Liza Dalby

> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Dalby-Le-Dit-de-Murasaki/107771

> [Japon]. LE DIT DE MURASAKI, par Liza DALBY, Traduit de l’anglais par Bernard Hœpffner, avec la collaboration de Catherine Goffaux, 554 pages / 12,20 € / ISBN : 978-2-87730-1406-7. — Il y a mille ans, au Japon, une jeune fille s’inventait un amant idéal, le « radieux prince Genji », et en faisait le héros d’un prodigieux roman. Elle s’appelait Murasaki Shikibu. Voici l’histoire de cette femme exceptionnelle, qui vécut à la cour de Heian, d’un raffinement rarement égalé dans l’histoire. Chuchotements et soupirs à l’ombre des écrans de papier, corps cachés sous d’innombrables robes de soie rêvant de se dévoiler et chevelures répandues sur une peau de neige…
—Catalogue Picquier Poche 2019… (altro)

I really enjoyed the first half or two-thirds of this book. After that, I think I just got to the point where there was so much information that it was losing me. However, I did finish the book--only to find that it has another one of those "drop-off" endings that I find to be so common for Asian stories. This is definitely THE resource for anyone interested in geishas and other aspects of Japanese culture. I am curious as to how "off" her information is...now that it's been 40 years or so since the info. was gathered, 35 years since the book was written, and almost 20 years since the revision. This book sheds a whole new light on Memoirs of a Geisha, which I should probably go back and reread now that I have some more background on the lifestyle.… (altro)