Monkey: The Journey to the West

Μια μυθική διαχρονική και μαγική ιστορία που σου δίνει εισιτήριο για ένα ταξίδι σε άλλα μέρη και άλλους τόπους. Εκεί όπου όλα διαρκούν θεϊκά αιώνια. Πρόκειται για την ιστορία του σκανδαλιάρη και αξιαγάπητου βασιλιά πίθηκου. Κάποτε, πριν εκατομύρια χρόνια στο νησί των λουλο [...]

I kind of regret buying this book. I thought it looked like a fun little read when I saw it in the mythology section, so I picked it up (several years ago).Why regret it when I enjoyed it? I could have enjoyed MORE of it. You see, I found out much later that Monkey is an abridged version of Journey to the West. This is one of the four classic Chinese novels. I've read (and generally loved) the other three: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, and Dream of Red Mansions. Now I've r [...]

"Monkey" is Arthur Waley's delightful rendition of Wu Cheng-en's "Journey to the West", one of China's four great classical novels. This abridged version provides English readers with an experience that would otherwise have been inaccessible to those of us unable to read the original Chinese. The novel offers a pleasant mixture of action, adventure and comedy. It examines a number of meaningful themes, including three great Eastern philosophies (Buddhism, Tao and Confucianism) and satirical comm [...]

Its funny, I read about 50 pages of this then lost the thread and started struggling with who was who, to such an extent that I put it down for a few months.After this break I then went back about 20 pages and started again. This time it stuck, I sailed through the rest of the book, and really enjoyed it. I think if I hadn't of struggled it might have been 5 stars, but all in all I think 4 is a fair mark.

I actually read the version based on the WJF Jenner translation available for free on silkpagoda. As it was an ebook, I can't say for sure how long it was, but if it was abridged it was not by much. I almost want to read the abridged version, so that I could say for sure if one misses anything in choosing it over the one I read.If it were just Monkey doing the Journey to the West, he would have it done before breakfast. The reason he cannot is, apparently, that Sanzang has to do it, and his mort [...]

I'm embarrassed to admit that I learned only recently about Sun Wukong, a very famous monkey character all over Asia. That is to say, billions of people on earth are quite familiar with Sun Wukong, and I didn't know he existed until about a year ago! The planet is becoming smaller and smaller, but there are still some East/West divides In any case, the "monkey" of the title is Sun Wukong. This story, which is so well known is Asia, is usually known as "The Journey to the West" (without "monkey" [...]

Monkey is a magical tale of fantasy and adventure in the Tang Dynasty (618–907) of imperial China. At around 350 pages, this translation is actually a short version of the 2,000-some-page Journey to the West, which was written in the 16th century. It is a very important book throughout Asia, and considered one of the four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. A Japanese friend of mine assures me that 98% of Asians know the story of Journey to the West whether through the book directly [...]

The last thing I'd expect a hundreds-of-years-old slice of classic Chinese literature to be is fun, but that's exactly what MONKEY is. It's great fun! It's a delight to read, a thoroughly modern action-adventure storyline that embodies the classic 'journey' narrative and packs it to the brim with all manner of outlandish incident and constant humour.The only difficulty with MONKEY comes from trying to remember all of the various deities and sub-sections that Heaven is made up of. Almost every ch [...]

i'm very sorry that i didn't like this more. many people seem to think this is a good translation, which disappoints me because i was quite willing to lay the blame at my inability to get into this book on arthur waley though it may be that they are lauding the book for its accuracy in translation rather than in its artistry. i'm not sure why i didn't enjoy it as much as i didn't: i love folklore, and monsters and fighting and adventures but despite all that, this book's take on those things kep [...]

Fans of the fantastic 'Monkey Magic' series might enjoy reading this early English translation of the classic Chinese folk tale -- one based on historical fact.This particular translation is prefaced by a very interesting essay about the translator, a Christian missionary who found (and thus inserted) various Christian messianic themes into the story.Sadly, this translation has practically no characterisation; it is told as a series of events with very little drama or descriptive language.Very i [...]

An interesting, if strange read, like nothing I've read before. It's funny, historically interesting and at times very engaging, if somewhat hard to get into.

I read this in Japanese, so I cannot comment about the quality of the English translation. Part adventure journey, part human comedy disguised as fantasy. (Very cynical to government bureaucracy)For those who are wondering about the *complete* translation of this classic: There have been multiple versions of this, because authorship in the old China is not what you assume. People added their own fancy as they hand-copied the book(s), and it's hardly possible to distinguish which part is authenti [...]

Waley's abridged version is widelylerated at least, liked by very many. There is also this abridged version of the Yu translation: slightly longer at 528 pages. Copying directly from Wendy - sorry, Wendy, it's just that it was really interesting:The most popular, though much-abridged version (in translation anyway?) is Monkey: The Journey to the West. I did some research and have decided on this non-abridged version instead: The Journey to the West, Volume 1 and just take it on one volume at a t [...]

July 12th, 2016 Review: FOUR STARSI think I read a different book four years ago. It definitely was a different translation.This time around, I really enjoyed the Journey to the West, or better known as "Monkey" translated by Arthur Waley.The story was easy to follow and quite funny. I never lost track of what was going on. I'm glad that I give this another chance. Monkey is a powerful, ingenious rascal, whose only faults are his self-absorbed regard of himself. I especially loved the beginning [...]

"I first heard the story in the Japanese drama, Saiyuuki back in 2006, MONKEY MAJIK / Around The World theme song youtube/watch?v=afnj1The books is even better so far!"Just loved the book, it's tone is perfect and Monkey is such a great character, while Pigsy supplies plenty of laughs. My favorite part of the book is the three Taoist deities, the trick that Tripitaka's three disciples play on them and how the competition between them turns out.

I love this story about a stone egg that birthed a monkey who went basically caused so much trouble in heaven that he was banished for 500 years under a mountain and was only freed to journey with Buddhist monk Xuanzang under the patronage of Bodhisattva Kuan-Yin (Guanyin). With a western perspective, I read this story awaiting for the Monkey King's comeuppance. Spoiler alert: it doesn't really happen. And the monkey gets away with all sorts of hilarious antics. He becomes king of the monkeys. T [...]

Monkey - Great Sage and Equal of Heaven. I watched the classic Japanese TV series when I was a kid to buying the complete series on DVD so my children wouldn't miss out on the fun (And I can say it is still as good today as it was when I was young). But until now I had not read the book itself. The original was written in the 1500's by a Chinese author Wu Ch'eng-en and was called 'Journey to the West'. The original was 100 chapters long and after trying to read more scholarly translations I foun [...]

3,5Uno dei quattro classici della letteratura cinese che avrei voluto leggere da molto tempo. Mi sono decisa soltanto ora perché sto portando avanti una sfida personale leggendo alcuni libri consigliati in Curarsi con i libri: Rimedi letterari per ogni malanno.Lo scimmiotto è consigliato alle persone che sono restìe ai cambiamenti e preferiscono condurre una vita serena, tranquilla e sicura.Non è che io abbia paura dei cambiamenti, però devono avvenire gradualmente, ho bisogno di tempo per [...]

I had no idea this was a an actual book, never mind translated and available in Penguin classic format! Having loved the camp TV series made in China and shown on UK TV in the late 1970s when i was a child I could not resist reading it. I am very glad I did.As we Buddhists will tell you, it is very difficult to describe the indescribable but I will try. First of all life is humourous, the best part of life is laughter, and this book has plenty of that, and what is more uses it as a gentle didact [...]

Looking for a riveting piece of 16th century Chinese folk fiction? Try the hilarious adventure tale “Monkey" (also known as Journey to the West). Penned by scholar Wu Chen An, it tells the story of a mischievous monkey, and is based on the actual pilgrimage of the monk Tripitaka to India, to fetch the Buddhist scriptures for the Tang emperor.Wu layers this earnest, grueling undertaking, with legend, gossip, superstition, religion, and concocts a rollicking bit of satire. The central irony of t [...]

Readable introduction to one of the four Chinese literary epics. This one has an interesting preface and serves to give the reader a summarised version of events encountered by the group of protagonists.What it doesn't do is capture the mystic charm of the original text (which admittedly is less accessible to English or casual Mandarin readers), or expound upon the profundity of the journey in its parts. A lot of the scenes ended almost as abruptly as they began and left me with questions hangin [...]

Because I was going to live and teach in China for a year, I wanted to be informed on classic Chinese literature. I started with "Dream of the Red Chamber" which was difficult to follow, with its 400+ characters, and numerous subplots. Then I began The Journey to the West about the famous Monkey King, Sun Wukong, who is a mischievous trouble-maker until he is trapped under a mountain for 500 years, converts to Buddhism, then begins a quest to protect Xuanzang (on his way to obtain scriptures fro [...]

This book is funny, witty, and allegorical. Somehow it survived a translation from Chinese to English, and the passing of 400 years (or something like 400 years, I'm not sure exactly when it was written). I'd highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in Chinese culture.

Ahha, most Asians know this. Watch the film all the time with my grandma when I was a kid. It is a great piece of Chinese literature :D

I'm glad that I chose to read this book whilst I've been busy with essay writing. It was the perfect book, because it was intriguing enough for me to want to read (and not DNF), but not gripping enough for me to put off studying. It was the perfect time for me to read this because with me being so busy with my essay, it meant that anything I could read for fun would be great. It meant that I really gave this book a chance, and I am glad that I did. This is one of my better liked classics. It sor [...]

This was an interesting read but man, the Master is kind of an idiot who keeps getting himself in unnecessary trouble just so the Monkey King could save him. At least three times, Wukong would be like "don't do this while I'm gone" and literally as soon as he was gone, the Master and company would do exactly what Wukong just said not to do. And then they'd almost die and Wukong would have to rescue them.I really enjoyed the first half on the origins of the Monkey King before he joined up with th [...]

A fun romp through Chinese folklore. Somehow, despite having lived in Asia for the past 13.5 years, I've missed out on all the pop culture incarnations (usually TV shows and movies) based on "Journey to the West", so it was nice to finally learn some background to the occasional references I've encountered. (Just yesterday a friend of mine was telling me how an executive at her company acts just like the Monkey King.)

Half myth, half fairy tale, "Monkey" (or, Journey to the West) is an entertaining tale which also held nostalgia for me, from the TV show during my childhood. Never realised how closely the show depicted the actual texthighly recommend if you like classic tales and fantasy!

Boisterous and Loud yet refined and with a certain hierarchical pomposity Monkey perfectly maps the classical Chinese vitality and philosophical tradition in a story of universal size with supremely singular characters. Journey to the West is the quintessential historical Chinese story. A mythic novel from the 16th century it details the pilgrimage of a Tang Dynasty(8th century) priest from China to India to return with Buddhist scriptures. The original journey did occur and there are accurate [...]

This is the retelling of famous for the time Buddhist pilgrimage of the real life Tripitaka (Hsuan Tsang) in 700AD by the Chinese author Wu Ch’eng-en in around 1550. He retells the now mythical, fantastical and legendary exploits as a profound allegory and irreverent religious tale. I have vague memories of a poorly dubbed tv series in the 1970s in the UK of the same name.Monkey is first introduced as a playful, unruly handful via birth from a stone egg by the Jade Emperor. He becomes monkey k [...]