{"product_id":"the-tale-of-genji","title":"The Tale of Genji","description":"\u003cp\u003eMurasaki Shikibu's eleventh-century narrative follows the shining Genji through the rituals, romances, and political maneuvers of the Heian court, where poetry is a social weapon and grief is conducted according to season. Often called the first novel, it is actually several narratives stitched together by a culture obsessed with beauty, rank, and the passing of seasons. Genji himself is less a hero than a measuring stick for the court's elaborate codes of desire and regret.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Seidensticker translation remains the standard for readers who want prose as controlled as a painted screen. Knopf's edition is a dense, serious volume, the kind that announces its intent to outlast the reader. For readers patient enough to let a vanished world set the pace.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vagabound","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48479497814228,"sku":"0394735307","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0802\/5410\/7860\/files\/9780394735306.jpg?v=1786813576","url":"https:\/\/checkout.vagaboundbooks.com\/products\/the-tale-of-genji","provider":"Vagabound","version":"1.0","type":"link"}