There are a few interesting sub-plots but the structure of the story is more of x happened then y happened without a lot of insight into the how or why behind it. There was a huge amount of poetry exchanged (which must have titillating in its time), but, for the most part, the story was rather base. At some level there seems to be a deeper meaning that love (or lack thereof) can kill, but that meaning is so well concealed in allusion and secondary reference that it is not well substantiated. I read the book, but I did not enjoy it. It was not so horrible that I had to stop reading, however. The prose was interesting, stilted and yet somehow poetical as well.
This is a story of court intrigue and basically follows Genji's effort to bed every woman of beauty in the land. There are a few interesting sub-plots but the structure of the story is more of x happened then y happened without a lot of insight into the how or why behind it. There was a huge amount of poetry exchanged (which must have titillating in its time), but, for the most part, the story was rather base. At some level there seems to be a deeper meaning that love (or lack thereof) can kill, but that meaning is so well concealed in allusion and secondary reference that it is not well substantiated. I read the book, but I did not enjoy it. It was not so horrible that I had to stop reading, however. The prose was interesting, stilted and yet somehow poetical as well.
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