Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Tale of Genji cover art

The Tale of Genji

By: Murasaki Shikibu, Suematsu Kencho - translator
Narrated by: Elaine J. Sepani
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Poor People cover art
The Tale of Genji, Volume 1 cover art
Classic Romance cover art
Persuasion (Seasons Edition: Summer) cover art
The Idiot (AmazonClassics Edition) cover art
The Lady of the Camellias cover art
Love and Friendship (aka 'Love and Freindship') cover art
The Tragic Muse cover art
The Spoils of Poynton cover art
Persuasion and Poems by Jane Austen cover art
New Grub St cover art
Washington Square (Blackstone Audio Edition) cover art
The Bostonians cover art
Wives and Daughters cover art
Agnes Grey cover art
Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship cover art

Summary

Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of Genji in the 11th century to entertain the other women in the court. It follows the romantic exploits of the title character, an emperor’s son, as he navigates life within aristocratic society and eventually outside of it. Praised for its psychological insight into the characters’ motivations, the book greatly influenced Japanese culture and is widely considered the world’s first novel. In 1882, Suematsu Kencho translated a condensed version of the text into English, allowing this classic tale to reach a wider audience.

Public Domain (P)2018 Woodkeep Audio

What listeners say about The Tale of Genji

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    4
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 2.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    3
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Tale of Genji

would likely have been an interesting story if not for the incredibly dull monotone delivery of the voice actress

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story but less great voice

I loved the tale of Genji a lot for the language that it used was exquisite. But the voice I felt did not portray the writings as well as I would wish. The voice was a bit robotics and didn’t portray how poetic the words were. Still I think it was great for the story was interesting and fun to listen too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Monotone delivery

The story was spoiled by the very disappointing narration. It was a struggle to finish this audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

The Tale of Genji is a masterpiece of world literature, this audio version doesn’t do it justice. The readers voice is totally flat, there’s no modulation or expressiveness in the voice. Read the actual book or find a different version.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful