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The Tale of Murasaki
Liza Dalby Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Tale of Murasaki
"This book follows the life of Murisaki (the author of the tale of Genji the first novel in recorded history) from her early childhood, when she fought against an arranged marriage, to her days in court where she was respected for her stories about the romantic character Genji, and ended with a small account from her daughter."
, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Tale of Murasaki
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - distant past/middle ages
Inside culture (main char) - Japanese
Other aspects: - story of "the rich"
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Ethnic/regional/gender life Yes
Woman's story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - wealthy
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - Japanese
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - almost none
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 8 (a significant amount)
Asia/Pacific Yes
Asian country: - Japan
City? Yes
City: - wealthy
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - impregnation/reproduction
Unusual Style: - No single main character? - written like a journal/diary/letters
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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