Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories by Regina Kanyu Wang, Yu Chen

3 reviews

ahoyitsjoy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.75

Like a lot of anthologies, there were some stories I enjoyed and some I didn't care much for... and unfortunately, no clear stand-outs (for me). This collection leans more fantasy than sci-fi, and I do think you'll get more out of it as a reader if you're somewhat familiar with Chinese fantasy conventions. I also enjoyed the occasional essays on the subject of writing and translating these kinds of stories.
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laurareads87's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 and the collection did not disappoint.  While inevitably with any short story collection, particularly an anthology, any reader will enjoy some stories more than others, this is a fantastically curated collection -- wide-ranging, diverse, and I believe at least a few stories that'll appeal to any reader of sci-fi and/or fantasy.  In addition, there are several short essays interspersed throughout the collection which deal with topics related to gender representation in Chinese literature and publishing, Chinese to English / English to Chinese translation, and gendered language.  I found all of these essays interesting & they, like several of the stories, left me with lots to think about.  Finally, the hardcover edition of this book is beautiful; I read most of my fiction digitally but I'm pleased to have this edition on my shelf.  I'm looking forward to seeking out work by several of the authors featured in this collection.  
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rorikae's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

'The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories: A Collection of Chinese Science Fiction and Fantasy in Translation' is an excellent collection of speculative short stories and essays on translation by female and nonbinary authors. The essays weave in an out of the short stories to provide context on translation right next to translated pieces. One of the essays is a direct commentary on the author's work translating two of the pieces in the series and because it comes directly before those two pieces, we get context about those pieces before we read them, which I found a really fascinating way to delve into the two fiction pieces. The stories span science fiction, fabulism, and fantasy and this, paired with the essays, makes it a really well-rounded anthology. 
My favorite pieces in this anthology are 'Blackbird' by Shen Dacheng translated by Cara Healey, the titular 'The Way Spring Arrives' by Wang Nuonuo translated by Rebecca F. Kuang, 'The Woman Carrying a Corpse' by Chi Hui translated by Judith Huang, and 'The Mountain and the Secret of Their Names' by Wang Nuonuo translated by Rebecca F. Kuang. 
The one downside to this collection is that I want to read more from these authors but many of their works are not yet translated. I hope that this collection helps to demonstrate to Western publishers that we need more translated speculative work from Chinese women and nonbinary authors. 
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