Monkey King - Wu Cheng'en

I noticed that I have a bad habit of criticising translations of classic literature, perhaps unfairly, so I will endeavour not to do so here. Monkey King, or more commonly known as Journey to the West, does not seem like an easy text to translate into modern English. This is due not only to its imposing status as a cornerstone of classical Chinese literature, but also because Mandarin is notoriously difficult to translate word for word without losing meaning and tone along the way. As Julia Lovell points out in her critical introduction to this latest 2021 publication, many of the jokes and puns of the original rely on the wordplay of Chinese characters, so they would be impossible to reproduce here. To counter the problem, she 'enhances' the humour in other areas, a solution I'm not too sure about. I did find some of her modernisms a little jarring, particularly the Easter egg moment when the titular mischief maker declares 'time for some Monkey Magic!' (If you know, you know... but let's be honest with ourselves, it was a terrible TV show.) Perhaps more problematic than an overly modern reproduction is the fact that this edition is heavily abridged, something I did not realise until after I had finished. The original book runs on for 100 chapters, whilst Lovell's is only a quarter of the length. Therefore, I still feel that I haven't read it properly, and some of the omitted chapters sounded like a lot of fun.

Overall, I did not enjoy this book an awful lot. The descriptive sections, whether through heavy-handed editing or sparse folktale storytelling from Wu Cheng'en, were too abrupt for my tastes. The action plays out like two young boys posturing and smacking their toys together, making up increasingly ludicrous magic powers and kung-fu moves on the spot. Lovell points out the similarity between this narrative and that of Marvel films, a genre I find hollow and unwholesome. Although academia likes to sneer at such contemporary comparisons, I feel that she is right. The non-stop barrage of conflict and bickering between the characters was mentally exhausting, with no breathing space or quieter moments in the pilgrimage to explore. The pilgrims run from one scenario to the next, not unlike the standalone episodes of a television serial. Character development was patchy and uneven. Again, this may be due to Lovell's decisions of which chapters to include, but it was glaringly apparently that the depressive Sandy had far less involvement than gluttonous Pigsy, allies of the protagonist who should have equal representation. The patchiness of this abridgement could ultimately not be overlooked, and it did severely hamper my enjoyment of the adventure. Perhaps one day I will read the complete book in Mandarin, but for now this edition remains a passable introduction to the source text.

Rating: 2/5