Finished!

I finished Tale of Genji last night.

While it was a laborious read, I'm glad to have completed it (although, there are apparently many more chapter that follow Genji all the way into old age; he was approximately 22 by the end of this book). Thoughts on the book: It definitely gives an enlightening look at the value of etiquette and procedure in Japanese society in the 1000s, and I'm sure that cultural trait live on today. There is scarcely a sentence in the book that doesn't allude to some social structure or position. I am also very interested in the importance of aesthetics in society. Indeed, it seemed as if nearly everything revolved around aesthetics. For example: Genji received a coat from one of his female correspondents along with a request to wear the coat in the coming New Year's celebration. However, the coat was much to ugly and he refused to wear it. In many instances, Genji will dismiss a woman completely merely because her poetry was unsophisticated or her handwriting amateur. If all else fails, Genji will still make sure to maintain the aesthetic beauty that surrounds him.

You may have gotten the impression that this book was unenjoyable. I would like to put that rumor to rest. Sure, the writing was drier than a plasterboard sandwich, but I quickly found myself enchanted with the world it evoked. It was a simpler world, where much of one's time was spent chasing women, writing letters, and travelling from place to place. There were none of the modern conveniences that we have today, and hence, one was forced to live life more slowly. And the novel did have some truly emotional moments. Aoi, Genji's wife, whom he never got along with, was possessed by the unconscious spirit of Rokujo, another unrequited love of Genji's, and her seething jealousy eventually drained Aoi's life away. As he looked at the beautiful, still form of his deceased wife, flowing black hair sharply contrasting her delicate white skin, he suddenly felt the sharp pain of a lost opportunity. Now, after years of icy silence between him and his betrothed, now, right when leaves the earth forever, he realizes that he truly did love care about her. Genji mourns Aoi's death bitterly, wearing dark clothes for the prescribed three months and rarely leaving his palace.

I stated before that this book has not plot. And I repeat that statement here. I can give away the ending because there's nothnig to give away. Last sentence (in describing an exchange between Genji and his wife Murasaki): "Surely a great emotion was felt by all." Then the book ends. There is no story arc, no hook, no rising or falling action. Which is probably why it was such a long read. This is a sharp change from Haruki Murakami's Kafka On the Shore, which maintains an incredible level of dramatic tension. Obviously, Murakami has borrowed some qualities from Western literature and intermingled them with his native brand.

My plan is to read "I am a Cat" by the Seminal Japanese author Natsume Soseki. This is one of Japan's most famous novelists; his face appears on one of the yen bills. I am a Cat is his most famous novel. I anticipate noting differences between Kafka on the Shore, a modern work, Tale of Genji, and ancient work, and I am a Cat, which was written in ~1904. My challenge will be to find a copy of this book that is in English. Worldcat.org tells me that Emory University has a copy, so maybe I can find someone from Emory who can check it out and let me borrow it.