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zwyrdish's review against another edition
4.0
Great work, very sensuous and intricate. Poignant. Surprising.
rmuthiah's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating history and glimpses into one version of Chinese views of the afterworld in this novel set in 17th century China. Themes of chosen love and female strength.
daniellersalaz's review against another edition
4.0
Story of a lovesick maiden and her lifetime of experience--after her death. Sucked me right in!
situationnormal's review against another edition
4.0
I've had a difficult time getting into everything I've read lately, so my hopes for this book were not high. Honestly, I mostly picked it up because I love peonies and love the title. The first part of the book, centering around Peony as a young girl, took me a little while to become invested in. When the second (lengthier) part of the book started, I didn't expect to like it at all. And then I got sucked in completely. I'm a sucker for magical realism, and this was a type of "magic" I wasn't familiar with, and a period and place in history I was not familiar with, so I was surprised at how engrossed I was.
Overall, there were some things that were...weird...by today's standards (like foot binding) but I liked being totally immersed in the character's point of view, even when I didn't agree with it.
Overall, there were some things that were...weird...by today's standards (like foot binding) but I liked being totally immersed in the character's point of view, even when I didn't agree with it.
ncrozier's review against another edition
2.0
I love historical fiction, but when the story is told from the point of view of a 'hungry ghost', and so much of the story relies upon what is happening in the mythical afterworld, I start to question what it is I'm reading...
lizaroo71's review against another edition
2.0
This book felt like work for me to finish. I found the beginning a bit too dramatic. Peony is promised to another man, but falls in love with Ren (upon meeting him only once as always seems to happen in such love stories). But then she dies. And the rest of the story is told from Peony's perspective from the afterlife. She finds out many family secrets this way, but much of it feels unimportant to me.
I think I was in the wrong frame of mind. But it all felt too dramatic to me.
I think I was in the wrong frame of mind. But it all felt too dramatic to me.
hoserlauren's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't even get 20 pages through this one before I decided I'd had enough. It was like wading through quicksand. A very slow trek with nothing positive happening. I don't have much interest in reading the plot of a play for many pages and while I'm sure that would have been over at some point, I couldn't take much of it anymore.
denisehiller's review against another edition
2.0
I was disappointed in Peony in Love after having read and loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. As in snow flower, I learned alot about Chinese culture, specifically their beliefs regarding the afterlife, but I did not enjoy the story or the character development nearly as much.