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The Tale of Genji

Part of Vintage International

Author Murasaki Shikibu
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Paperback
$16.95 US
Knopf | Vintage
5.2"W x 8"H x 0.85"D  
On sale Jun 16, 1990 | 384 Pages | 9780679729532
Grades 9-12 + AP/IB
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In the eleventh century Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the Heian court of Japan, wrote the world's first novel. But The Tale of Genji is no mere artifact. It is, rather, a lively and astonishingly nuanced portrait of a refined society where every dalliance is an act of political consequence; a play of characters whose inner lives are as rich and changeable as those imagined by Proust. This Vintage paperback abridged edition, recognized as the finest English version, contains a dozen chapters from early in the book, with an introduction explaining the selection. It is illustrated throughout with woodcuts from a seventeenth century edition.
Murasaki Shikibu, born in 978, was a member of Japan's Fujiwara clan, which ruled behind the scenes during the Heian Period by providing the brides and courtesans of all the emperors. Lady Murasaki's rare literary talent, particularly her skill as a poet, secured her a place in the court of Empress Akiko. After the death of her husband, she cloistered herself to study Buddhism, raise her daughter, and write the world's first novel Genji Monogatari, the tale of the shining Prince Genji. View titles by Murasaki Shikibu
"Not only the world's first real novel, but one of its greatest."

-- Donald Keene, Columbia University"A. triumph of authenticity and readability."

-- Washington Post Book World

"[Seidensticker's] translation has the ring of authority."

-- The New York Times Book Review

About

In the eleventh century Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the Heian court of Japan, wrote the world's first novel. But The Tale of Genji is no mere artifact. It is, rather, a lively and astonishingly nuanced portrait of a refined society where every dalliance is an act of political consequence; a play of characters whose inner lives are as rich and changeable as those imagined by Proust. This Vintage paperback abridged edition, recognized as the finest English version, contains a dozen chapters from early in the book, with an introduction explaining the selection. It is illustrated throughout with woodcuts from a seventeenth century edition.

Author

Murasaki Shikibu, born in 978, was a member of Japan's Fujiwara clan, which ruled behind the scenes during the Heian Period by providing the brides and courtesans of all the emperors. Lady Murasaki's rare literary talent, particularly her skill as a poet, secured her a place in the court of Empress Akiko. After the death of her husband, she cloistered herself to study Buddhism, raise her daughter, and write the world's first novel Genji Monogatari, the tale of the shining Prince Genji. View titles by Murasaki Shikibu

Praise

"Not only the world's first real novel, but one of its greatest."

-- Donald Keene, Columbia University"A. triumph of authenticity and readability."

-- Washington Post Book World

"[Seidensticker's] translation has the ring of authority."

-- The New York Times Book Review

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