Reviews

Monkey by Wu Ch'eng-En

Only show reviews with written explanations

joshparr's review against another edition

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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

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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

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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

literaltrash's review against another edition

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adventurous funny relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

old_odd_biscuit's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a lively and fun modern translation. The contemporary language and slang might seem wrong but the original was written in colloquial Chinese and includes regional dialect so it's arguably appropriate. It wouldn't be true to the original spirit if it was done in high, literary language.

I like how elements of it recall fairy tales. While Monkey spends 500 years trapped under a mountain, his still exposed head is conscious and talking, becoming overgrown like the surrounding rock, and he interacts with a boy who lives locally. Imagine being that boy, making friends with a talking monkey head that looks like it's made of stone. When we first meet Sandy, he is a villainous monster who eats people, far away from the lovable comic companion he later becomes. These parts of the story land differently when taken by themselves than they do in the bigger picture. It invites you to imagine what if Red Riding Hood's Big Bad Wolf, or the troll in The Three Billy Goats Gruff also had very different lives either side of where those stories found them.

The world-building is very interesting. You quickly come to recognise the magic system and its rules. It is delightful to see everybody practicing shape-shifting to trick each other, wielding magic weapons or blocking those with magic countermeasures. It seems to be widely known among demons that eating Tripitaka will give them massive longevity, and one of the funny running jokes is that he cries so frequently it is only mentioned in asides.

I noticed how the world in the story seems physically much bigger than the real world, even though it is meant to be the real world. Princess Iron Fan's magic fan can blow you 84,000 miles away in a single sweep, yet the circumference of the world is only about 25,000 miles. Either they are using a different measure and it's misleadingly translated as miles, or the world in the story is magically bigger. I like to think the latter.