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highly recommended |
The legendary account of 108 "Stars from Heaven" who, faced with a corrupt bureaucracy, flee to Liangshan Marsh, from a fortress there thwarting minions of the evil regime while continuing to serve the emperor. In its mix of politics, military tactics, action, martial arts, magic, and even the bawdy (the chapters on Wu Song laying the groundwork for Jin Ping Mei), this beloved novel is an unsurpassed classic in any language.
Full of adventure, will keep you reading! 
I couldn't believe this story was written in the 13th century! The structure read like a modern novel. You won't be disappointed with the adventures that these characters get into. It is also a nice insight into ancient Chinese thought about political legitimacy and virtue. While very gory at times, this book really shows you how the ancient chinese thought. The morals are also applicable to today.
One of the Great Chinese Novels 
Overview: Outlaws of the Marsh is an entertaining novel chronicling the lives of 108 men and women forced into brigandry by injustice.
Setting: The story takes place in China during the Song Dynasty.
Theme: While many criticize it for the brutal justice which the outlaws enact, one ought to acknowledge that Song China was a different place at a different time and thus the opinion on what is due to someone differs from the common view of the average English reader. With this acknowleged, one can view the book as an interesting way of learning the culture, beliefs, and character of both Song China and the China of when the book was created. While this novel (very lightly) touches on Buddhist and Taoist transcendental philosophy, it primarily praises justice, loyalty, and honor.
Characters: Although the novel has 108 protagonists, only about fifteen need to be remembered. Each of the main characters is wonderfully developed and his or her personality is learned through their speech and action rather than a tersely put paragraph about their personality and claim to fame. The author stays within bounds of making the badguys only as bad as they need to be.
Plot: With many interlocking plots, some are good, some are bad. The deepest vein of plot, that of leader Song Jiang, coincidentally follows the standard Nietzschean conflict of a man striving for excellence hated by those who envy and fear him, something which will endear the Western reader to this hero. At times, the author uses the deux-ex-machina excessively, replacing heroes deeds with the favors of gods. Some incidences are far fetched but comical and ought to be read that way. It could most easily be read as a light-hearted, sometimes farcical Robin Hood-esque tale. Nonetheless, it has the standard ending to a Chinese novel.
Style and Language: The language is relatively simple, probably about the level of a newspaper. This makes it accessible to a non-academic audience (including those unversed in Chinese traditions). The translator avoids excessive technical terms and those that he does use he explains in notes.
Recommended?: The novel is violent, but those with an interest in martial arts or military will find it exciting. Because of its importance to Chinese culture, it is worth the read.
Entertaining but not as good as Three Kingdoms
This book was a lot of fun to read. Having also read Three Kingdoms I have to say I enjoyed that book more but this one was still great. It's full of adventure and colorful characters. Sometimes the events building up to a new dramatic event are too drawn out but for the most part this book has hard to put down.
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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based on 23 reviews
