Phillip’s review of The Tale of Genji > Likes and Comments
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I started this a long time ago but found it hard to get into. This review makes me want to give it another try.
Richard wrote: "I started this a long time ago but found it hard to get into. This review makes me want to give it another try."
Seidensticker is less literal than Tyler yet less an adaptation than Waley. I think it the best translation. If too difficult I recommend the Waley, a work of literature in its own right. So many unfamiliar things, especially the names, make it hard to get into. Then things fall into place. And you'll never forget it.
I've just looked at other people's comments. While I can't pretend to know better than they, my advice to those who didn't like it is to forget the 'plot'. Remember the dominant art form then was the tanka. A short poem that revealed your exquisite and insightful reaction to people and places around you, a sign of being 'civilised'. If that sounds foreign, it was. You need to think like a Heian Japanese. It can be done. At the very least, think 'War and Peace' without the descriptions of the battlefield.
I have a copy of the Seidensticker translation. And I made it through War and Peace, so perhaps I can do this one as well.
Thanks for the advice, Phillip. I will try to do the cultural/aesthetic adjustment.
Oftentimes, translating good literature is a tanka-less job, but somebody's gotta do it! :)
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Richard
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Apr 14, 2013 08:43PM
I started this a long time ago but found it hard to get into. This review makes me want to give it another try.
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Richard wrote: "I started this a long time ago but found it hard to get into. This review makes me want to give it another try."Seidensticker is less literal than Tyler yet less an adaptation than Waley. I think it the best translation. If too difficult I recommend the Waley, a work of literature in its own right. So many unfamiliar things, especially the names, make it hard to get into. Then things fall into place. And you'll never forget it.
I've just looked at other people's comments. While I can't pretend to know better than they, my advice to those who didn't like it is to forget the 'plot'. Remember the dominant art form then was the tanka. A short poem that revealed your exquisite and insightful reaction to people and places around you, a sign of being 'civilised'. If that sounds foreign, it was. You need to think like a Heian Japanese. It can be done. At the very least, think 'War and Peace' without the descriptions of the battlefield.
I have a copy of the Seidensticker translation. And I made it through War and Peace, so perhaps I can do this one as well. Thanks for the advice, Phillip. I will try to do the cultural/aesthetic adjustment.
Oftentimes, translating good literature is a tanka-less job, but somebody's gotta do it! :)
