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Satori

The Pillow Book (Annotated and Illustrated)

The Pillow Book (Annotated and Illustrated)

Our Review

This is one of those books that are a world unto themselves; a treasure. It's not a novel, it's a diary, a compendium of lists, a book of poetry, and court gossip, all at once.

Sei Shōnagon, a lady of the Japanese imperial court in the 10th century, wrote these notes with an intelligence, irony, and sensibility that feel incredibly modern. Her famous lists ("Things That Excite," "Things That Are Detestable") are a delight, and her observations about palace life are sharp and, at times, scathing.

But let's talk about this Satori edition: it's a true work of art. It's a hardcover book, with that rice paper feel, and the detail of the embossing on the back cover is of sublime elegance. It's a book that's a pleasure to touch.

Moreover, it's not just pretty: the translation and notes by Jesús Carlos Álvarez Crespo are exhaustive, and the extensive illustrated cultural glossary it includes is essential. It allows you to understand all the nuances of a world as refined and distant as the Heian court.

Book Details

Synopsis

Written in the intimacy of the Japanese imperial court around the year 1000, The Pillow Book is the masterpiece of Sei Shōnagon, a brilliant lady-in-waiting to Empress Sadako.

Far from being a conventional diary, the book is a zuihitsu (a "brush following its caprice"), a miscellaneous collection of poetic observations, private anecdotes, palace gossip, descriptions of nature, and, above all, her famous lists. Shōnagon catalogs everything she considers elegant, despicable, exciting, or embarrassing, offering an incomparable, sharp, and personal portrait of life in the Heian court.

About the author

Sei Shōnagon (c. 966 - c. 1025) was a Japanese writer and court lady in the service of Empress Teishi (Sadako). Her intelligence, erudition, and competitive nature made her a central figure in the court, though they also earned her some enemies (notably, Murasaki Shikibu, author of Genji). Her only known work, The Pillow Book, is one of the pinnacles of classical Japanese literature.

Technical Specifications

  • Pages: 496

  • Author: Sei Shōnagon

  • Publisher: Satori Ediciones 

  • Binding: Hardcover 

  • Edition: 2021

  • ISBN: 9788417419820

  • Translation, Foreword, Notes, and Appendices: Jesús Carlos Álvarez Crespo.

Regular price €30,58 EUR
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