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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
I was really drawn in by the first section so I had such high hopes but, unfortunately, it only remained vaguely interesting. Toward the end it actually got quite tedious to finish.
I do wonder if something is lost in the translation, which I think didn’t read well grammatically in some sections. Possibly the gravitas and deeper meaning of some phrases/customs are not conveyed in English and would otherwise make the book a little more gripping.
Ultimately, the descriptions of the beasts are initially quite intriguing but become very formulaic in that they “look no different from humans” bar some minor differences. The underlying plot about the main character’s life is meandering and never really reaches a conclusion.
I do wonder if something is lost in the translation, which I think didn’t read well grammatically in some sections. Possibly the gravitas and deeper meaning of some phrases/customs are not conveyed in English and would otherwise make the book a little more gripping.
Ultimately, the descriptions of the beasts are initially quite intriguing but become very formulaic in that they “look no different from humans” bar some minor differences. The underlying plot about the main character’s life is meandering and never really reaches a conclusion.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This one was interesting. I listened to this book through audible. The reader was great and I think the story was interesting in concept. The issue that keeps me from loving it is it is clear that the translation struggled to capture what Ge actually wrote. There were clunky phrases and word choices that didn't exactly make sense or have a different connection to an American audience. It made it difficult to get engrossed in the novel.
3.75/5stars
I saw another review that said that this book was "mildly engaging" throughout the whole thing which I agree with. At the very beginning I was completely hooked but in the middle I kind of started wondering what the point of this book even was. But there was something about it that made me keep wanting to go on. I also wish that more books would just be upfront about the fact that they are not novels and that they're short story collections. The blurb says that this is written as a bestiary which isn't entirely true - this is a short story collection where the stories vaguely connect. I actually found it very awkward how every story is about a new beast yet they never reference each other. I also found the pacing of this to being incredibly awkward and still did and I had no idea how much time had passed in any of the stories or in the book as a whole. I thought the ideas were really interesting but the story as a whole novel didn't make much sense. I liked the social commentary but I'm beginning to think there are some novels that just don't need to be entire books they could just be a single short story or even an essay. I don't know why it's a sudden trend for people to create entire fantasy worlds just to make a couple of stabs at society. But overall this was very well written and I did enjoy several of the stories but it wasn't what I was expecting it to be.
I saw another review that said that this book was "mildly engaging" throughout the whole thing which I agree with. At the very beginning I was completely hooked but in the middle I kind of started wondering what the point of this book even was. But there was something about it that made me keep wanting to go on. I also wish that more books would just be upfront about the fact that they are not novels and that they're short story collections. The blurb says that this is written as a bestiary which isn't entirely true - this is a short story collection where the stories vaguely connect. I actually found it very awkward how every story is about a new beast yet they never reference each other. I also found the pacing of this to being incredibly awkward and still did and I had no idea how much time had passed in any of the stories or in the book as a whole. I thought the ideas were really interesting but the story as a whole novel didn't make much sense. I liked the social commentary but I'm beginning to think there are some novels that just don't need to be entire books they could just be a single short story or even an essay. I don't know why it's a sudden trend for people to create entire fantasy worlds just to make a couple of stabs at society. But overall this was very well written and I did enjoy several of the stories but it wasn't what I was expecting it to be.
slow-paced
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book blew me away in many ways. I don't even know what to say. This is magical realism done extremely well.
This was a weird one. Episodic, with some chapters making more sense to me than others. I get the sense that if I knew anything about Chinese storytelling conventions, the book would have hit harder for me. Still, it was worth reading for me because it’s so different from anything else I’ve read. Like culture shock in a book.
