Reviews - Strange Beasts of China

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1.04k reviews for:

I could not have guessed how much I would have loved this - which was a lot. It’s a meld of short stories of a journalist writing about different beasts of her world combined with a connected time arc. Plot-driven readers might not like this, but those who like fantastical creatures might. Also I would not call this a comfort read, the world is a dark one so much so that it’s almost like a dystopia, but there’s the heart, emotion and complexity there that I crave from my books.

emiyeee's review against another edition

3.0

funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

readsofgosia's review against another edition

4.0

3.75
In a mistery town, somewhere in China, a woman who studied zoology decides to give up college and become a writer. Zoology, though, doesn't look like a usual study of animals. In this region live beasts with different characteristics but somewhat don't fall far away from a regular human. To collect material for her stories, she tries to learn as much about them as possible. Each chapter contains events of how she encounters each type of beast.

To be completely honest, I don't know what to think about this book. It's different, for sure. A lot of things don't make sense, but on the other side, it would be unfair for me to ask yet another author to comply with the westernized style of writing. There is a mystery behind the origin of the protagonist. More she learn about beasts, more she discovers her past. This was the most interesting part for me. Sometimes, tho, I was very confused in a way the story was presented. It was different, good different, but definitely needed to sit on this for some time and try to read more from Chinese authors!

ymirfreckles's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

toastedbread's review against another edition

2.0

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

psychohobbit's review against another edition

4.0

This book captivated me and well before the end overwhelmed me with the tales of the various beasts. It starts out clearly enough with the sorrowful beasts. Then the book advances for several other types of beasts - all of which is set somewhere in China in a city that seems almost as alien as the beasts. The narrator is an author who writes about the beasts and finds herself becoming more and more ensnared although it takes some time to develop this. I don't want to give away the plot but it went about like I expected. The overarching plot about the narrator and her relationships with characters throughout the book was never quite clear to me as it seemed to say one thing and then shifted to another. Perhaps that was because the narrator learned different things, changing her perspective. My rating is 4 stars for a lyrical, beautiful book about strange beasts.