Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel Paperback – Abridged, February 8, 2014

This wonderful translation does justice to a classic of Chinese literature. I feel lucky to have it, and can only wish for a well-read audio version for additional enjoyment.

This is one of the best books I have ever read. Every page is exciting. The characters are memorable. I read this book about a year ago and I still think about it periodically. I can't read (classical) chinese, but my impression of the translation is very good. I think it reflects the terse quality of the original writing style without being hard to read.The notes and the second half of the story are in part two, also available from amazon: Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel, Part 2 (v. 2). The two volumes should really be sold together. The table of contents for both volumes is in volume one and the notes for both volumes are in volume two. For some reason most of the amazon reviews for this book are on the page for the second volume. If you purchased just this volume and don't want to read it without the notes, don't be discouraged! I read through the entire volume without the notes and my enjoyment was not diminished. The notes are mostly translation details, historical notes, or references to various classic analyses of Three Kingdoms.

A sweeping saga which covers decades of Chinese history at the end of the Han Dynasty. The story is complicated, and told in an "abbreviated" style compared to modern fiction. To tell Three Kingdoms in a modern style, though, would require volume after volume, and also *would not be a translation.*I'm really enjoying the story. It's filled with betrayals, complicated battles, intrigue, and courtly drama. The cover blurb comparing Three Kingdoms with the Iliad isn't really accurate, but for me that's not a problem. Three Kingdoms lacks the action-hero zoom into detail which I would expect such a comparison -- or a strict "martial arts" story -- to provide. For comparison with the Iliad, Three Kingdoms lacks scenes such as Diomedes' aristeia, or the climactic fight between Achilles and Hector. Many of its characters are great heroes, but most combats are described simply as a series of "bouts," with a gambit or two described.Three Kingdoms instead focuses on the battlefield. The lack of detail to one-on-one fights isn't a complaint. It's an observation. This novel doesn't care about heroic duels, but chooses to describe tactical battles as a duel between tacticians, with the heroes and commanders acting as weapons. It pays less attention to the growth and movement of individual characters, to instead describe the ebb and rise of kingdoms.The first comparison I'd make to Western literature is to Herodotus or Thucydides; Livy may be a good comparison too, but I'm less familiar with Roman literature. This is a long story encompassing several generations, not a single tale covering a particular moment or event.It's not a story I think everyone will enjoy. If you have a taste for nonfiction history (like myself), you'll probably like this piece of historical fiction. It feels similar to history, with added supernatural elements, and heroic characters who are probably larger-than-life.The biggest flaw in this two-volume edition is that all of the notes, character appendix, etc. is in volume two. If you want access to that information while reading volume one, you have to carry around two books. I would have preferred if each volume contained its own supplemental information. I would also have enjoyed having some family trees of the Three Kingdoms, to better understand how the major figures descend and interrelate with one another. This would be helpful in particular because characters with the same surname appear in opposing factions, but aren't necessarily related to one another (the example which pops to mind is "Zhang"). Considering how often characters swap sides, betray one another, and strive against former friends and family, some basic genealogical charts would be helpful to track the conflict.

Moss Roberts' translation is absolutely fantastic. Much more alive than others. Take the opening sentences:"Here begins our tale. The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been."Compare this with Taylor's translation:"Domains under heaven, after a long period of division, tends to unite; after a long period of union, tends to divide. This has been so since antiquity."Or Hegel's:"Empires wax and wane; states cleave asunder and coalesce."It's really no contest. Roberts' prose is lively and absolutely engaging throughout. He's that rare translator who not only understands the nuances of the original language but has a keen ear for English prose. The only complaint I have about this edition is that all the footnotes (and there are a *lot*) are at the back of the 2nd volume, which means that while reading the first two-thirds of the epic, you have to carry around both volumes (and these are big, heavy books). I don't know if there are other high-quality printings of Roberts' translation which might improve on this issue, but I wouldn't even consider a different translator.

It was wonderful to find the unabridged copy translated by Moss Roberts. But why, oh why is the font so small?! I love what I'm reading, but my eyes hurt after reading for a short while.Can the publisher please edit the font size?! I'm thinking of returning both books Part 1 & 2 because my eyes hurt so much from reading such small font on a big page. Also, if you re-print, please have related footnotes in the book the footnotes are from. It's horrible to have footnotes in book 1, only to have the reference in book 2. The story is amazing by itself, you don't have to use these tactics to sell both books by doing this. It's frustrating and not customer/reader friendly.P.s. Amazon sent the books with minimal padding, corners were dog-eared and all taped flaps were already cut open. It was the worst packaging I've ever received from amazon.Thank you.

The Empire, long divided, must unite. Long united, must divide. Thus it ever has been

I know this is a cornerstone of famous Chinese literature, but from the very beginning the format reminded me of a story in a fairy tale book my father read me that my godmother gave me. It is a Supreme pleasure to read a section before bed at night, and I'm so glad I decided to explore this.