Product Description

Arguably the world's first novelist, Murasaki Shikibu wrote "The Tale of Genji" in the 11th century. Liza Dalby's novel is based on existing fragments of Murasaki's diary and poems and is a fictional account of Japan's most famous female writer.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107337 in Books
• Published on: 2001-02-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review

As I pondered this question of how to be a success at court, I came to the conclusion that literary ambition was more likely than not to bring a woman to a bad end.

Liza Dalby's enchanting book The Tale of Murasaki is a brilliantly imagined fictional biography of the 11th-century Japanese writer Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji--the world's first novel. The Heian period produced at least two great works of world literature: Murasaki's The Tale of Genji and Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book; Dalby's fine first novel draws directly from the surviving fragments of Murasaki's own diary and poetry (as well as the occasional echo of Sei Shonagon) to create a vivid and emotionally detailed portrait of an intelligent, sensitive and complex woman drawn initially to writing stories about the amorous encounters of Prince Genji as a means of entertaining her friends and expressing her own richly creative temperament. As the stories become public, however, she is forced, against her own natural reticence, to take up a position at court, and the Genji stories become a conduit for commenting on the mores and intrigues of court life. Struggling to write and to stay true to her literary vision, her last tales are inflected by Buddhist thought on the transience and beauty of the world.

I have always felt compelled to set down a vision of things I have heard and seen. Life itself has never been enough. It only became real for me when I fashioned it into stories. Yet, somehow, despite all I've written, the true nature of things I've tried to grasp in my fiction still manages to drift through the words and sit, like little piles of dust, between the lines.

Dalby is an anthropologist by trade: research for her first study Geisha gained her the distinction of being the only Westerner to have trained in that much misunderstood profession, and she was a consultant on Steven Spielberg's film of Arthur Golden's best-selling novel Memoirs of a Geisha. Following a second study, Kimono, Dalby has turned her attention to fiction with admirable results, reinvigorating the genre of the historical novel with a narrative that combines meticulous research with emotional acuity. Recreating the intricate world of 11th-century Japan--the political and sexual machinations, the preoccupation with clothing and custom, the difficult and tenuous position of courtiers, the intensity of female friendships in a male-dominated society--Dalby shows us how Murasaki's sensibilities were shaped by and responded to the culture in which she lived.

A rich and convincing debut book, then: and if, in addition, readers are moved to read the works of Murasaki and Sei Shonagon themselves, Dalby is to be congratulated all the more fulsomely for reminding us of the work of these great writers. --Burhan Tufail

Amazon.co.uk Review

As I pondered this question of how to be a success at court, I came to the conclusion that literary ambition was more likely than not to bring a woman to a bad end.

Liza Dalby's enchanting book The Tale of Murasaki is a brilliantly imagined fictional biography of the 11th-century Japanese writer Murasaki Shikibu, author of The Tale of Genji--the world's first novel. The Heian period produced at least two great works of world literature: Murasaki's The Tale of Genji and Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book; Dalby's fine first novel draws directly from the surviving fragments of Murasaki's own diary and poetry (as well as the occasional echo of Sei Shonagon) to create a vivid and emotionally detailed portrait of an intelligent, sensitive and complex woman drawn initially to writing stories about the amorous encounters of Prince Genji as a means of entertaining her friends and expressing her own richly creative temperament. As the stories become public, however, she is forced, against her own natural reticence, to take up a position at court, and the Genji stories become a conduit for commenting on the mores and intrigues of court life. Struggling to write and to stay true to her literary vision, her last tales are inflected by Buddhist thought on the transience and beauty of the world.

I have always felt compelled to set down a vision of things I have heard and seen. Life itself has never been enough. It only became real for me when I fashioned it into stories. Yet, somehow, despite all I've written, the true nature of things I've tried to grasp in my fiction still manages to drift through the words and sit, like little piles of dust, between the lines.

Dalby is an anthropologist by trade: research for her first study Geisha gained her the distinction of being the only Westerner to have trained in that much misunderstood profession, and she was a consultant on Steven Spielberg's film of Arthur Golden's best-selling novel Memoirs of a Geisha. Following a second study, Kimono, Dalby has turned her attention to fiction with admirable results, reinvigorating the genre of the historical novel with a narrative that combines meticulous research with emotional acuity. Recreating the intricate world of 11th-century Japan--the political and sexual machinations, the preoccupations with clothing and custom, the difficult and tenuous position of courtiers, the intensity of female friendships in a male-dominated society--Dalby shows us how Murasaki's sensibilities were shaped by and responded to the culture in which she lived.

A rich and convincing debut book, then: and if, in addition, readers are moved to read the works of Murasaki and Sei Shonagon themselves, Dalby is to be congratulated all the more fulsomely for reminding us of the work of these great writers. --Burhan Tufail.

Arthur Golden, author of MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
‘Liza Dalby is not just a remarkable scholar of Japan – she is a keen storyteller’

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Customer Reviews

Loved it, will remain a favourite for a long time.
This was the first book I read by the author and I enjoyed it completely. Before reading this novel about the ancient Japanese writer known as Lady Murasaki, I had never heard of her before, or her infamous novel, The Tale of Genji. However, Dalby's work of fiction about this author of the Heian period served to gain my interest.
Dalby described the customs of this period in an unforgettable way for me. I loved how poems were seen as being so imprtant to life within the imperial court. Details such as this made this book and the time it describes seem all the more magical, it added to my feeling of escapism.
Dalby tells this story very well, with attention to detail (such as how Dalby describes the clothes worn by the women) prevailing throughout. I loved this book, it will remain one of my favourites for a long time.

An inspiring tale of a woman in a medieval Japan
This was my second book by Liz Dalby and i thought had my doubts about her turning her hand to fiction. i was wrong thoguh. this book is beautiful. it lets to see how women functioned in that time. a time where women where pretty and ornamental.this women had intelligence and used it to remain free from the court life which intrigued yet repulsed her. it was a brilliant story and i cannot wait now to read Genji. i cant wait to read more books about Japanese culture by Liz Dalby

A Beautifully wrtten tale
Since reading memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, I was hoping to find a similar book to read, when this book caught my eye in the book shop. The book focuses on Murasaki's life as an intelligent japaneses women in the 11th century. Most importantly through her experiences and emotions she is inspired to write the tale of Gengi. When reading a book, I feel that it is important for any author to capture the readers imagination. This book certainly captured mine. However, I would reccommend this book to those who are serious readers,and not for those who enjoy simple stories, after all there is a lot of poems which have been translated from japanese to english and to be honest I didn't really understand the meaning of most of them, unless they were explained in the book. There were also alot of spelling mistakes!