The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen

This is the first of Lloyd Alexander's books that I have read. I came across it by accident at the local library and felt mildly curious about it. I read the entire book in one (very long) sitting and was so pleased with it that the next day I read it again, savoring little gems of dialogue and observation and subtle humor. It's not a perfect book but it is a book I'll return to because (like the Six Gifts in the story) there is much more to it than first meets the eye.As other reviews have noted, the story (actually, stories within stories) is richly endowed with myth and legend. I don't know how much of the mythic/fantastic content is a retelling of traditional Chinese folklore and how much of it is direct from Alexander's imagination, but in any case, he brings a refreshingly light and skillful touch to telling stories with deep roots.The book does leave me curious to explore traditional Chinese myths and legends - a vein of folklore with which I'm not very familiar but which based on this book may well hold storerooms of hidden treasures.The story Alexander tells concerns the inner journey just as much as it concerns an outer journey. There are a number of quotes from Taoist and other mystical tradition that indicate Alexander is aware of this, but he is too good a writer to be heavy-handed about it.Stories in the myth/legend genre risk falling into stereotypical characterization - good guys versus bad guys - and Alexander doesn't entirely escape this. However, the main characters do do have some complexity and life, they can do unexpected things and they can change. Even the main Bad Guy has some good traits at the beginning, although by the end he is simply vain and vicious. The minor characters are fun to read about but for the most part they are streretypical - particularly the greedy merchants, the vacuous officials and the wandering sages.Whether you are reading this book for yourself or reading it to your child you will be glad to know that this book is written with a good heart. It is an invitation to life, wisdom and compassion told with keen observation and a great sense of humor.

A huge fan of Alexander's Prydain stories, I was deeply impressed by the Kestrel series as well. Just when I thought my top ten favorite books were set in stone, I read this delightfully profound archetypal adventure filled with vibrant, colorful characters whose seemingly insurmountable challenges wend through exciting, unpredictable yet insightful resolutions. A great read to curl up to at the end of the day!

A great book of values from my favorite author for youth and children's books. A lot of moral analogies and metaphors can be found in this and all of Lloyd Alexander's books.

Yay awesome. I've been trying to remember the name of this book to buy it for over 5 years. Eureka!

Definitely in line with his other writings, great author with epic tales on the mind.

Lovely book.

If I ever have kids, I'm going to make sure that their bookshelves are stocked full of Lloyd Alexander's books. Most famous for his award-winning  The Prydain Chronicles , Alexander has carved out a little niche for himself in children's literature by taking his often-used (but never stale) technique of adapting a particular culture's mythology and shaping it to include his own brand of wisdom, poignancy and humour. For  The Prydain Chronicles  Alexander borrowed heavily from Welsh mythology as found in the  The Mabinogian , whereas  The Iron Ring (Novel)  focused on India's  The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic  and  The Arkadians  was based on Grecian legend. For The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen, the story is given a Chinese setting.Jen Shao-yeh is an innocent, yet good-hearted young prince who hears about the kingdom of T'ien-Ko from a mysterious stranger named Master Wu. Enraptured by the tale of the peaceful and happy kingdom, Jen is given permission by his father to seek out T'ien-Ko and learn the secrets of King Yuan-ming's safe and happy governance. Accompanying him is his faithful (though grumbling) servant Mafoo, and a collection of strange gifts chosen by Master Wu to present to Yuan-ming. Jen is initially confused at the seeming worthlessness of the six gifts: an old sword, a saddle, a flute, a bowl, a paint-box and a kite. However, Master Wu insists that they are valuable, and Jen sets off optimistically to find the legendary kingdom.Of course, nothing goes according to plan. As Jen's royal entourage slowly dwindles (as does his strange assortment of gifts through a series of misfortunes) the prince's hopes of reaching T'ien-Ko gradually begin to dwindle - despite his meeting with the lovely Voyaging Moon, an intelligent flute-girl who cleverly uses the prince to escape her lecherous master. And yet, it is not with our protagonist, but through the gifts that the narration flows. As they part from Jen and constantly change hands throughout the story, we see the true value of each of them - realizing that this value comes from the personal gifts of their owners.Furthermore, it becomes clear that this is a coming-of-age story, as the naïve prince goes from innocence to experience throughout the course of his journey, learning wisdom, patience, love and a fuller understanding of the world: particularly the injustices of his own kingdom. With the loss of his possessions, his honour and his identity as prince, he ends asking himself the inevitable question: who am I? Struggling with his integrity and sense of worth, Jen finally succumbs to despair in a bone-chilling chapter, though he is helped along at the most opportune times by the enigmatic Master Wu - or is it Chu? Or Shu? Or Fu?Lloyd Alexander's warm, humourous narration just leaps off the page. On describing the elderly man who approaches the gate of the royal palace we are told: "He was not a beggar, because he asks for no alms. He was not a man of wisdom, because he asked for something ridiculous: he demanded an audience with King T'ai." Likewise, if you were amused by the tendency toward extravagant titles in  The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure  (the Cliffs of Insanity for example), then you'll love the lengths to which this book goes to in naming various objects, including the Rod of Correction, Hand of Enthusiastic Obedience and Pavilion of Joyous Mornings.Alexander also has some fun with the chapters, usually giving each one several subtitles, and ending each one with a few lines to entice the reader onto the next installment of the story, for example: "Our young hero is eager to start his journey, but Master Wu seems to be casting a dark shadow on a bright prospect. What can be the difficulty? To find out, read the next chapter."There is always one requisite female character in Alexander's books, who inevitably act as the love interest to the male lead. However, Alexander always writes her with such wit, affection and twice as much intelligence as any other character in the story that you cannot help but fall in love with her yourself. By the skill of his storytelling, Alexander always manages to keep her from becoming a Mary Sue, and Voyaging Moon is no exception. Bright, clever and cheerful, it's no wonder Jen falls head over heels in love with her!In short, this is a terrific book. Filled with life-lessons that never sound preachy or heavy-handed (something not even Philip Pullman or C.S. Lewis could completely pull off), a satisfying conclusion in which all of Alexander's scattered pieces come together to a climactic finish, and several laugh-out-loud moments: "Give the task to the lowest-ranking official in the palace. If something fatal happens to him, he won't be missed. Better yet, send a high official, who will be missed even less."

Exciting and funny story, with a GREAT reader! Too bad it's not out in CD yet.

some of it was too serious for a young child's pleasure (descriptions of political corruption and gore — I know, I know, some people think the little ones should be just dumped into the whole morass without filter, though I'd argue with the quote" "you don't prepare a child for a harsh world by treating them harshly") but for a young adult or adult it was well told and a good story on many levels.