One of the greatest classics of Chinese literature, in a new translation by the award-winning Julia Lovell
Wu Cheng'en (Author)
Very little is known about Wu Cheng'en (c. 1505-80), although he is
believed to have held the post of District Magistrate for a time.
He had a reputation as a good poet, but only a few rather
commonplace verses of his survive in an anthology of Ming poetry
and in a local gazetteer.
Julia Lovell (Translator)
Julia Lovell is the translator of The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other
Tales of China- The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun, and is the author
of Maoism, for which she won the 2019 Cundhill History Prize, and
The Opium War, for which she won the Jan Michalski Prize. She is
Professor of Modern China at Birkbeck College, University of
London, and writes about China for The Guardian, Financial Times,
The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. She lives in
Cambridge.
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*
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
*Guardian*
I marvelled at the ingenuity, cheek and charm of Monkey King by Wu
Cheng'en in Julia Lovell's lively new translation: what a book to
return to!
*The White Review*
Julia Lovell's new translation of Monkey King: Journey to the West
is the best English edition of the classic Chinese fantasy novel I
have ever read. If you wish to understand why Monkey King has been
a fixture in Chinese popular culture for no fewer than five
centuries, then look no further
*Los Angeles Review of Books*
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*
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*
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*
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*
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*
Uproarious and action-filled, this highly readable new translation
captures the most beloved of Chinese characters in all his
impossible charm. Irrepressible and irresistible, Monkey speaks to
us across the centuries, and here makes us laugh anew
*Gish Jen*
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