Monkey

Written by Wu Ch'eng-en

Narrated by Kenneth Williams

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.

©1981 Nimbus Records Ltd. (P)2015 Naxos AudioBooks

• Language: English
• Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks
• Release date: Nov 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781843799221

Reviews for Monkey

[DianneOgley-richardson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An abridged version of the 16th century Chinese classic. It includes a full intro and ending but the adventures are shortened to only 3. Read by Kenneth Williams- brilliantly!

[Daphne Lee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a joy this book is, not least because of Kenneth Williams’ superb narration. He is wonderful despite the hilarious way he pronounces ‘Taoist’. A fun and exciting adventure. Not a dull sentence!

[drronmccoy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This recording is an amazing find! The narrator, Kenneth Williams, was a well-known British actor best known for his work in comedy. His ability to voice so many different characters in a consistent manner demonstrates incredible vocal skills. I found the whole presentation engaging. While some of the pronunciation of the names are not what we would use it in English nowadays, it’s important to remember that when recording this, Chinese culture was still largely unknown in Europe. In fact, I think this is a groundbreaking recording for its time. Now that I have a framework in my mind of this great work, I will go and read the detailed books.

[BPJammin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you have never read this Chinese Classic you will enjoy it I'm sure. If you have read it before you'll enjoy it again but this version is an abridged version of the longer work, "Journey to the West." If you enjoy this abridged version you should consider reading the longer work.

The reader is excellent but his pronunciation of Chinese words is atrocious, almost comical.

[Pierre Haffar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Essentially this brilliant founder of the novel has given me the impression that in his journeys he has also been reborn as John Bunyan, Voltaire, maybe Leo Tolstoy and in his present form possibly Susannah Clarke.

[girlblossom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful! Playful, engaging, with an energetic and polyvalent reader, find hardly stop listening! So glad I found it!

[John Lookingintoart · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kenneth Williams reading this classic Chinese novel. Wonderful satire of 16th century.