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Title: Three Kingdoms
ISBN: 0394733932
Author:
Lo Kuan-Chung
Publicate Date: 1977-08-12
Publish: 1977-08-12
List Price: $15.16
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.80
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $1.25
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Wonderful, with one major flaw, but still Wonderful!
I don't want to leave a long comment because the truth is the book is a great classic. My only problem with it has been constant grammar errors. Once Lord Guan Yu is referred to as Lory Guan Yu, and just things like that. In fact, on the back of the book their is an error in the first line, so I will say that I wish the editor would have done a better job with the errors, but other than that, it's flawless!
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2: Excellent complete version of Three Kingdoms
I have just finished reading this book and was moved to make a comment. First of all, I want to say that this is a complete version of "Three Kingdoms", not an unabridged one.
The Foreign Language Press published this English translation made by Moss Roberts, in four volumes and 2340 pages, which include many notes, several drawings and some maps. The edition was very carefully done.
About the content, I just can say that it is a monumental painting of humanity made through the light of a very difficult time in China history.
One hint: at the end of volume four, a list of principal characters is included, which results very useful along the reading.
As always, thanks to Amazon that brought this book to my hands.
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3: Very inaccessible classic. Dry translation.
First off, I want to make it clear that I respect the people who love and enjoy this novel. I do not think that their opinion of it is somehow "wrong."
The following, however, has been my experience:
Among East Asian classics, and among Chinese classics, this novel is one of the least accessible to the average English-speaking reader. The way in which the story is told is extremely dry and downright baffling to someone schooled in Western literature. The writing had no emotional resonance ever.
The lack of emotional resonance is expected, seeing as there's very little description of anything beside physical occurrences, which are summarized in very succinct form. (i.e. Character 435 stabbed Character 762, then rode to [the city of] JFDFSDG and stabbed Character 953). This sort of sentence compromises the entire book.
Basically, it reads like a reference work. It's not a "novel" as most western readers would be accustomed to thinking of one. Even if you're open to forms of literature that are drastically different from anything else you've read (as I was, going into this), you'll probably find yourself too exasperated by the novel to finish. It was really a painful experience for me.
However, all is not lost for the person seeking an entry into Chinese literature.
I recommend Dream of the Red Chamber as a good starting novel, especially the translation published by Penguin under the title "The Story of the Stone" (don't be discouraged by the alternative title, it's the same novel as Dream of the Red Chamber).
Furthermore, Red Chamber was written in the late Qing, which makes it more relevant to the modern history and identity of the region we know as China.
Those looking for older quality pieces of writing from East Asia as a whole may enjoy The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike more than they would enjoy Three Kingdoms. Both "Genji" and "Heike" are lengthy novels of Japanese origin, with Genji often being considered the world's first written novel, and certainly the first in East Asia.
To all, Good luck in your readings.
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4: Interesting but hard for the Western Reader
Three Kingdoms is a action packed novel that deserves to be called a classic. Nevertheless all the Chinese names and the repetitive battle scenes could easly lose the novice reader after the first thousand pages or so. If you buy this be prepared to read the footnotes throughly and become a student of Chinese culture.
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5: Great story of heroics and loyalty: Truly an epic
This is the unabridged version and truly a masterpiece. I was familiar with a very small portion of the history during this time period before I read it, so that encouraged me to try it out. If you love epic stories, this is a great one. Guanzhong based his novel on solid historical facts while adding some fictional elements in order to bring out the characters and events for the reader. I've heard it said, and I agree with it, that it is 70% history and 30% fiction. Addtionally, this is a must read for any fans of the Dynasty Warriors gaming series. My recommendation is that if you have any interest in this period of Chinese history or stories of heroics and loyalty-to-the-death, buy it, and I guarantee that you wont regret it.
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