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eveningreverie's review against another edition
Already was pretty put off by a lot of this, but I simply cannot excuse the pedophilia. Not going to pick this up ever again. Sure, it’s interesting to see a narrative look at an old culture from someone who experienced it firsthand, but there are reasons some things should have been left in the past. Much of this book hits most of those reasons. No thanks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Misogyny
kbeucler's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.5
This book is considered one of if not the first fiction novel ever written. This translation is supposedly one of the first translations of the book into English, however it only translates the first 17 chapters and not all 54. I don’t know why they didn’t translate the whole thing, but I must say, I’m grateful because 17 chapters was more than enough. Of course this book is important historically in that it is one of the first fictional novels ever written and it was written by a woman, so that’s cool. But that doesn’t make it good. It was not good. It was actually quite awful. It had no plot and no interesting characters. Prince Genji, the main character, was just the worst, a womanizer and a pedophile. It was also confusing for someone who has no knowledge of Japanese court structure, life, or customs in the year 1000. I hated it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia
m_delaney's review against another edition
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Pedophilia
sofipitch's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This was entertaining but I wish I had a different translation. Looking at other summaries of the chapters online this translation felt like a neutered version of the story, it tried really hard to avoid telling you if the characters were having sex, which could just be a reflection of the time period or was written and translated in. But for a story about a pretty boy who can't keep it in his pants, it took me way to long to realize what kind of relationships Genji was having with various individuals.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping and Pedophilia
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