Book Review of The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

Title of the book: The tale of Genji

Author: Murasaki Shikibu

Publisher: Norton

Publishing Date: 1000s,

ISBN: 0-393-92451-3

Summary:

The Tale of Genji was written in the eleventh century by Murasaki Shikibu, a lady of the Heian court. It is universally recognized as the greatest masterpiece of Japanese prose narrative, perhaps the earliest true novel in the history of the world. Until now there has been no translation that is both complete and scrupulously faithful to the original text. Edward G Seidensticker's masterly rendering was first published in two volumes in 1976 and immediately hailed as a classic of the translator's art.

Author Info:
born
Kyoto, Japan

gender
female

genre
Poetry


About this author

Murasaki Shikibu, or Lady Murasaki as she is sometimes known in English, was a Japanese novelist, poet, and a maid of honor of the imperial court during the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1008, one of the earliest and most famous novels in human history. "Murasaki Shikibu" was not her real name; her actual name is unknown, though some scholars have postulated that her given name might have been Takako (for Fujiwara Takako). Her diary states that she was nicknamed "Murasaki" ("purple wisteria blossom") at court, after a character in The Tale of Genji. "Shikibu" refers to her father's position in the Bureau of Ceremony (shikibu-shō).

Personal Opinion:

This is actually the section and the book that first introduced me to Genji. At the time my favorite chapter was the second one, the broom tree one. The section is about 100 pages or so and contains 2nd chapter, 4th chapter, 12th and 13th chapter,  and 25th chapter. For those who are curious about trying out Genji, try out this particular sample to determine whether or not this story is something that one can continue going further.

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)