Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
 I know that girl September 6, 2008
Most old books are about people and things that are alien to our modern lives.
When I read this book I felt like
"I know that girl"
It is one of those stories about life that
Even though I am removed from Sei Shonagon
by a thousand years, an ocean, a language and a culture
I feel like she could be the girl next door.
The book is very relevant to the feelings and emotions that are universal throughout time.
Seeker-Finder
Absolutely unforgettable! March 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Even after 1000 years, Sei Shonagon lives & breathes & fascinates in the pages of her pillow book. And what a memorable woman! Witty, infuriating, a sensitive observer of life's little surprises & disappointments, an appalling snob -- but there's no ignoring her. Personally, I love the random nature of her entries, as the mood & occasion catch her, from her delightful lists to her often cutting comments about the other court ladies. Beneath all the precise & delicate form, there was obviously quite a hothouse of personal politics!
And she has a real eye for the telling detail, the revealing incident. Depending on the circumstances, she can evoke empathy, spit fire & venom, or make you want to shake her furiously. A perfect window into another time & way of life, and always a pleasure to dip into, this is an excellent edition. The translation is clear & lyrical without being artificially "poetic," and ample notes are provided for the Western reader.
Most highly recommended!
 A regal Japan while Europe still had serfs and lice... June 10, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
There are many translations of this and I didn't like this one the best. I felt that this edition had been "censored", and that is unfortunate. Also, the organization by subject was a bit heavy-handed and unnecessary. I think that anyone who has every kept a journal would appreciate The Pillow Book in a less "pre-digested" form. The first time I read this (in college), it was translated with as little messing with as possible, and for that it deserves five stars...
The best of three English language translations May 24, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Shonagon's pillow book is not only one of the best surviving literary works of the Heian era. It's also a remarkable document that has preserved and conveyed the conventions, sensibilities and zeitgeist of the period in pristine detail. The woman herself may very well have been an impossible bore for her acquaintances, but the objectivity of her personality and the intricate understanding that she possessed of both her personal experiences and the unique imperial culture in which she was a cog are tremendously admirable.
I prefer Ivan Morris's English translation because, as the most rigid and frigid of the three published, his comes closest to conveying Shonagon's probable demeanor. Waley's translation is decent, but his footnotes are poor and his prose is a pinch too overstated. McKinney's new translation is mushy trash that attempts to identify Shonagon's refined femininity with a vein of simpleminded modernism that colors everything produced by this Australian twit; avoid it at all costs.
Engaging, sometimes beautiful, but ultimately shallow March 6, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
If Sei Shonagon were alive today, she would be a livejournalist. That's the overall impression I got from this book--it reads very much like a modern livejournal or blog, being a collection of random observations on whatever Shonagon found interesting, lists of things she likes or dislikes, and snippets or scraps of poetry. Shonagon's use of metaphor and imagery is quite beautiful, and paints an evocative picture of a world, life, time and society very different from that of the modern day. However, she herself and the social circle in which she moves come off as fairly shallow, trivial and self-absorbed, as well as grotesquely classist and sometimes even cruel (as when she and her fellow ladies in waiting send a mocking poem to a commoner who has just lost his entire house and worldly possessions in a fire from which his son barely escaped.) Of course, given her own social status and position in her society at the time, perhaps these attitudes are to be expected; however, they still are not particularly attractive.
Nevertheless her writing is very readable, engaging, light and witty, and of course it is of great historical and literary significance, especially for something that was, by her own admission, not intended to be circulated publicly. It makes me wonder if any of today's blogosphere authors will still be read a thousand years from now, and what picture they will paint of modern society if they are.
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