Monkey Audiobook By Wu Ch’êng-ên, Arthur Waley - translator cover art

Monkey

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Monkey

By: Wu Ch’êng-ên, Arthur Waley - translator
Narrated by: Kenneth Williams
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About this listen

Considered one of China's great classical novels, Wu Ch'êng-ên's Journey to the West was translated by Arthur Waley in abridged form as Monkey in 1942 and has delighted English readers ever since. It is a riveting adventure story about a priest's quest to obtain holy Buddhist scriptures for the Tang emperor; joining him on this rollicking journey: Sandy, Pigsy, and the mischievous monkey king, Sun Wukong, whose flying cloud and magic cudgel are never far from his infamous deeds. Waley's accessible rendition of Wu Ch'êng-ên's novel has become a classic in its own right: Gods, demons, and disobedient monkey spirits all come alive in this entertaining work.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©1981 Nimbus Records Ltd. (P)2015 Naxos AudioBooks
Classics Funny
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Humorous Adventure • Rich Storytelling • Distinctive Character Voices • Cultural Insights • Moral Teachings
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Great story. Reader was entertaining and enthusiastic. Gave life to each character. Definitely in my top 5 audiobooks collection.

Didn't want it to end

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Monkey is a great classic for anyone interested in a Chinese novel of an earlier period that gives a greater context to certain aspects of traditional chinese culture

A fascinating epic

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This a masterpiece of dramatic reading. Kenneth Williams does all of the characters, giving each a unique voice. He really brings the story to life. It is a delightful listen.

Masterpiece of dramatic reading.

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good humored and insightful at once.
I wish we all longed, as they did, for additional light and truth through new scripture.

Classic quest story

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the narrator is initially distracting but you quickly get used to it. This is a fantastic tale well worth a listen.

epic story

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The narrator did an excellent job narrating, each character had a unique, distinguishable voice, and the narration was lively and varying. My problem with this is the audio quality is terrible, but if you can deal with it, it's otherwise excellent.

Excellent Narration

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Love the story, but sometimes it was hard to understand the British accent of the narrator, especially if I was in a noisy environment (like the car)

Good story

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A Classic

This is a special text that has been popular in China for millenia for all its fanciful characters and clever repartee. Arthur Waley's translation is perfect.

Kenneth Williams adds a unique touch with his inimitable narration. His occasional mispronunciation of Chinese names is quite understandable and forgivable.

A Classic

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this was a very entertaining book to read, the Monkey Kings transformation from nuisance to Buddha is quite a tale.

Great book

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a must read for ancient folk lore comendy it is an amazing read you cannot miss out on this book ypy will re read it time and time again it also make for a good kids bedtime story

a must read for ancient folk lore comendy

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