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Originally Posted by sun surfer
I added that in at the bottom of that spoiler because I noticed the major title and length discrepancies while looking it up on Goodreads; I think it was the only thing I added in to any of desertblues' spoiler descriptions.
I haven't researched much, but from what I did see, the abridged "Monkey" version is around 300 pages while the complete version seems to be around 2,000 pages. (...):
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Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird
Ordinarily abridged books are against my religion, but I think it's the only realistic option, at least for me, in this case. I assume Monkey is worth reading on its own merits.
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Originally Posted by issybird
There's a newer abridged translation than Monkey which I've borrowed from Overdrive, called The Monkey King's Amazing Adventures. I'd like to read the whole shebang, but I couldn't manage it for a timely discussion!(...)
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Well, back again from the cycling and at last some decent wifi.
I managed to follow the voting and discussion and thank you all for your contributions. At the same time I do apologize for the mix-up about 'Journey to the West'. I did read the whole of the book, but in my enthousiasm for the book I didn't think to mention the excellent abridged version by Arthur Waley.
For this reason I have to thank Sunsurfer for the explanation and very useful links to the book.
And some excuses to Issybird. Of course I wouldn't want the bookclub to read all of the 4 books in a few week....the books merit a more leisure reading.... But for the ones who plan to read them all, it is worth it. It's 'flowery' language and descriptions of heavenly things may feel akward for the Western mind in the beginning, but I got to like it very soon.
I feel this book is of importance in getting a feel for the the Asiatic countries but foremost China. In this aspect it is comparable to the epic of the Mahabharata and Ramayana for India and its cultural sphere of influence( and which I encountered in Indonesia as well in the tales of the Wajang).
Having said all this, I am happy that the White Castle by Orhan Pamuk seems to have the most votes (is the voting over?). I reread it last month and enjoyed it even more a second time, although it needs some 'munching' over. (as a book of some merit should....).
