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kisahofswords13's review against another edition
4.0
This is amazing but a hard read. Deals with really dark themes.
CW: loss of a family member, suicide, alcoholism, grief, misogyny, extreme familial pressure, homophobia, accidental manslaughter
CW: loss of a family member, suicide, alcoholism, grief, misogyny, extreme familial pressure, homophobia, accidental manslaughter
ironi's review
4.0
Honestly, I can't believe this book doesn't have more people reading it. This is seriously an outrage.
Set in China, Like Spilled Water is the story of Na, a college student whose younger brother abruptly dies. She returns home and begins to piece together what happened to him. Through her sleuthing, she ends up learning a lot about herself.
From the blurb, it seems like this book will be a mystery style book, similar to [b:Verity|41957126|Verity|Colleen Hoover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537519686l/41957126._SY75_.jpg|64581304]. This is false. Like Spilled Water is about grief, expectations and Chinese culture. It discusses marriage, education, LGBT+, and feminism through the lens of the death of Na's brother. It's about neighborhoods and art, community and arranged marriages.
And this book pretty much broke my heart.
I mean, our main character, Na is ambitious and smart and yet we see how again and again it blows up for her. This book was poignant, so full of missed attempts and failed expectations. You can feel this overwhelming sense of being trapped within your culture, of being unable to be anything but what you are.
Na is so well-developed. Her parents gave up everything for the success of her brother so she harbors a lot of bitterness towards him and yet, it's mingled with this strong sense of connection and empathy. She cares so much and it's just so sad, it's so sad. I found myself tearing up at some scenes here (god, the urn scene).
I don't know much about life in China. Obviously one ya book can't express wholly an entire country but I absolutely adored getting this peek into life in China. I've kind of accepted that ya is usually set in America or maybe the UK so it was so refreshing and special to see the same ya themes be dealt with in a country so different. Chinese people will have to speak up about the accuracy but as a reader, I definitely found myself reading up about children policies after this book.
So if you want a really solid character study, a ya that tackles Chinese culture and grief, this book is truly fantastic. I urge you to read it.
Huge thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my unbiased review!
What I'm Taking With Me
- 80% of the gay men in China end up marrying women. That's just tragic.
- I had a conversation with a friend the other day about Asian vs Western culture. I mean, when it comes to coronavirus, it seems Asian countries have had a lot more success and yet, we give up some efficiency for our Western values of self-determination and freedom so it should be worth it? This book felt connected to that debate, as Na compares herself to the foreigners that she teaches.
- I love that the main message here is that language, art, and education is the way out of everything, it's this bridge into the world.
Set in China, Like Spilled Water is the story of Na, a college student whose younger brother abruptly dies. She returns home and begins to piece together what happened to him. Through her sleuthing, she ends up learning a lot about herself.
From the blurb, it seems like this book will be a mystery style book, similar to [b:Verity|41957126|Verity|Colleen Hoover|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1537519686l/41957126._SY75_.jpg|64581304]. This is false. Like Spilled Water is about grief, expectations and Chinese culture. It discusses marriage, education, LGBT+, and feminism through the lens of the death of Na's brother. It's about neighborhoods and art, community and arranged marriages.
And this book pretty much broke my heart.
I mean, our main character, Na is ambitious and smart and yet we see how again and again it blows up for her. This book was poignant, so full of missed attempts and failed expectations. You can feel this overwhelming sense of being trapped within your culture, of being unable to be anything but what you are.
Na is so well-developed. Her parents gave up everything for the success of her brother so she harbors a lot of bitterness towards him and yet, it's mingled with this strong sense of connection and empathy. She cares so much and it's just so sad, it's so sad. I found myself tearing up at some scenes here (god, the urn scene).
I don't know much about life in China. Obviously one ya book can't express wholly an entire country but I absolutely adored getting this peek into life in China. I've kind of accepted that ya is usually set in America or maybe the UK so it was so refreshing and special to see the same ya themes be dealt with in a country so different. Chinese people will have to speak up about the accuracy but as a reader, I definitely found myself reading up about children policies after this book.
So if you want a really solid character study, a ya that tackles Chinese culture and grief, this book is truly fantastic. I urge you to read it.
Huge thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for my unbiased review!
What I'm Taking With Me
- 80% of the gay men in China end up marrying women. That's just tragic.
- I had a conversation with a friend the other day about Asian vs Western culture. I mean, when it comes to coronavirus, it seems Asian countries have had a lot more success and yet, we give up some efficiency for our Western values of self-determination and freedom so it should be worth it? This book felt connected to that debate, as Na compares herself to the foreigners that she teaches.
- I love that the main message here is that language, art, and education is the way out of everything, it's this bridge into the world.
fanruning's review
4.0
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a digital ARC of this novel.
Actual rate: 4.50 stars
This was a very meaningful read. It's the story about a girl and her dead brother living in rural China and dealing with the standards that society imposes on young people: study more than you can, even if it not what you want to study, because your career and future depends on it, marry young and well so you won't be a burden to your family, do as your family says because that's what everyone must do. It is clearly presented as an issue that involves most of the Chinese lower classes but, if you look hard enough, you can easily see how these issues are also present in other countries' societies. It truly makes you realize that if you have time to read, to draw to play videogames or just do something to please yourself freely then you may have some privilege without even noticing it.
The way this book was written (prose, characters etc...) may be not the shiniest I have ever read, but it makes you feel and understand what the main character is going through so it serves its purpose well and that's what really matters.
Overall, as I said at the start of the review, this is a very meaningful read and I definitely recommend it to people who wants to discover how much society can pressure young people even to these days.
Actual rate: 4.50 stars
This was a very meaningful read. It's the story about a girl and her dead brother living in rural China and dealing with the standards that society imposes on young people: study more than you can, even if it not what you want to study, because your career and future depends on it, marry young and well so you won't be a burden to your family, do as your family says because that's what everyone must do. It is clearly presented as an issue that involves most of the Chinese lower classes but, if you look hard enough, you can easily see how these issues are also present in other countries' societies. It truly makes you realize that if you have time to read, to draw to play videogames or just do something to please yourself freely then you may have some privilege without even noticing it.
The way this book was written (prose, characters etc...) may be not the shiniest I have ever read, but it makes you feel and understand what the main character is going through so it serves its purpose well and that's what really matters.
Overall, as I said at the start of the review, this is a very meaningful read and I definitely recommend it to people who wants to discover how much society can pressure young people even to these days.
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