The Tale of Genji

By Murasaki Shikibu

1000

First Published

3.72

Average Rating

742

Number of Pages

1H00M

Audio Length

Written in the eleventh century, this exquisite portrait of courtly life in medieval Japan is widely celebrated as the world’s first novel. Genji, the Shining Prince, is the son of an emperor. He is a passionate character whose tempestuous nature, family circumstances, love affairs, alliances, and shifting political fortunes form the core of this magnificent epic. Royall Tyler’s superior translation is detailed, poetic, and superbly true to the Japanese original while allowing the modern reader to appreciate it as a contemporary treasure. Supplemented with detailed notes, glossaries, character lists, and chronologies to help the reader navigate the multigenerational narrative, this comprehensive edition presents this ancient tale in the grand style that it deserves.

Avg Rating

3.72

Number of Ratings

14,188

5 STARS

28%

4 STARS

32%

3 STARS

28%

2 STARS

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Murasaki Shikibu

Author · 8 books

Murasaki Shikibu, or Lady Murasaki as she is sometimes known in English (Japanese: 紫式部), 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). ————————————- Murasaki Shikibu. (2007, October 8). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:03, October 19, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?t...