Why did I love this book?
That The Tale of Genji is the worldās first novel is reason enough to read it, but itās also a priceless insight into the lives of the aristocracy during Japanās Heian period (794-1185). Genji chronicles the life and loves of Genji, the āShining Prince,ā an emperorās son who isnāt high enough ranking to ever inherit the throne and spends his days plotting romantic conquests that bring sorrow as often as joy. A masterpiece of world literature.
3 authors picked The Tale of Genji as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
In the early eleventh century Murasaki Shikibu, a lady in the Heian court of Japan, wrote what many consider to be the worldās first novel, more than three centuries before Chaucer. The Heian era (794ā1185) is recognized as one of the very greatest periods in Japanese literature, and The Tale of Genji is not only the unquestioned prose masterpiece of that period but also the most lively and absorbing account we have of the intricate, exquisite, highly ordered court culture that made such a masterpiece possible.
Genji is the favorite son of the emperor but also a man of dangerouslyā¦