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The Tale of Genji
- Narrated by: Blaise Adams
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
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The Tale of Genji
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Publisher's Summary
The Tale of Genji is an exquisitely crafted classic work of Japanese literature written in the 11th century. Some consider it to be the world's first novel, or the first modern or psychological novel. The narrative of 54 chapters is embellished by hundreds of little poems spread like a string of pearls through the prose. The story recounts the life of Hikaru Genji, the son of an ancient Japanese emperor and a concubine. Removed from the line of succession, Genji pursues a series of love affairs and a career as an imperial officer. The plethora of characters is impressively well-rounded while the setting of the Heian era in the 10th and 11th centuries is magnificently portrayed.
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What listeners say about The Tale of Genji
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cpw
- 05-03-20
great story
what a wonderful story ,and to think it was year 1000,the culture the thoughts are to make you think a story for all ages
2 people found this helpful
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5 out of 5 stars
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Brian Nishii breathes life into The Tale; bravo!
- By MargaRose on 12-29-20
By: Murasaki Shikibu, and others
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The Pillow Book
- By: Sei Shōnagon
- Narrated by: Georgina Sutton
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 12
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12
The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon is a fascinating, detailed account of Japanese court life in the closing years of the 10th century. Written by a lady of the court at the height of Heian culture, this book enthrals with its lively gossip, witty observations and subtle impressions. Lady Shōnagon was an erstwhile rival of Lady Murasaki, whose novel, The Tale of Genji, fictionalized the elite world Lady Shōnagon so eloquently relates.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Exquisite. Truly!
- By Erick DuPree on 01-10-23
By: Sei Shōnagon
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The Tale of Murasaki
- A Novel
- By: Liza Dalby
- Narrated by: Allison Hiroto
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
In the 11th century Murasaki Shikibu wrote the world’s first novel, The Tale of Genji, the most popular work in the history of Japanese literature. In The Tale of Murasaki, Liza Dalby has created a breathtaking fictionalized narrative of the life of this timeless poet - a lonely girl who becomes such a compelling storyteller that she is invited to regale the empress with her tales. The Tale of Murasaki is the story of an enchanting time and an exotic place.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book, reader lacked emotion
- By Epiphany on 06-05-18
By: Liza Dalby
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The Japanese Classics Collection: Literature, Myths, Samurai Philosophy, Folk Tales and More
- The Tale of Genji, The Kojiki, Bushido: The Soul of Japan, The Book of Tea, and Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
- By: Lady Murasaki Shikibu, Basil Hall Chamberlain, Inazo Nitobe, and others
- Narrated by: Blaise Adams
- Length: 18 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall1 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance1 out of 5 stars 1
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Story1 out of 5 stars 1
Japanese culture has fascinated the West ever since the country’s doors opened up in the 1800s. In many ways, Japan has remained elusive, and people have travelled from all around the world to see for themselves how unique this nation remains. Another way of exploring this enigmatic culture is through its literature. The English language succeeds surprisingly well in revealing the Japanese sense of life.
By: Lady Murasaki Shikibu, and others
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Sanshiro
- Penguin Classics
- By: Natsume Soseki, Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin
- Narrated by: Andrew Koji
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 26
One of Soseki's most beloved works of fiction, the novel depicts the 23-year-old Sanshiro leaving the sleepy countryside for the first time in his life to experience the constantly moving 'real world' of Tokyo, its women and university. In the subtle tension between our appreciation of Soseki's lively humour and our awareness of Sanshiro's doomed innocence, the novel comes to life. Sanshiro is also penetrating social and cultural commentary.
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3 out of 5 stars
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This story had no point.
- By icelandicponies on 12-30-21
By: Natsume Soseki, and others
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I Am a Cat
- By: Soseki Natsume, Aiko Ito - translator, Graeme Wilson - translator
- Narrated by: David Shih
- Length: 21 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 110
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Story4 out of 5 stars 93
Soseki Natsume's comic masterpiece, I Am a Cat, satirizes the foolishness of upper-middle class Japanese society during the Meiji era. With acerbic wit and sardonic perspective, it follows the whimsical adventures of a world-weary stray kitten who comments on the follies and foibles of the people around him. A classic of Japanese literature, I Am a Cat is one of Soseki's best-known novels. Considered by many as the greatest writer in modern Japanese history, Soseki's I Am a Cat is a classic novel sure to be enjoyed for years to come.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great performance!
- By mz on 04-03-20
By: Soseki Natsume, and others
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Hagakure
- The Secret Wisdom of the Samurai
- By: Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Alexander Bennett - translator
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 74
The comprehensive and accurate edition of the Hagakure is a must-have for serious martial artists or fans of samurai and the Bushido code.
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5 out of 5 stars
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awesome book on samurai history.
- By Christian Knight on 10-02-20
By: Yamamoto Tsunetomo, and others
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Oblomov
- By: Ivan Goncharov
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 20 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 65
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 59
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
A member of the landed gentry, with a seemingly guaranteed income from his estate in the country, Oblomov lives in Petersburg, uninterested in the business that provides his living and barely aware that the revenue is diminishing. Not that he leads a dissolute life of extravagance, balls and entertainment. Instead he is a dreamer, a sybarite, content above all to spend most of the day supine, in bed. The novel opens with Oblomov thus ensconced, attended only by his dirty, grumbling, indolent servant Zahar, who has looked after him since childhood, catering to his every need.
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5 out of 5 stars
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funny and smart
- By Bennett Weiss on 07-29-20
By: Ivan Goncharov
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The Book of Yokai
- Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folklore
- By: Michael Dylan Foster
- Narrated by: Tim Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 220
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 188
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 188
Drawing on years of research in Japan, Michael Dylan Foster unpacks the history and cultural context of yokai, tracing their roots, interpreting their meanings, and introducing people who have hunted them through the ages. In this delightful and accessible narrative, listeners will explore the roles played by these mysterious beings within Japanese culture and will also learn of their abundance and variety through detailed entries on more than 50 individual creatures.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Pt 2 was delightful (+no cringey pronunciations!!)
- By Julieanne on 06-04-19
![Kusamakura [Grass Pillow] Audiobook By Natsume Soseki, Meredith McKinney - translator cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41Jm7kmdUPL._SL320_FMwebp_.jpg)
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Kusamakura [Grass Pillow]
- By: Natsume Soseki, Meredith McKinney - translator
- Narrated by: Kotaro Watanabe, Elizabeth Jasicki
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 14
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Story5 out of 5 stars 11
Natsume Soseki's Kusamakura - meaning “grass pillow” - follows its nameless young artist-narrator on a meandering walking tour of the mountains. At the inn at a hot-spring resort, he has a series of mysterious encounters with Nami, the lovely young daughter of the establishment. Nami, or "beauty", is the center of this elegant novel, the still point around which the artist moves and the enigmatic subject of Soseki's word painting.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Is there a plot? Yes. Does it matter? No!
- By just asking for some common sense on 01-23-23
By: Natsume Soseki, and others
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The Analects
- By: Confucius
- Narrated by: Bruno Roubicek
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 111
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
One of the undisputed giants in the history of human thought, and the founder of one of the world's longest-lasting cultural traditions, Confucius (known as Kong Fuzi in his native China) is arguably the most enduring of all the world's great thinkers. The Analects, the slender volume thought to have been compiled by his followers, has the strongest claim to represent Confucius' actual words. The book contains memorable sayings about the moral health of the individual, the family and the body politic.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great thought
- By Anonymous User on 02-28-20
By: Confucius
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Tao Te Ching
- The Essential Translation of the Ancient Chinese Book of the Tao
- By: John Minford - translator, Lao Tzu
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 366
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 314
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Story5 out of 5 stars 309
The most translated book in the world after the Bible, the Tao Te Ching, or “Book of the Tao,” is a guide to cultivating a life of peace, serenity, and compassion. Through aphorisms and parable, it leads readers toward the Tao, or the “Way”: harmony with the life force of the universe. Traditionally attributed to Lao-tzu, a Chinese philosopher thought to have been a contemporary of Confucius, it is the essential text of Taoism, one of the three major religions of ancient China.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Part history, part geneology.
- By Todd S Cutler on 04-01-19
By: John Minford - translator, and others
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Kokoro
- By: Natsume Soseki
- Narrated by: Matt Shea
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 454
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 399
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 399
The subject of Kokoro, which can be translated as 'the heart of things' or as 'feeling,' is the delicate matter of the contrast between the meanings the various parties of a relationship attach to it. In the course of this exploration, Soseki brilliantly describes different levels of friendship, family relationships, and the devices by which men attempt to escape from their fundamental loneliness. The novel sustains throughout its length something approaching poetry, and it is rich in understanding and insight.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Heart Of Things, Relationships & Feelings
- By Sara on 04-27-15
By: Natsume Soseki
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Beethoven
- Anguish and Triumph
- By: Jan Swafford
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 39 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 185
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 163
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
Jan Swafford's biographies have established him as a revered music historian, capable of bringing his subjects vibrantly to life. His magnificent new biography of Ludwig van Beethoven peels away layers of legend to get to the living, breathing human being who composed some of the world's most iconic music.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Huge book - musical reader appreciates best
- By DMgraphicGlass on 01-20-15
By: Jan Swafford
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A Pillar of Iron
- A Novel of Ancient Rome
- By: Taylor Caldwell
- Narrated by: Simon Mattacks, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 33 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
From his birth in 106 BC in the hill town of Arpinum, Cicero, the educated son of a wealthy member of the equestrian order, is destined for greatness. From his tumultuous family life to his tenuous alliance with Julius Caesar to a fateful love affair with the Roman empress Livia and, finally, to the political role that will make him a target of powerful enemies, A Pillar of Iron is the story of Cicero's legacy as one the greatest influences on Western civilization.
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5 out of 5 stars
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great story
- By Theresa on 02-01-20
By: Taylor Caldwell
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Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,246
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,107
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,099
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant
Related to this topic
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The Tale of Genji, Volume 1
- By: Murasaki Shikibu, Dennis Washburn - translator
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 35 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 118
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 100
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
Murasaki Shikibu, born into the middle ranks of the aristocracy during the Heian period (794-1185 CE), wrote The Tale of Genji, widely considered the world's first novel, during the early years of the 11th century. Expansive, compelling, and sophisticated in its representation of ethical concerns and aesthetic ideals, Murasaki's tale came to occupy a central place in Japan's remarkable history of artistic achievement and is now recognized as a masterpiece of world literature.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Tales of Genji
- By Amazon Customer on 02-24-20 </