Mentioned in a comment that I'm currently reading a manga version of The Tale of Genji. Published by Kodansha Bilingual Comics, with art by Waki Yamato (whose other work I'm totally ignorant about), it's appropriate because:
Written 1,000 years ago, The Tale of Genji has 54 chapters and over 1,000 pages of text in its English translation. It is generally considered to be the world's first true novel, and was certainly the first psychological novel ever written.
Which factoid I'm fairly certain I picked up at some point in my liberal arts education (instead of, you know, marketable skills), but you'd think the fact that the first novel was written by a woman, a non-Westerner, and in a society generally considered more (grimaces at oversimplistic, emotionally-laden term, plunges ahead) sexist than ours, would. . .
Interesting. When I'm pissed, I can't discuss comics versions of great works of literature without sounding pissy. Odd, that.
Any road up, will probably seek out a text translation after I finish the manga; any suggestions on a good one? There seem to be quite a few, and from experience with the Tao Te Ching, I know that can make quite a difference in how much you enjoy the work.
Want to know more? Check out the Tale of Genji home at UNESCO Global Heritage Pavilion.
Or, if you prefer to be provincial, National Women's History Project.
Let me know when you find a good translation. I musta picked a bad one up way back, b/c although I could slog through War & Peace, Genji wa'na happening for me.
Neo, I've already gotten the sense that I'm getting the Good Parts Version with the manga adaptation. That it's not presented solely for a Western audience might help a bit, actually.
No, I'm not quite certain what I mean by that either. Might could be more familiarity with the culture/historical background/work itself is presumed. Or I'm babbling.
Let's go with babbling.