What the movers and shakers are reading
Geoff Lewis
Head of investment services, JF Asset Management
With so many work-related publications to read, when I do get the opportunity to read books I lean towards topics that interest me or make me think. I am not a fan of modern novels, but enjoy classics and books that offer escapism.
I am reading Royall Tyler's translation of Murasaki Shikibu's Japanese masterpiece Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji) which was written more than 1,000 years ago. It is generally considered to be the world's first true novel, and probably the first psychological novel ever written. I also read Edward Seidensticker's English translation of the same book, which has 54 chapters and more than 1,000 pages.
Shikibu's book is an absorbing introduction to the aristocratic culture during the early Heian period (AD794-1192) in Japan - their forms of entertainment, manner of dress, daily life and moral code. Most of the story concerns the love life of a handsome, sensitive, gifted courtier named Genji. He is an excellent lover and a worthy friend to each of the women in his life. The book also throws light on the lives of the privileged class that made up just 1 per cent of Japan's entire population.
I've also read and enjoyed the translation of other Japanese contemporary works including the Nihon Shoki, Kojiki, and the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, the latter being an incredible contrast in literary style to Shikibu's work and some of the early Heian poetry included in the anthologies.