Rating: 
Summary: Anthony Yu version vs W.J.F. Jenner
Review: Anthony Yu version has more back ground info than WJFJ version.The quality of books is very poor. The paper quality is poor, printing quality is poor, and binding quality is poor. However this is newer translation(1982) than Anthony Yu version (1977). Though, I think some of poem are not right translation.
Anthony Yu vesion is a bit diffcult to read.
Rating:
Summary: Monkey Magic!
Review: Back in the 70's there was a TV show, made in Hong Kong and dubbed into English by the BBC. It was called "Monkey" and the premise was that three spirits had been banished to Earth, to regain entry to Heaven they had to take sacred writings to the West travelling with a priest. Now I loved this programme for several reasons, 1. the stories were wonderful 2. it had great action sequences 3. the acting was hilarious 4. it had a funky seventies disco/cheese soundtrack. So little did I suspect that the story was an ancient tale by Cheng'en Wu - it took a friend from Japan to point it out. Re-living my wasted youth - I ordered instantly from Amazon and have not been disappointed - these stories are wonderful and perfectly mixed my childhood afternoon TV sessions after school with my 30 year old mind and spirituality. I still love Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy - and I suspect you will too!
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Summary: Remind You Of Something?
Review: Even though I haven't read this book, I know exactly what it's about. If you have seen or read the first ten episodes of the Television show or manga "Dragon Ball" created by Akira Toryama in mid '80's, you'll see a similarity. The names are a little different, but the basic story is identical. If you are a Dragon Ball fan, you'll see where I'm coming from. This extremely long story about that old Chinese legend, inspired the great Akira in writing the greatest Japanese story ever written. Mainly, because it led to Dragon Ball Z, and then finally to Dragon Ball GT which has still not appeared in English, but probably will sometime in the near future. So, I'm going to but this story and see what else Akira based his popular Dragon Ball series on...
Rating: 
Summary: Very poor printing quality
Review: I bought this set based on several earlier reviews I have read, but unfortunately I didn't scroll down to see the other unfavorable reviews. Hopefully you get to see this one before making a decision. This book is very very poorly produced, the paper is too thin so the letters on the other side comes thru and creates double images; combined with the small type face, and the strong odors from the ink makes me wonder how can anyone withstand the "hardship" reading this book entails? I expect something like this in the 3rd world country. Doesn't matter how good the translation is, I will never find out, as several attempts to read the book had instead made me nauseous. I bought the one published by the Foreign Language Press.
Rating:
Summary: Nice book
Review: I liked this book quite a bit. The translation is good and the translator has one a great effort to explain as much as he/she could to help you to understand anything that is mentioned and you mey be unable to understand. The only thing I found somewhat tiring was that the story becomes a little repetitive, but besides that the story is really interesting (though I got to hate Pig, but... *shrug*)
Rating:
Summary: violent on the outside, deep on the inside
Review: I've been a long time reading this 2300-page classic Chinese "novel." The quotes are there because, if you read it as a novel, you'll grow tired of the repetitive elements in the large body of the story. Think of it more as a comprehensive compendium of folklore tales centering around the central character, Monkey. The seed of the story was the actual journey of a Tang dynasty Buddhist priest from China to India and back. This journey caught the Chinese imagination and somehow became embellished with the mythical Monkey, who ultimately became much more interesting than the priest himself. Many stories grew around a formula of Monkey protecting the priest from monsters along the journey. The author, Wu Cheng'en, organized many of these stories into a single narrative, which apparently became the authoritative record of all the Monkey folklore. This unabridged translation by W. J. F. Jenner includes a "Translator's Afterword," which I recommend you read before (not after) you read the story itself. It helps you to understand why there are so many incidents that do little to develop the story or the characters. This edition was prepared for and printed by the Foreign Language Press of Beijing, so do not expect it to meet American standards of proofreading. If you are chiefly interested in enjoying the story itself, read Arthur Waley's abridged translation, "Monkey." He keeps all the essential elements so that you learn the plot and get to know the characters, but cuts out most of the formulaic "Monkey vs. monster" stories, so it is paced more like a modern novel.
Rating:
Summary: an anthropological novel
Review: I've been a long time reading this 2300-page classic Chinese "novel." The quotes are there because, if you read it as a novel, you'll grow tired of the repetitive elements in the large body of the story. Think of it more as a comprehensive compendium of folklore tales centering around the central character, Monkey. The seed of the story was the actual journey of a Tang dynasty Buddhist priest from China to India and back. This journey caught the Chinese imagination and somehow became embellished with the mythical Monkey, who ultimately became much more interesting than the priest himself. Many stories grew around a formula of Monkey protecting the priest from monsters along the journey. The author, Wu Cheng'en, organized many of these stories into a single narrative, which apparently became the authoritative record of all the Monkey folklore. This unabridged translation by W. J. F. Jenner includes a "Translator's Afterword," which I recommend you read before (not after) you read the story itself. It helps you to understand why there are so many incidents that do little to develop the story or the characters. This edition was prepared for and printed by the Foreign Language Press of Beijing, so do not expect it to meet American standards of proofreading. If you are chiefly interested in enjoying the story itself, read Arthur Waley's abridged translation, "Monkey." He keeps all the essential elements so that you learn the plot and get to know the characters, but cuts out most of the formulaic "Monkey vs. monster" stories, so it is paced more like a modern novel.
Rating: 
Summary: chinese classic?
Review: If this is a classic, then I am Buddha. A complete waste of money. very difficult to read with a revolving theme ( you know whats going to happen a long time before it does! ). I would advise anybody thinking of buying this to browse through it first. The quality of the print is also very bad. Sorry to put down a book so badly, but it is the worst book i have ever bought and everyone I have let it to, returns it within a couple of days. You have been warned.
Rating:
Summary: Epic Zen fun
Review: If you are interested in Buddhism, you will enjoy this book. It helps to already know something about the religion. As a bonus, the box has a nifty color picture of the Tang monk, and the book covers have nice color pictures of Monkey, Pig and Friar Sand. The adventures are a bit repetitious, but a hoot--Monkey is the ultimate fearless deal-maker, ready to fight on his own or call in favors to get the job done.
Rating:
Summary: Best Loved Fantasy Novel for a Fifth of Mankind
Review: Imagine "The Lord of the Rings" doubling its length, complexity of plots, the number of characters, monsters, spirits, and other beings of all kinds - then you get the idea of just what a monumental book this is. It's like an encyclopedia written in the form of a novel! It's also the most famous fanatasy fiction in the Chinese-speaking world. Now that's a big deal. The Buddhist monk's mission is to walk all the way from the Chinese capital to India, a distance of at least 2000 miles. By contrast, the distance between Hobbiton and Mordor is only about 1000 miles. While the monk's goal is to take back Buddhist books from "the West," i.e., India, Frodo's task is to destroy the One Ring in Mount Doom of Mordor, i.e., in the East. The Monk is to bring back something of great importance, the Hobbit to destroy it. The Monk is a man of great wisdom, with an absolutely pure heart, but powerless and helpless in the face of monsters. He commands the services of his pupil the Monkey King, who has limitless supernatural powers. Hobbit's strength lies also in his purity of heart, which however fails only at the very end. Otherwise he is just as powerless as the Monk. Gandalf is the man of great wisdom and a tremendous wizard who assists Frodo. "The Journey to the West" is permeated throughout with Buddhist overtones and undertones - like blood in the human body, they are everywhere. Tolkien's book is pagan, of course, but the distinction between good and evil is no less sharp. All characters return home heroes. Those who've read both books (or at least seen the films adapted from them) will appreciate the complexity of the Chinese imaginative mind. Nothing Tolkien wrote can compare. Curiously, little is known about this author, other than the great fame of his book.
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