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#Genji2
quote
Faibka
The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu
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“It infuriated him that her amazing resistance, far from disappearing, had instead risen to this pitch, and he was beside himself with outrage and injury, although he knew perfectly well that strength of character was what had attracted him to her in the first place”
P.44
Genji, no means no, dude. And shame on you for using a kid to pimp out his sister. She knows she has everything to loose and has already explained it to you, you selfish goon.

Lindy Fortunately, Genji‘s behaviour improves as he gets older. It doesn‘t improve much, but still. 5y
Faibka @Lindy that‘s good to know because I‘m seriously getting frustrated with him, lol 5y
22 likes3 comments
quote
Faibka
The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu
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“No footsteps seem to have disturbed the fallen leaves in your garden.”
P.30

Ha! What a poetic way to indicate that no other person has visited her. When I read it I loved the image it created in my mind of fallen autumn leaves. This stock foto I found of somewhere in Japan improves greatly upon than image.

#Genji #Genji2
#autumn
#Japan
#amilleniuminbooks

Lindy 😍 5y
Daisey This type of phrasing is beautiful and it‘s making me think more carefully about what I‘m reading. 5y
41 likes2 comments
blurb
Faibka
The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu
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From Persia to Japan, finally can relax and continue reading this XI century, 1182 page book where people communicate through poems and behind curtains, while I enjoy this wonderful Bavarian malty beer. What better way to spend a Saturday night! Cheers 🍻
@Lindy

#Genji #Genji2
#booksandbrews
#amillenniuminbooks

batsy Perfect 😍 5y
Lindy Persia to Japan plus Bavaria. 🍻 5y
jveezer Ooh! That one‘s on my shelf waiting to be read too! 5y
See All 7 Comments
Faibka @batsy it truly was! I‘ve never tasted that beer before and it was really good, lol 5y
Faibka @Lindy yup! and later occurred to me that the bookmark is from Canada and the glass from New York 😜 5y
Faibka @jveezer go for It! We‘re doing a readalong hosted by @Lindy They‘re on chapter 13 and though I‘m behind I‘m loving reading the comments 5y
Faibka @jveezer and I think I might be out of my mind to tackle this 1100+ page monster while also trying to read Finnegans Wake 🙃 I might be in over my head, lol 5y
30 likes7 comments
blurb
mhillis
The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu
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This was a busy chapter for Genji!! More musical instruments in today‘s section, Young Murasaki. The hichiriki is a double reed instrument 🎶
#genji #genji5

Lindy Oooh! I‘m looking forward to getting back to the deluxe Penguin edition, translated by Tyler, when I get home on the 10th. The illustrations add a lot, don‘t they? 5y
Lindy @Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka A music reference from #Genji2 caught my interest: “Her zithern was tuned to the autumn-mode, and she played with so much tenderness and feeling that though the music came from behind closed shutters it sounded quite modern and passionate.” 🧐 🍂 Autumn mode? Modern in the context of Heian culture? I want to hear what this sounds like! 5y
mhillis @Lindy Ohhh autumn mode does sound interesting! 5y
batsy That does sound interesting! What translation are you reading while on your travels, @Lindy ? 5y
SoniaC I‘m beginning to think I picked the wrong translation. Washburn is clear but so wordy. No illustrations for me just 1300+ large pages with tiny print. 5y
59 likes5 comments
quote
Lindy
Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu
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But suppose that behind some gateway overgrown with vine-weed, in a place where no one knows there is a house at all, there should be locked away some creature of unimagined beauty—with what excitement should we discover her! The complete surprise of it, the upsetting of all our wise theories and classifications, would be likely, I think, to lay a strange and sudden enchantment upon us.

(Quote from #Genji2 foreshadows #Genji4)

GatheringBooks been meaning to read this book for like forever. 😭 5y
Lindy @GatheringBooks Don‘t cry! Join us! 5y
Faibka Loving all the beautiful illustrations 5y
Lindy @Faibka This novel has inspired thousands of paintings. There‘s a lot to choose from. 😊 5y
36 likes5 comments
blurb
CindyMyLifeIsLit
The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu
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Despite the old-fashioned view of a “woman‘s place,” the Japanese apparently, at the same time, have a pretty progressive attitude toward sex. Unmarried men and women have sexual relationships, even live together, with no stigma. The only other book I‘ve read about historical Japan is Shogun. In that book, too, sex was dealt with very pragmatically—whatever “floated a person‘s boat” was their business. Shame was considered ridiculously prudish.

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blurb
CindyMyLifeIsLit
The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu
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I know that we have to keep in mind that this book was written a thousand years ago. The treatment of women, the perspective of women‘s position in the world, are obviously going to be antiquated. Even so, this one was pretty outrageous! After Genji “selfishly forced himself upon her” (and this is a married woman—so, NOT available!), he is sorry to see her so upset. “Still, it was annoying that she should be so inconsolable.” 🤨
#genji #genji2

CindyMyLifeIsLit I quoted from the Washburn edition because it is a little more explicit about what happened. 5y
TheWordJar The end of that whole chapter was 😳🤨😠 “She has shut herself up in a little room and has several women with her—I wouldn‘t dare.” Little brother is much smarter than Genji! 😂 5y
Faibka Oh my gosh, yes, I found this infuriating. And using her young brother to get to her! Sorry for a late comment but I‘m very far behind 😂 5y
48 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
Daisey
The Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu
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My print copy of the Tyler translation arrived today so I can now more easily read it with footnotes while also cross referencing the Waley translation in ebook form. I found the comments from a few other readers about the different translations fascinating, and I did compare a few passages, specifically the last few sentences of the chapter about the young boy.

#Genji #Genji2

Faibka I‘m reading from the same translation! I do like the footnotes 5y
Daisey @Faibka I‘ve been really happy with this translation. The footnotes and chapter character lists have been super helpful. 5y
Faibka @Daisey yes! I completely agree. Sometimes I go back to the character list when I get confused as to who is who, lol 5y
53 likes3 comments
quote
Lindy
Tale of Genji | Murasaki Shikibu, Murasaki Shikubu
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At last he recited the poem “I knew not the nature of the strange tree* that stands on Sono plain, and when I sought the comfort of its shade, I did but lose my road,” and sent it to her. She was still awake, and answered with the poem “Too like am I in these my outcast years to the dim tree that dwindles from the traveler‘s approaching gaze.”
*the hagakigi or Broom-tree #Genji2

Lindy I happened to have a photo of broom on my phone. Not sure if it‘s the same plant that‘s referred to in the chapter title. #Genji2 @Cindymylifeislit @Daisey @llwheeler @bianca @saresmoore @bookandcat @mhillis @SoniaC @batsy @KathyR @TheWordJar @Faibka 5y
TheWordJar I‘m really enjoying the communication by poems in here! 5y
batsy @TheWordJar Me too! 5y
See All 11 Comments
Lindy @batsy @TheWordJar @saresmoore @bookandcat @CindyMyLifeIsLit @daisey @llwheeler @Sonia_C “there are others who, wishing to master the art of verse making, in the end allow it to master them, and, slaves to poetry, cannot resist the temptation, however urgent the business they are about or however inappropriate the time, to make use of some happy allusion which has occurred to them, but must needs fly to their desks and work it up into a poem.” 5y
saresmoore This poetry problem has come up several times in my concurrent read, set at Oxford. Seems the educated elite (aesthetes and/or academics) share the poetical burden! 5y
Lindy @saresmoore This poetry obsession/suspicion of poetry strikes me as very funny. Didn‘t Plato say something about expelling poets from his republic? @batsy @TheWordJar 5y
Faibka @TheWordJar @batsy me too! What better way to convey difficult feelings :) It also reminds me of something I read in the Hagakure, where it says that whenever you are writing to someone you should do it so beautifully so that the recipient might want to hang it in a wall. 5y
Faibka @Lindy, beautiful picture! I‘ve been trying to imagine what the broom tree looks like. Thanks for posting it! 5y
Lindy @Faibka you‘re welcome 😇 I took the photo in Ireland in April last year. (edited) 5y
Faibka @Lindy how cool! I would love to visit Ireland some day 5y
batsy @Faibka Oh, that's a lovely sentiment! And it definitely crystallises the devotion to aesthetics in every aspect of life in Genji's time. 5y
38 likes11 comments