The Story of the Stone: Or, The Dream of the Red Chamber, Vol. 3: The Warning Voice

I have now read all three volumes of the David Hawkes' translation of 'The Dream of the Red Chamber' and I am simply blown away by the sheer volume of the text, and how there is never a dull moment. Not only is it a beautiful love story, but it is also a semi autobiographical account of the rise and fall of Cao Wue-Qin's family. I love modern Chinese writers like Mo Yan and Yu Hua, but I must say this novel is a must read for anyone wishing to understand Chinese Literature. My wife is Chinese and she knows this work from her days in school, and she said that it must have been very hard to translate the old Chinese into Modern English, but I would say that Mr. Hawkes' version is true and as close as one can get to an excellent translation of an enormous tome. I would just stick to these 3 volumes with the 80 chapters - and enjoy. This is truly a great piece of world literature that should be read.

This book is superb. I have read the Chinese version. Mr Hawkes' work is not only a translation but a gloss on the original text in modern language albeit in English.

Good purchase

It is fantastic. As we know it almost impossible to translate a classical Chinese novel into English without a 100% understanding of the Chinese culture and history. I have read the Chinese edition of this novel twice and I have been looking for an English translation of the novel, this one satisfies me quite well.

David Hawke's English translation is probably the best version of this Chinese classic published so far. Item arrived in reasonable condition.

The book is exactly as advertised & arrived promptly. Thank you.

This is an awesome book. It is one of a famous trilogy that I happened upon while I was searching for Judge Dee mysteries. It is magical, marvelous, and absorbing.

Excellent edition with all three in new shape.

Another volume in this epic and wonderful translation of the Chinese classic.

This is my favourite volume in the series so far. It also concludes the portion of this massive novel that scholars are reasonably confident were written by Cao Xueqin himself.I loved the last two volumes too, but I found certain points in both a bit of a slog, particularly the long poetry sessions and the many mundane moments where nothing really happens. But I found there was less of that kind of thing in this volume, particularly the poetry (which may be a bad thing if you’re a fan of poetry).Compared to the last two volumes, episodes here swing by at a fast pace and the entire book seems to foreshadow the eventual downfall of the family hinted at, but not properly touched on, at the very beginning. This makes The Story of the Stone begin to feel more like a cohesive story with a beginning, middle, and end, and less of a soap opera loosely strung together with a succession of random episodes like the previous two volumes.As the tone of the novel becomes bleaker, the Buddhist and Taoist undertones come to the forefront and, for me at least, leave a lasting impression. This is particularly notable in the tragedy of the You sisters which, as other reviewers echo, is a mini masterpiece. According to an appendix, this haunting drama may have been shoehorned into the novel from a more religious and esoteric story Cao probably aborted, but it doesn’t feel out of place here at all.Though I’m slowly working my way through this monumental tome, I’m thoroughly enjoying the experience and won’t forget it any time soon. This is really a masterpiece and a must-read for anybody with an interest in China, Eastern thought, and world literature.

Very very good the details of narrative give a good insight into the lives of noble Chinese of the time. The role of women, the role of money, the way it is talked about and the administration of the Chinese mansions of the time is a tell tale of the society of the time - very different from the values and style of the West.

This is my favorite version out of many other translations. Great writing and as a translator I know decoding Cao's words and rewrite then into another language is tremendously difficult. Salut to David Hawkes!

hier ein paar Attribute zum Buch:* gutes Englisch erforderlich* enormer Umfang* überraschend mystisch* insgesamt Genre schwer einzuordnen