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breadandmushrooms's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
2000s's review
Too abstract for me and I was bored....maybe it's better in Chinese tho đź‘Ť
janiswong's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
An emotionally wrenching book, beautifully translated. Difficult to describe the layers and storyline embedded within the book, but a masterful creative work that attempts to unpack societal views contextualised within the book.
katterion's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
not quite what i thought it’d be. can’t tell if something’s lost in translation or if i just couldn’t get into the writing style. the non-linear progression and multiple perspectives had potential, but didn’t seem to be fully fleshed out- this could, however, be intentional as a way to allude to the idea of public/personal memory.
either way, i think i’m missing a lot of historical context that would help me understand this better.
either way, i think i’m missing a lot of historical context that would help me understand this better.
hansonkarly's review
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.75
This was hard to follow. I did eventually sink in to the structure of the book and its characters, but I didn't understand all of the nuance/hints the author included to reflect the political turmoil/racism/etc. that Chinese people experienced in Malaysia after British rule ended. I learned a lot about the layers of the book from an article in the LA Book Review, without which I wouldn't have understood the context or been able to appreciate the depth Li Zi Shu created.
moreadsabook's review
as much as I wanna finish this, this is too big brain for me right now. will try to get back to it.
suzyreadsbooks's review
3.0
Intriguing metafiction with lots of layers that all feed into each other, to form a complex web of parallel and interconnected narratives. I think I am missing some needed context to catch all the Malaysian history referenced in the blurbs (I'm unclear when "silenced memories of racial violence, social injustice, and civil rights repressions" were really covered?) but it was a pretty solid book about class and status, aging and death, and what it means to be a person and look back at your life.
There was a weird amount of commentary about sex workers and trans women that rubbed me the wrong way.
gifted copy from feminist press
There was a weird amount of commentary about sex workers and trans women that rubbed me the wrong way.
gifted copy from feminist press
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