Monkey King: Journey to the West
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Wu Ch'eng-en
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Julia Lovell (Translator)
Monkey King was written anonymously the Ming dynasty and is most commonly attributed to Wu Cheng'en, the son of a silk-shop clerk from east China. It recounts a Tang-dynasty monk's quest for Buddhist scriptures in the 7th century AD, accompanied by an omni-talented kung-fu Monkey King called Sun Wukong, one of the most memorable characters in all of literature.
Comparable to The Canterbury Tales or Don Quixote, the tale is at once a comic adventure story, a humorous satire of Chinese bureaucracy, a spring of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory in which the group of pilgrims journeys towards enlightenment.
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Imprint: Penguin Classics
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Published: 03/02/2022
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ISBN: 9780241457399
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Length: 352 Pages
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RRP: £9.99
Reviews
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A monument of world literature, Monkey King is also one of the funniest, most subversive satires ever written ... If you've not read Journey to the West, prepare yourself for the adventure of a lifetime and know that like Monkey himself, you are about to be transformed. Even if you have read it, Julia Lovell's magnificent new translation becomes its own cloud somersault, its own gold-hooped staff
Junot Díaz
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Visit one of the greatest countries in the world through the pages of this Chinese epic [and] Julia Lovell's new contemporary translation, with exquisite maps of 'somewhat mythical lands' by Laura Hartman Maestro
Piers Torday, Guardian
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A new translation of Monkey King is a cause for joy! Imaginative and mischievous, exhilarating and timeless, this sixteenth-century superhero saga is a delight to readers of all ages.
Yiyun Li
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An exhilarating new translation of my favourite of all the classic Chinese novels - a great, wild epic that expands and fires one's imagination
Ha Jin
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The Monkey King, one of Chinese literature's great characters, should add many new disciples to his existing fans through this compelling new version of his adventures. Julia Lovell here conveys a vibrant sense of the richness and also the sheer fun of this Ming dynasty text, a classic of world fiction
Craig Clunas, University of Oxford
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An all-new translation of one of the greatest stories ever written . . . An out-and-out fantasy adventure that has captivated audiences and influenced creatives for centuries
Bustle
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Jam-packed with outrageous danger and outlandish transformations . . . Lovell does an admirable job condensing the original text . . . while capturing the essence of Chinese fantastical storytelling and parody. Readers who enjoy nutty adventures and nonsensical plots will get a kick out of this madcap fable
Publishers Weekly
