Rating: 
Summary: Rereadable!
Review: I'm reading this entertaining book for the sixth time. I met it over thirty years ago in a college class, and now my own students read it in Literature of the Non-Western World.
Enjoy some music that somehow fits the book: Alan Hovhaness's Mountains and Rivers Without End.
Rating: 
Summary: a relic
Review: Monkey, also known as The Monkey King or The Journey to the West, is one of the four great novels of China--along with The Water Margins, Dream of the Red Mansion, and The Three Kingdoms. It tells the story, in allegorical form, of Xuan Zang (or Hsuan Tsang), a 7th Century monk who trekked from China to India in search of Buddhist texts, his translations of which were a key to the growth of Buddhism in China. His real-life travelogue is itself considered to be a great work of literature, but for purposes of the novel he, referred to here as Tripitaka, is given a group of comic companions : the Monkey King, a kind of trickster god, who represents rebelliousness against both heavenly and earthly order; Pigsy, a marshal of heaven turned into his animal namesake for attacking a fairy maiden, who represents a sort of earthy stolidity; and Sandy, a kind of sea monster, who Waley says represents "whole-heartedness", whatever that means. The book is intermittently amusing, but even in this abridged version is way too long. Characters' motivations and the meanings of most of the action are awfully obscure. And like any picaresque, it is almost purely episode driven, without the various episodes necessarily adding up to a coherent and sustained story. The book is interesting as a cultural relic, but, if no one told you, you wouldn't imagine it to be such an influential text. GRADE : C
Rating:
Summary: a relic
Review: Monkey, also known as The Monkey King or The Journey to the West, is one of the four great novels of China--along with The Water Margins, Dream of the Red Mansion, and The Three Kingdoms. It tells the story, in allegorical form, of Xuan Zang (or Hsuan Tsang), a 7th Century monk who trekked from China to India in search of Buddhist texts, his translations of which were a key to the growth of Buddhism in China. His real-life travelogue is itself considered to be a great work of literature, but for purposes of the novel he, referred to here as Tripitaka, is given a group of comic companions : the Monkey King, a kind of trickster god, who represents rebelliousness against both heavenly and earthly order; Pigsy, a marshal of heaven turned into his animal namesake for attacking a fairy maiden, who represents a sort of earthy stolidity; and Sandy, a kind of sea monster, who Waley says represents "whole-heartedness", whatever that means. The book is intermittently amusing, but even in this abridged version is way too long. Characters' motivations and the meanings of most of the action are awfully obscure. And like any picaresque, it is almost purely episode driven, without the various episodes necessarily adding up to a coherent and sustained story. The book is interesting as a cultural relic, but, if no one told you, you wouldn't imagine it to be such an influential text. GRADE : C
Rating: 
Summary: The best book I've ever read in my life....so far.
Review: One of the best books I've read in all my life. The characters have been borrowed and turned into many different characters in film and animation, but to read the original makes all the imitations pale in comparison. Minus a few chapters, Mr. Waley has achieved the unthinkable: the best western translation of one of China's best kept secrets. A stone monkey, brought to life by the powers of heaven and earth and how he was never satisfied until he got everything he wanted, by any means neccesary. Top notch!
Rating:
Summary: Monkey IS magic!!
Review: The story of a monkey, with a priest In this book, nothing as it seems. On the road from China, to Gondaro Will they make it, Nobody knows. This book titled 'Monkey' is the same Monkey many of us know (And most definetly should love) from the television series also called 'Monkey'. They were both taken from writings penned by Wu Ch'eng-en, who lived between 1505 - 1580. This translation is absolute joy to read. It is the story of a noble Chinese priest on a journey to find the scriptures of India for his God, Buddhu. On his travels he encounters three part-men part-animal part-naughty-and-therefore-punished creatures who journey with him in his misadventures, in return for going to heaven. It combines in its reading beauty with absurdity, profundity with nonsense, Folk-lore, allegory, religion, history, satire, and poetry. You will never read anything like this ever again in your life. SO GO AND BUY IT NOW!!
Rating:
Summary: Exuberant fairytale with an edge
Review: Unlike most people, I didn't come to this book through the TV series - I have heard of it, but I've never seen it (although I do intend to try to find it now...). This translation covers only sections of the Monkey/Journey to the West saga, but what there is of it conveys well the flavour of the tale without outstaying its welcome. The plot, such as it is, revolves around the priest Tripitaka and his disciples (including Monkey), who have been charged to journey to the West and return with Buddhist scriptures for the enlightenment of China. The story can, at times, be distinctly difficult to get your head around; superficially at least, it's little more than a succession of episodes involving bizarre monsters being defeated with elaborate magical powers. There is, however, plenty of humour - generally farcical in nature, although occasionally quite dry - and the bickering of the main characters is frequently entertaining. The bureaucratic nature of heaven, in which spirits and deities are assigned strictly hierarchical posts - with salaries! - is amusing regardless of how much you know of Chinese history and society. However, many of the Buddhist and Taoist elements may be confusing to readers unfamiliar with the basic concepts. Some of the episodes rely quite heavily on outcomes grounded in, say, the workings of karma or the achievement of enlightenment - although most do conclude with Monkey and friends beating up the monsters in question, frequently with the spiritual aid of Kuan-yin and other divinities. But I do suspect that there are allusions and layers I'm missing... To paraphrase the end-of-chapter refrain, if you want to know whether Monkey and his companions succeed on their quest, you'll have to read the book!
Rating:
Summary: This is magic!
Review: What a wonderful translation of this classic text. Fans of Chineses mythology and the classic Japanese cult TV show will be enthralled by this text. The book appeals to all ages and mental capacities much like an episode of the Simpsons also does. There are many moral messages portrayed and lots of classically funny moments. Read with intense focus of the adventures of the holy fool Tripitaka, the over confident Monkey, the glutful Pigsy and the philosophical Sandy as they travel to India for the scriptures to save mankind. Enjoy!
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