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The Tale of Murasaki A Novel Liza Dalby Books

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The Tale of Murasaki A Novel Liza Dalby Books

Curious about The Book of Genji, I immersed myself in its reading not too long ago. A wonder that I may have let my lifetime almost escape before I enjoyed the treasures of this narrative jewel. Comparing it, inevitably, with what was happening literarily about the same time in Europe, where the vernaculars were being established with Poema de Mío Cid and Chanson de Roland, Genji was, indeed, the Shining Prince, both literarily and figuratively. The intricate and sophisticated Japanese tale surpasses the other two handsomely, albeit without robbing them of their masculine force, vigor, and historical and literary importance. But the tale is long. Very long. My more modern habits needed a rest when I reached page 471, not quite half-way into it. But, since I didn't want to abandon the setting or atmosphere of my enchantment, I simply switched, temporarily, to The Tale of Murasaki, Liza Dalby's nuanced, imaginative, and thoroughly delightful fictional account of the famous tale's author's life. Dalby's well-conceived novel is, on the one hand, a manual about the culture of eleventh century Japan court life: manners, language, poetry, colors, fabrics, paper, ceremonies, beliefs, superstitions, customs, festivals. Most importantly, however, it is a very enjoyable and captivating book, a perfect companion to insert at some point in the reading of The Tale of Genji, which, after this period of rest, will receive, again, my full attention.


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The Tale of Murasaki A Novel Liza Dalby Books Reviews

Finally a story to bring Tales of Genji to life.
Switching off from Japanese to English a.bit uncomfortable.
I purchased both The Diary of Lady Murasaki and The Tale of Genji over a year ago, but the long preface of The Diary of Lady Murasaki made me put off reading the book itself. Then a friend told me about The Tale of Murasaki. It took me less than a week to read, and provided me with much of the knowledge you need to read and understand both The Diary and The Tale of Genji. I found it very hard to put down The Tale of Murasaki, and highly recommend it to anyone to anyone who intends to read Japanese literature and is like me a complete neophyte.
This is a difficult book to rate because as a piece of writing it is definitely exemplary. It describes the rich Japanese culture and customs of its in time beautifully. However the storyline failed to captivate me and at times I even felt it to be tedious and boring. For those who understand the Japanese language well enough to be able to read the poetry interspersed throughout, this book may well be a masterpiece.
I love so much about Japanese culture. This book gives great insight into this time period. Now on what to read the tales of gen Gengi.
I met Liza Dalby when we were both graduate students at Stanford.

Her book about Lady Murasaki, the author of the famous Tale of Genji, is even more elegant and wonderful to read than the best translations of Lady Murasaki's book.

I highly recommend Ms. Dalby's book.

Douglas Shinsato
Translator of "For That One Day The Memoirs of Mitsuo Fuchida, Commander of the Attack on Pearl Harbor"
Author of "101 Lesser Known Facts Related to the Attack on Pearl Harbor"
I originally read this some time ago, but while checking through some of the reviews, I knew I had to make my voice heard.

This was one of the first Japanese historical fiction novels I read, and I absolutely loved it. I could not put the book down! Dalby did an excellent job descrbing the life of Lady Mursaki, from her beginnings as the daughter of a Chinese scholar to a Lady in the Empress's court, the whole while being classically educated, something naturally extremely unusual. The novel (and indeed, Lady Murasaki's actual life) is set in Heian period in Japanese history, one of the greatest flowerings of the arts and literature in that period of time not just in Japan, but across the globe. The Tale of Genji is one of the bastions of Japanese literature, and so a glimpse into Murasaki's life (if, obviously, fictionalized) gives us a rich depth to the author that we can only imagine. There is not a lot terribly known about Lady Murasaki, but this novel provides a fantastically rich tapestry of what her life and loves might have been like.

For additional reading, I definitely recommend, naturally, The Tale of Genji (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition), and also for another Japanese historical fiction, The Teahouse Fire (set about 1000 years later in the Meiji era).
Curious about The Book of Genji, I immersed myself in its reading not too long ago. A wonder that I may have let my lifetime almost escape before I enjoyed the treasures of this narrative jewel. Comparing it, inevitably, with what was happening literarily about the same time in Europe, where the vernaculars were being established with Poema de Mío Cid and Chanson de Roland, Genji was, indeed, the Shining Prince, both literarily and figuratively. The intricate and sophisticated Japanese tale surpasses the other two handsomely, albeit without robbing them of their masculine force, vigor, and historical and literary importance. But the tale is long. Very long. My more modern habits needed a rest when I reached page 471, not quite half-way into it. But, since I didn't want to abandon the setting or atmosphere of my enchantment, I simply switched, temporarily, to The Tale of Murasaki, Liza Dalby's nuanced, imaginative, and thoroughly delightful fictional account of the famous tale's author's life. Dalby's well-conceived novel is, on the one hand, a manual about the culture of eleventh century Japan court life manners, language, poetry, colors, fabrics, paper, ceremonies, beliefs, superstitions, customs, festivals. Most importantly, however, it is a very enjoyable and captivating book, a perfect companion to insert at some point in the reading of The Tale of Genji, which, after this period of rest, will receive, again, my full attention.