12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best translation available, December 31, 2010
This review is from: The Pillow Book (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
This is a wonderful translation of the book that used to be described as "the original blog" and is now probably described as "the original Twitter account." There's some truth to both of those descriptions, but it's so much more than that--poignant, touching, and vexing. It has an astonishing power to make you suddenly feel exactly the same as a noblewoman who's been dead for about a thousand years and lived in a world almost unimaginably different from ours.
Comparing Arthur Waley's loose and overly elaborated reinterpretation, Ivan Morris' too-edited and sometimes overly academic translation, and this translation, this one is my favorite by far. McKinney has impeccable academic/linguistic credentials, and was more scrupulous in compiling her source material (not leaving things out as I recall that Morris did--readers can skip whatever isn't interesting to them, which I think is far preferable). In addition, she also writes well in English, so it's generally a pleasure to read--it's translated well without being overly flowery. McKinney's notes are very detailed and explain almost everything that might confuse a modern and/or non-Japanese reader (almost to a ridiculous extent--occasionally it's not quite worth turning to the note!). This version is enjoyable for both readers who are new to the book and enthusiasts or academics who have encountered it before.
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42 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A book of thoughts, November 19, 2007
This review is from: The Pillow Book (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
Relatively little is known about Sei Shonagon's life. We know she was a court lady in tenth-century Japan, at the pinnacle of the Heian period.
And she left behind a glimpse into her culture's period in "The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon." It's a sort of mishmash memoir -- gossip, reflections, lists, and personal recollections are all mingled together, with a light, poetic delicacy that still is striking today.
The story behind the Pillow Book is that when Shonagon (possible real name: Kiyohara Nagiko) was serving the Imperial Family, the Empress Teishi received a bunch of notebooks that she couldn't use. As they were too valuable to discard, she gave them to Shonagon to use as she chose.
And so Shonagon basically poured her thoughts into her "Pillow Book" -- she offers brief reflections on the world around her, diary-like recollections of things that happen among the ladies in waiting, essays on court life, lists, poetry, and pretty much anything else she dreamed up.
One of the most intriguing things about the Pillow Book is the glimpse into tenth-century Japan that it gives. Shonagon's stories are about little things like flutes, disobedient dogs, clothes, and the Empress's ladies betting on how long it would take a giant mound of snow to melt (no, I'm not kidding). Somehow, it leaves the past seeming a little less distant.
Normally these stories would be curiosities only. But Shonagon -- despite her tendency towards snobbery -- had a special knack with prose, and and a bright, shimmering wit. Her charming love of beauty is often enchanting; she often lists things that she finds pleasing, such as moons, summer nights, flowers and willow trees. Her words were almost as pleasant, since she littered her writing with jokes, metaphor and wordplay.
Not that her recollections are without negatives -- she listed her pet peeves (such as parents worshiping a very unappealing child -- something we've all been annoyed with), and things she found depressing or annoying. A stickler for form and ettiquette, she had very precise ideas about how things should be done... right down to how love affairs should be conducted.
If there's a problem with this, it's that Shonagon -- in the manner of her time -- tends to gloss over the more important, unpleasant details of life. And her own anecdotes show that she could be very cruel, as when she gave a mocking poem to a newly-homeless peasant, instead of a promissory note. It may have been typical of her class and culture, but come on.
"The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon" opens a little window into the scented world of Heian-era Japan, and leaves behind the impression of a spunky, sharp-witted lady who would have stood out anywhere.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Pillow Book, February 28, 2009
This review is from: The Pillow Book (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)
Written by a court lady in the Japanese palace more than 1,000 years ago, The Pillow Book remains a classic piece of literature across cultures and centuries.
Sei Shonagan chronicles her list of favorite things- colors, seasons, clothes, birds, flowers, hours of the day -- with poetic beauty and depth. But she also observes with an intelligent, sly, and often sharp assessment the people and customs of the day, and what went on behind the scenes at court. Her observations range from humorous to withering. Her critque of the proper manner for a man to depart after a night of love is both acerbic and humorous. Reading The Pillow Book is like curling up with a book of beautiful observations coupled with some really interesting dish.
This edition has an informative preface that greatly enhances one's understanding of the historical period, and copious notes that both illustrate and describe in detaill the clothing and architecture of the world she inhavited, as well as an index that identifies the many characters Shonogan writes about.
That this book was written so long ago, and yet contains through all these centuries the human and emotional factors that still affect us today is amazing. A masterpiece of world literature.
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