The Tale of Genji Book

The Tale of Genji is one of the hallmarks of classic Japanese literature - the equivalent to, say, the Canterbury Tales or the Divine Comedy or Dox Quixote - from which thousands of pieces of art, pottery and writings have been inspired. It is a sweeping bildungsroman about a Japanese prince in the 10th/11th century Heian court in Kyoto. Well, ex-prince because the emperor had to strip him of his title for political reasons. The tale has over 400 characters and is a true masterpiece of style and description. In the translation I read, each chapter has a beautiful haiku before the narrative and the translation just drips off the page with limpid, gorgeous text. I read this during my honeymoon and despite its occasional melancholic tone, it was one of the most challenging and yet beautiful things I ever read. I can only imagine what beauty must be in store for those lucky enough to be able to read it in the original Japanese.

One of the greatest books ever written. A good respite from the fake news and twitter bullshit that is clogging the airwaves...