The Journey to the West, Vol. 1

by Wu Cheng'en

Containing the first 50 chapters of China's best-loved work, in an edited, yet complete and wholly accurate translation for the Western reader. Volume 1 begins with Monkey's birth, his secret education in the ways of magic at the hands of the Patriarch, his dealings with the Cloud Emperor, the famous revolt in heaven, and the Great Sage's fall and punishment. Then, with a reprieve, Monkey joins the Tang Priest as his guide to India. Paired with the monster Pig and Friar Sand, the quartet embark on a quest at once dazzling and comic, with non-stop action.

Genres: Fiction, Classics

624 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Wu Cheng'en (simplified Chinese: 吴承恩; traditional Chinese: 吳承恩; pinyin: Wú Chéng'ēn, ca. 1505–1580 or 1500–1582, courtesy name Ruzhong (汝忠), pen name "Sheyang Hermit," was a Chinese novelist and poet of the Ming Dynasty, best known for being the probable author of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, Journey to the West, also called Monkey.

Reviews

[Mary Slowik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really, surprisingly good. The humor holds up really well even after centuries-- which reminded me of Moliere's The Miser, and says something about the strength of the original translation. In pairing the story with poetry and with religious / mythological elements, it seemed like The Iliad: just as graphically violent, but much funnier.

This is a classic, deservedly, and should be read more widely in the west. If you're going to tour world literature, this would be an excellent first stop. However, the 'V1' refers to Volume 1, meaning only the first fifty chapters of the work. It claims to be "accurate and complete" on the back cover but it's far from either. To end after chapter 50 leaves the reader in the middle of another epic battle. Also, this Silk Pagoda version is riddled with typo's and word-substitution errors, as though it were only run through spellcheck instead of being proofread.

[多奈 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the Perfect fantasy book you can ever imagine:)