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larryhammerAppendix: Another possible work missing from the previous poll is The Baroque Cycle. Silly me.
But speaking of the long stuff, I'm up to chapter 35 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms -- just into volume 2 of this edition, which is the 4-volume paperback box set from the Foreign Languages Press. The prose is brisk and annotations are often helpful although, as a whole, it is undermapped. Also, there's at least two or three misprints per chapter that should have been caught in proofreading, fortunately of the sort where it's obvious what was intended.
As for the story, well -- if you like stories full of more badassery than the narrative knows what to do with, this is for you. And I say this even before Zhuge Liang comes on-stage. That said, be warned that not only is it a doorstopper with loads and loads and loads of characters with often-similar names, but it takes a long time for the titular three kingdoms to show up. The first 350 pages are setting up the chain of loyalties and honor-bound relationships* and resentments that drive the main plots. As it is, where I am, only two of the territories have been acquired, if not yet enkingdomed, though Liu Bei is at least finally IN his future territory, if not yet in possession of it.
All of which brings out that Romance of the Three Kingdoms reminds me most of an exceptionally long Icelandic saga, only instead of "farmers at fisticuffs" as a replacement of war, we have actual war. With warlords, many of them four-star badasses, and badass warriors out the collective wazoos. Almost as much epic badassery going around as in Heike Monogatari. No matches for Tomoe Gozen yet, but I understand Sun Quan has an interesting daughter waiting in the wings.
I went in liking Zhang Fei based on various adaptations (if only for the one-man stand on the bridge), but after chapters 25-27 I switched to being a Guan Yu fanboy. Chapter 27, in particular, is effectively one long extended Crowning Moment of Awesome for the Magnificent Beard. He reminds me of certain heros of chivalric romance, except none of them (that I've read) had a beard bag.
Also, it's interesting to go from the Cao Cao as depicted in RTK -- basically, the designated villain -- to his and his sons' poetry as translated in anthologies.
But enough. Onward.
* Not the same thing -- loyalty is what is owed to a father or leader, honor is what governs brotherhood among warriors. One of the larger thematic patterns is how these align or conflict.
---L.
But speaking of the long stuff, I'm up to chapter 35 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms -- just into volume 2 of this edition, which is the 4-volume paperback box set from the Foreign Languages Press. The prose is brisk and annotations are often helpful although, as a whole, it is undermapped. Also, there's at least two or three misprints per chapter that should have been caught in proofreading, fortunately of the sort where it's obvious what was intended.
As for the story, well -- if you like stories full of more badassery than the narrative knows what to do with, this is for you. And I say this even before Zhuge Liang comes on-stage. That said, be warned that not only is it a doorstopper with loads and loads and loads of characters with often-similar names, but it takes a long time for the titular three kingdoms to show up. The first 350 pages are setting up the chain of loyalties and honor-bound relationships* and resentments that drive the main plots. As it is, where I am, only two of the territories have been acquired, if not yet enkingdomed, though Liu Bei is at least finally IN his future territory, if not yet in possession of it.
All of which brings out that Romance of the Three Kingdoms reminds me most of an exceptionally long Icelandic saga, only instead of "farmers at fisticuffs" as a replacement of war, we have actual war. With warlords, many of them four-star badasses, and badass warriors out the collective wazoos. Almost as much epic badassery going around as in Heike Monogatari. No matches for Tomoe Gozen yet, but I understand Sun Quan has an interesting daughter waiting in the wings.
I went in liking Zhang Fei based on various adaptations (if only for the one-man stand on the bridge), but after chapters 25-27 I switched to being a Guan Yu fanboy. Chapter 27, in particular, is effectively one long extended Crowning Moment of Awesome for the Magnificent Beard. He reminds me of certain heros of chivalric romance, except none of them (that I've read) had a beard bag.
Also, it's interesting to go from the Cao Cao as depicted in RTK -- basically, the designated villain -- to his and his sons' poetry as translated in anthologies.
But enough. Onward.
* Not the same thing -- loyalty is what is owed to a father or leader, honor is what governs brotherhood among warriors. One of the larger thematic patterns is how these align or conflict.
---L.