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jasonabbott's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
klovett's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book. It is interesting, and you won't want to put it down until you find out who the criminal was. The author is creative, and it is a good insight into Chinese culture concerning criminals and the judicial system.
aga_acrobat's review against another edition
2.0
I had a lot of fun with [b:The Chinese Gold Murders|1038898|The Chinese Gold Murders|Robert van Gulik|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1407707924l/1038898._SY75_.jpg|1025259]. This one, meh. It was somewhat interesting as a study in classical chinese stories, but other than... I'll give [b:The Lacquer Screen (Judge Dee|815856|The Lacquer Screen (Judge Dee (Chronological order) #3)|Robert van Gulik|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347270190l/815856._SY75_.jpg|801778] a try though.
yorugua1891's review against another edition
4.0
Looking for a different mystery? You have found it!
I have read my fair share of mysteries, and even though I love the genre, sometimes I feel the need to look for something out of the norm. That is why I have explore mysteries in special locations or times. In one of these searches I came across this book and decided to give it a try. The first thing that struck me was the extensive introduction by the translator, Robert van Gulik. In this essay, he explains the characteristics of the typical Chinese mystery and points out how the one we are about to read is a blend of this type of book and the occidental mysteries we are used to reading. You can tell right away the passion van Gulik has for this work and it's particularities, and this passion led him to write a series based on this book using Judge Dee as the main character.
The book takes us on a fascinating journey, in which we follow Judge Dee as he investigates and tries 3 different murders. This is one of the traits of Chinese mysteries, the judge is in charge of collecting evidence and evaluating it, finding the culprit, arrest the person, make him or her confess (very important step of the process) and deciding on the punishment as well as administering it. There is a fair amount of torture on the court too, which is used to reach the confession, and is really a shocking part of these stories, especially when the person being tortures may not be guilty.
Overall, I found reading this book to be a pleasant and entertaining experience. The cultural elements at play were mesmerizing, and the only weak point was the minor appearance of supernatural elements. I cannot really overly fault the novel for this though, because in Chinese mysteries these supernatural elements play a more prominent role. I have to say that my interest was piqued and that after reading this anonymous work translated by van Gulik, I have decided to go look for the Judge Dee series the translator worked on, and which starts with The Chinese Maze Murders: A Judge Dee Mystery.
I have read my fair share of mysteries, and even though I love the genre, sometimes I feel the need to look for something out of the norm. That is why I have explore mysteries in special locations or times. In one of these searches I came across this book and decided to give it a try. The first thing that struck me was the extensive introduction by the translator, Robert van Gulik. In this essay, he explains the characteristics of the typical Chinese mystery and points out how the one we are about to read is a blend of this type of book and the occidental mysteries we are used to reading. You can tell right away the passion van Gulik has for this work and it's particularities, and this passion led him to write a series based on this book using Judge Dee as the main character.
The book takes us on a fascinating journey, in which we follow Judge Dee as he investigates and tries 3 different murders. This is one of the traits of Chinese mysteries, the judge is in charge of collecting evidence and evaluating it, finding the culprit, arrest the person, make him or her confess (very important step of the process) and deciding on the punishment as well as administering it. There is a fair amount of torture on the court too, which is used to reach the confession, and is really a shocking part of these stories, especially when the person being tortures may not be guilty.
Overall, I found reading this book to be a pleasant and entertaining experience. The cultural elements at play were mesmerizing, and the only weak point was the minor appearance of supernatural elements. I cannot really overly fault the novel for this though, because in Chinese mysteries these supernatural elements play a more prominent role. I have to say that my interest was piqued and that after reading this anonymous work translated by van Gulik, I have decided to go look for the Judge Dee series the translator worked on, and which starts with The Chinese Maze Murders: A Judge Dee Mystery.
paul_cornelius's review against another edition
5.0
Robert van Gulik's translation he states in his notes is from an anonymous eighteenth or seventeenth century Chinese writer who tells the story of an actual Judge Dee. Dee lived in the seventh century, during the Tang dynasty. The three murder cases presented in this volume generate an authentic atmosphere of the times, for me at least. I understand the novel is full of anachronisms across a thousand year span. But for someone not expert in Chinese cultural history of those eras, he or she will never notice. I didn't. Nonetheless, van Gulik recreates a strong sense of things the way they were, including the intercession of spirits and ghosts taken for granted by Chinese people. It's a remarkable book. And it cleared the way for van Gulik to write his own fictionalized adventure of Judge Dee. So, I'll probably take a look at the first one in the series, next.
jobinsonlis's review against another edition
4.0
There was an upsetting amount of torture in this book but overall I really enjoyed it. It's really fascinating to read a mystery set in a time, place, and judicial system that is so unknown to me (although van Gulik gives a great overview). I'll definitely try reading van Gulik's original novels based on this character.
ashleylm's review against another edition
5.0
So close to perfect. A few chapters felt long/unnecessary, and the torture is a bit much for me (Judge Dee subscribes to the Jack Bauer 24 school of interrogation techniques).
But wow. This is apparently a faithful translation of an 18th century text, and it reads very, very modern to me. The pacing, the ratio of description to dialogue, etc. are so modern it could have been written yesterday, let alone 1949 (when the translation was made) let alone the 18th Century.
I wondered if it were a hoax, but this seems to be legitimate, and there's a lengthy author's afterword (well worth listening to (sorry, I was using Audible) or reading) about how Chinese detective stories are likely to disappoint Western audiences, and why this particular one had the right characteristics to make it work. So it's sort of like the anthropic principle: if the book didn't seem modern and worth reading for Westerners, it wouldn't exist in a form Westerners could read.
I was pleased to see that the torture (which seems awfully gratuitous) and execution (graphic, disturbing) were required elements in Chinese law and stories about them, it wasn't van Gulik's attempt to appeal to prurient interests. Other than that, it's almost a cosy read, really.
There is a bit less actually detection than one might want (in terms of the classic "analyze clues, gather suspects in room, reveal murderer!" approach), but it's certainly enough to qualify as a mystery novel. I'd read some of his follow-ups (written himself, based on the character) as a child, but never the original. Well-pleased I did!
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
But wow. This is apparently a faithful translation of an 18th century text, and it reads very, very modern to me. The pacing, the ratio of description to dialogue, etc. are so modern it could have been written yesterday, let alone 1949 (when the translation was made) let alone the 18th Century.
I wondered if it were a hoax, but this seems to be legitimate, and there's a lengthy author's afterword (well worth listening to (sorry, I was using Audible) or reading) about how Chinese detective stories are likely to disappoint Western audiences, and why this particular one had the right characteristics to make it work. So it's sort of like the anthropic principle: if the book didn't seem modern and worth reading for Westerners, it wouldn't exist in a form Westerners could read.
I was pleased to see that the torture (which seems awfully gratuitous) and execution (graphic, disturbing) were required elements in Chinese law and stories about them, it wasn't van Gulik's attempt to appeal to prurient interests. Other than that, it's almost a cosy read, really.
There is a bit less actually detection than one might want (in terms of the classic "analyze clues, gather suspects in room, reveal murderer!" approach), but it's certainly enough to qualify as a mystery novel. I'd read some of his follow-ups (written himself, based on the character) as a child, but never the original. Well-pleased I did!
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
sahibooknerd's review against another edition
3.5
This was definitely interesting to listen to, except ofcourse the parts where torturing the accused to elicit confessions is the norm which made me pretty uncomfortable. But Judge Di and his band of detectives are quite fun to follow and see how they might have investigated cases in that era. I wouldn’t mind reading more of Robert van Gulik’s fictional stories of Judge Di, if I can find them.
samranakhtar's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jstamper2022's review against another edition
4.0
Had to read this for RST China class. It was actually pretty interesting.