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Enchanting. provoking and healing

Revisado: 06-11-21

Examines the curiosity we all share about the nature of that something we name Time, the river of coming into and going out of being, the only One immanent eternal Now of all that is, was, and shall ever be. A love letter to our own inward Siddhartha, read flawlessly to us by David Cross, with deep respect and great tenderness.

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Enduring, but Bast grows ever more our tragic hero

Revisado: 02-19-21

Henry reflects modern corporatists, wealth extraction, legalism, "us vs them", "build a wall", White privilege, gender stereotypes, self sufficiency and "bootstraps".

Margaret stands in for present-day progressives, environmental justice, equality, inclusion, open-society, human rights, non-binary roles, "lend a hand" and "give a leg up".

Leonard represents today's masses of university educated minimum-wage "essential-workers", drawn from middle / upper-middle / lower-middle and lower classes, who now find themselves burdened with college indebtedness and a future mortgaged to the fleeting dream that a good education will open doors.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Panurge, too merry or to marry, that's a question.

Revisado: 01-26-21

Francois Rabelais - a sublime satirist, salacious master of innuendo & double entendre, and an astute, detailed, unabashed observer of human conduct.

Gargantua & Pantagruel - an immensely surreal, tremendously madcap, enormously outlandish upending of normative behavior by relentless, topsy-turvy, X-rated silliness, interspersed with scientific observation and biting philosophical commentary.

Urquhart and Motteaux translation - jovial, exuberant, luxurious use of English language.

Bill Homewood's reading - an exquisite, stellar, thoroughly delicious performance.

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Brian Nishii breathes life into The Tale; bravo!

Revisado: 12-29-20

So very satisfying are the first chapters of Bk 2 (before the Blank Chapter), as we see Genji's growth from self-centeredness and impulsivity to introspection, devotion to family, and pondering a spiritual path. Might Shikibu herself have been preoccupied with end of life concerns at this point, contributing to a sense of urgency to complete the development of each character and The Tale itself? Life can be so difficult to navigate for those with less privilege, especially when outrageous advantage is taken or threatened. For the women at court, discretion, circumspection and avoidance could be employed in order to stay safe. But how easily might one be tricked, cajoled by poetry or promises, or even betrayed by one's own trusted attendants, and if/when it happened, there would be no one to blame but oneself, one's own karma. To avoid social calamity, some of the women speak of jumping in the river (suicide) or cutting their hair (taking the veil). Might Shikibu even have longed for this herself, but the beautiful children of the court and the need to teach them (think of Genji's Murasaki who was a doting step-mother), or the demands of Shikibu's superiors at court for just one more story, or Shikibu's own worldly attachment to her characters' lives and development of The Tale, might these and other worldly demands have held her back? Might Shikibu have vowed to finish her work, in spite of illness or tiredness, or aging, until that day came when, quite suddenly, there was only just that final white page... In the last chapters (Audible ch. 42 ff) we see that the option of rejecting this world and turning spiritually inward (becoming a nun) is very much discouraged for all but very old women, almost a taboo for a young, beautiful, desirable woman to consider. There is really no escape for a woman at court except perhaps turning to the brush, if only to write poetry while pretending to practice calligraphy. But then, too, as Shikibu so often demonstrates, there's always a good story and good humor, which may be the best of all ways to cope, when things are destined by karma to be as they are; think for example of Genji as the older lover patiently rap, tap, tapping on the door of the screen while the women inside pretend to be asleep or the besotted young lover and his obsession with his beloved's little Chinese cat, not even a very pretty cat at that. Of all the marvelous characters of The Tale, my favorite is the gifted one, herself obscured behind the screen of her own creation, brush in hand and ink stone at the ready. If only I could pull back the screen to sneak just one little peek!

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas

A splendid reading of a sublime translation.

Revisado: 12-29-20

Especially appreciated are the poems, the descriptions of pre-Anthropocene nature and seasons, and the various characters' excited anticipation of predictable seasonal change. Shikibu probes human nature and relationships with insight, playfulness, and compassion. The Tale, ostensibly about Genji, is mostly about women and most likely originally for women and their daughters. I love that Shikibu's characters express delight at, even preference for, birth of a daughter, lavishing loving attention, praise and careful training on their daughters. Life in the women's quarter is devoted to artistic perfection, beauty behind the fan, and the sublime entertainments of Koto, brush work, and poetry, but Shikibu pulls back the screen to reveal the women's vulnerability, their fear, confusion and sorrow when unwanted attention threatens or an outrage is perpetrated. Shikibu shines a little candle on this dynamic of sexual power and privilege, so tenacious, still not yet overcome even in the present age. But Shikibu's Genji, perhaps surprisingly so for her first readers, was a special man among all those other callow fellows, because he at least had some self-insight and possessed an earnest desire to make amends, vowing to never abandon any of his conquests. It would seem that, however varied the cultural context, still universal are our human foibles and follies, and so love for Shikibu's work and the characters she created endures.

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enchanting

Revisado: 01-15-20

The performance, including the singing, was excellent; would give it 10 stars, if I could.

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Beautiful!

Revisado: 12-27-19

A gift for teenage and adult alike, flawless performance, very interesting story on many levels,, and delightful poetic writing style.

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vampire love

Revisado: 11-27-19

Most suitable for pre / teen (ages 11 to 16ish), especially for LBTQ-Q young people.

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LOL. Great little story & performance. Lots of fun

Revisado: 07-28-19

Perfect for the whole family, except for that hillarious little scene; too bad, too funny!

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excellent, fun & thought provoking

Revisado: 07-28-19

Good to share with "tween" boys & girls, especially about Mary Anning, Joan Morgan, etc.

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