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oreoeasterbunny's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
p_t_b's review against another edition
5.0
i can confirm that this classic of world literature is in fact very good and quite hilarious. also a surprising amount of (hilarious) gruesome violence against ogres, taoists, etc
danielles_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5 stars for the vibes!!
I never would have picked this up if it weren't for my husband. He grew up with this story and knows it very well (though mostly through movie/TV adaptations) and encouraged me to try the book. I had such a fun time discussing this with him, going back and forth on the differences between this translation and all the adaptations he has seen. We even watched the wacky 90s-era Hong Kong film A Chinese Odyssey (just part one so far). I don't think I would have enjoyed this as much without that experience (and the cultural context from my husband), but it's still a hilarious and entertaining story that also discusses religion and Chinese society at the time.
Julia Lovell's translation was great. She had a strange mix of high-brow words with more modern slang, but nothing too obviously dated. But it really ended up working, and made this 430ish year old story read so easily! I do think her introduction was way more academic than the rest of the book cause there was so much detail that I could not focus on the audiobook and had to buy a copy to read it with my eyes. It did provide a lot of great context for the story though. Robert Wu's narration was absolutely fantastic as well--he managed to make the 50+ characters in this all sound completely distinct! What an incredible feat. I'm surprised he's only narrated a few books, as I would definitely love to listen to more from him.
Monkey is both an aggravating and wonderful character. He's so ridiculous in the beginning, but his transformation to Buddhist monk felt really natural and well-earned. He was always the most reliable disciple, constantly saving the day. His interactions with Pigsy were hilarious, though that guy remained annoyingly funny lol. Sandy was just kind of there with not much to do, but he did help Monkey more than Sandy did. And Tripitaka was the resident innocent crybaby lol but he's easy to love.
The first 40ish% felt like quite a different book than the last 60 but both parts were really enjoyable. Getting Monkey and Tripitaka's backgrounds in the beginning gave more depth to their characters. The second half did start to get a little repetitive since it followed the same formula of meet stranger or place who/which seem nice, who/which then turn out to be unsavory, and then either Monkey or Guanyin save the day, lol. I can only imagine what the full unabridged version is like! But so many of the calamities were hilarious. My favorite was the one where Pigsy and Tripitaka got pregnant 😠lmaaao I just wish they had given birth!! And Monkey fucking pissing and calling it holy water 😠fucking dying and on THE BUDDHA himself, my GOD
I also learned quite a bit about Buddhism and Taoism and their traditions and how the ideologies and followers of each interacted with each other at the time. And all the bits about the underworld were so fascinating, like it's literally an entire functioning bureaucracy lol! It reminded me of the afterlife in The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, but way more fun (I wonder if the latter was inspired by this?). I also found it amusing that Lovell said in the intro that the Chinese of this time looked down upon novels just as 19th century England did when I read Northanger Abbey right after this.
Overall I had an amazing time with this and look forward to watching more adaptations my husband loves!!
I never would have picked this up if it weren't for my husband. He grew up with this story and knows it very well (though mostly through movie/TV adaptations) and encouraged me to try the book. I had such a fun time discussing this with him, going back and forth on the differences between this translation and all the adaptations he has seen. We even watched the wacky 90s-era Hong Kong film A Chinese Odyssey (just part one so far). I don't think I would have enjoyed this as much without that experience (and the cultural context from my husband), but it's still a hilarious and entertaining story that also discusses religion and Chinese society at the time.
Julia Lovell's translation was great. She had a strange mix of high-brow words with more modern slang, but nothing too obviously dated. But it really ended up working, and made this 430ish year old story read so easily! I do think her introduction was way more academic than the rest of the book cause there was so much detail that I could not focus on the audiobook and had to buy a copy to read it with my eyes. It did provide a lot of great context for the story though. Robert Wu's narration was absolutely fantastic as well--he managed to make the 50+ characters in this all sound completely distinct! What an incredible feat. I'm surprised he's only narrated a few books, as I would definitely love to listen to more from him.
Monkey is both an aggravating and wonderful character. He's so ridiculous in the beginning, but his transformation to Buddhist monk felt really natural and well-earned. He was always the most reliable disciple, constantly saving the day. His interactions with Pigsy were hilarious, though that guy remained annoyingly funny lol. Sandy was just kind of there with not much to do, but he did help Monkey more than Sandy did. And Tripitaka was the resident innocent crybaby lol but he's easy to love.
The first 40ish% felt like quite a different book than the last 60 but both parts were really enjoyable. Getting Monkey and Tripitaka's backgrounds in the beginning gave more depth to their characters. The second half did start to get a little repetitive since it followed the same formula of meet stranger or place who/which seem nice, who/which then turn out to be unsavory, and then either Monkey or Guanyin save the day, lol. I can only imagine what the full unabridged version is like! But so many of the calamities were hilarious. My favorite was the one where Pigsy and Tripitaka got pregnant 😠lmaaao I just wish they had given birth!! And Monkey fucking pissing and calling it holy water 😠fucking dying and on THE BUDDHA himself, my GOD
I also learned quite a bit about Buddhism and Taoism and their traditions and how the ideologies and followers of each interacted with each other at the time. And all the bits about the underworld were so fascinating, like it's literally an entire functioning bureaucracy lol! It reminded me of the afterlife in The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, but way more fun (I wonder if the latter was inspired by this?). I also found it amusing that Lovell said in the intro that the Chinese of this time looked down upon novels just as 19th century England did when I read Northanger Abbey right after this.
Overall I had an amazing time with this and look forward to watching more adaptations my husband loves!!
farrok's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jujudepamplemousse's review against another edition
5.0
This was a lot more entertaining and funny that what I was expecting of a 16th-century novel. There is no doubt why Journey to the West / Monkey King made it to one of the four ‘master novel’ (四大奇书) of late imperial Chinese fiction. The novel is masterfully combining Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology and references to the three Chinese teachings; Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism; in a crazy, utterly ridiculous and over-the-top monk's quest for Buddhism scriptures.
Julia Lovell did an astonishing job with the translation for the new 2021 Penguin Clothbound edition. The only regrettable thing of this translation / edition is that it is quite heavily abridged. I had so much fun reading this novel that I would have like to get even more of Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka epic adventure toward the west !
Julia Lovell did an astonishing job with the translation for the new 2021 Penguin Clothbound edition. The only regrettable thing of this translation / edition is that it is quite heavily abridged. I had so much fun reading this novel that I would have like to get even more of Monkey, Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka epic adventure toward the west !
_sena_frost's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
joshparr's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
georgialilyw's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was mad. It was silly and funny with a overarching adventurous theme. I didn't realise this was an abridged version until I finished it, I normally would not choose to read it in that form but I understand that the original is extremely lengthy. This also makes a lot of sense as it feels like a lot happens between the lines, I had just thought it was an interesting storytelling style. Would be nice to read more Chinese fairytales as it feels that is what most of the style comes from. I also can't find my edition with the cover from the TV show, but it does make me want to watch it!
jlancast96's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0