![]() I adored the small pieces of poetry littered throughout this epic novel. ![]() This is a translation of the original text though so unless I become fluent in Heian period Japanese I doubt I’ll ever truly appreciate the text. I did enjoy The Tale of Genji because I learnt so much about Japanese history and the cultural practices of the specific time in which this was written and set but, at times, I found the language dull and uninspiring. I always wonder how much beauty of a book like this gets lost in translation. It was first translated into modern Japanese in the early 20th century but the first, and unsuccessful, attempt to translate the text into English occurred in 1882. ![]() The Tale of Genji is sometimes known as the world’s first novel and the first psychological novel and it was written in an archaic ancestor of Japanese. ![]() She is best known for writing The Tale of Genji. Her personal name is unknown. Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian period. Summary: Expansive, compelling, and sophisticated in its representation of ethical concerns and aesthetic ideals, Murasaki’s tale came to occupy a central place in Japan’s remarkable history of artistic achievement and is now recognized as a masterpiece of world literature. ![]()
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