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Monkey  By  cover art

Monkey

By: Wu Ch’êng-ên, Arthur Waley - translator
Narrated by: Kenneth Williams
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Publisher's summary

Considered one of China's great classical novels, Wu Ch'êng-ên's Journey to the West was translated by Arthur Waley in abridged form as Monkey in 1942 and has delighted English readers ever since. It is a riveting adventure story about a priest's quest to obtain holy Buddhist scriptures for the Tang emperor; joining him on this rollicking journey: Sandy, Pigsy, and the mischievous monkey king, Sun Wukong, whose flying cloud and magic cudgel are never far from his infamous deeds. Waley's accessible rendition of Wu Ch'êng-ên's novel has become a classic in its own right: Gods, demons, and disobedient monkey spirits all come alive in this entertaining work.

©1981 Nimbus Records Ltd. (P)2015 Naxos AudioBooks

What listeners say about Monkey

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Great book

this was a very entertaining book to read, the Monkey Kings transformation from nuisance to Buddha is quite a tale.

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Good story

Love the story, but sometimes it was hard to understand the British accent of the narrator, especially if I was in a noisy environment (like the car)

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  • Overall
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A fascinating epic

Monkey is a great classic for anyone interested in a Chinese novel of an earlier period that gives a greater context to certain aspects of traditional chinese culture

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Didn't want it to end

Great story. Reader was entertaining and enthusiastic. Gave life to each character. Definitely in my top 5 audiobooks collection.

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a must read for ancient folk lore comendy

a must read for ancient folk lore comendy it is an amazing read you cannot miss out on this book ypy will re read it time and time again it also make for a good kids bedtime story

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i love my godly homie sun wukong

i love my godly love forever homie the best monkey the king of the fruit and flowers mountain monkey

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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great telling

leaves a lot of the stories and tales out. if you like this I recommend finding an unabridged copy of Journey to the West.

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It was alright for an abridged book

My only critique is it isn't the complete 100 chapters of "Journey to the West"

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Do yourself a favor and listen

It took me a bit to adjust to the narration but as the characters develop it becomes hard to imagine listening to this epic tale without the different voicing.

Overall great experience Well worth the time.

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It's an Abridged Version

Any additional comments?

Great voice reading, some Chinese pronunciations are wrong or painful to listen to.It's untrue this book is unabridged, Journey to the West is 100 chapters long, so many of the adventures are missing from it. It's a folk tale, so enjoy it as that.

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