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lomili's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
sebbie's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
carwen's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
booksbythewindow's review
For full review: https://booksbythewindow.wordpress.com/2022/03/16/a-summer-beyond-your-reach/
Summary and Overall Thoughts: A Summer Beyond Your Reach is an incredible collection of short stories that are thought-provoking, intriguing, and absorbing. One aspect of Xia Jia’s writing that has always stood out to me is her ability to write engaging characters that ground all of the stories. I would definitely recommend A Summer Beyond Your Reach for anyone who is interested in science-fiction and those who enjoy short fiction collections.
One of my favourite story of the collection was the longest: ‘A Time Beyond Your Reach’ (translated by Carmen Yiling Yan). The narrative is from the perspective of Màn, a woman who has always been seen as a beat behind everyone else: reserved, careful, and always talking and moving more slowly than those around her. At the age of ten, she meets a boy who is her opposite: impulsive, chaotic, and always talking and moving more quickly than those around him. I thought this story had a really interesting concept, with both these characters being out of step with the world in different ways, but it was the protagonist that really kept me engaged with the story.
One of the most intriguing stories in the collection was ‘Eternal Summer Dream’ (translated by Carmen Yiling Yan), a story about a time traveller and an immortal being who keep meeting each other throughout time. Whilst in the opening scene they are introduced as enemies, with him chasing her, conversations that she has with him throughout time seem to indicate differently and it is clear that he has met her future self. I quite enjoy stories where the characters’ timelines are out of order with each other; there is something about the particular confusion and emotions of the biggest obstacle for characters being time itself that seems to appeal to me. I think ‘Eternal Summer Dream’ is a great example of this very specific genre, particularly as the reader is experiencing the story through the eyes of a Xia Di who is still working out what exactly her relationship is or will be with Jiang Lieshan.
The third story that I want to highlight in this review is ‘Meeting Anna’ (translated by Emily Jin), a short, very character-driven story about two teenagers who are both famous in their society in different ways meeting and having a short conversation. The narration here is honest, realistic, and bittersweet, showing Xia Jia’s writing at her most haunting, taking a scenario that is not so far removed from our own world and pushing it in an uncomfortable direction.
Summary and Overall Thoughts: A Summer Beyond Your Reach is an incredible collection of short stories that are thought-provoking, intriguing, and absorbing. One aspect of Xia Jia’s writing that has always stood out to me is her ability to write engaging characters that ground all of the stories. I would definitely recommend A Summer Beyond Your Reach for anyone who is interested in science-fiction and those who enjoy short fiction collections.
One of my favourite story of the collection was the longest: ‘A Time Beyond Your Reach’ (translated by Carmen Yiling Yan). The narrative is from the perspective of Màn, a woman who has always been seen as a beat behind everyone else: reserved, careful, and always talking and moving more slowly than those around her. At the age of ten, she meets a boy who is her opposite: impulsive, chaotic, and always talking and moving more quickly than those around him. I thought this story had a really interesting concept, with both these characters being out of step with the world in different ways, but it was the protagonist that really kept me engaged with the story.
One of the most intriguing stories in the collection was ‘Eternal Summer Dream’ (translated by Carmen Yiling Yan), a story about a time traveller and an immortal being who keep meeting each other throughout time. Whilst in the opening scene they are introduced as enemies, with him chasing her, conversations that she has with him throughout time seem to indicate differently and it is clear that he has met her future self. I quite enjoy stories where the characters’ timelines are out of order with each other; there is something about the particular confusion and emotions of the biggest obstacle for characters being time itself that seems to appeal to me. I think ‘Eternal Summer Dream’ is a great example of this very specific genre, particularly as the reader is experiencing the story through the eyes of a Xia Di who is still working out what exactly her relationship is or will be with Jiang Lieshan.
The third story that I want to highlight in this review is ‘Meeting Anna’ (translated by Emily Jin), a short, very character-driven story about two teenagers who are both famous in their society in different ways meeting and having a short conversation. The narration here is honest, realistic, and bittersweet, showing Xia Jia’s writing at her most haunting, taking a scenario that is not so far removed from our own world and pushing it in an uncomfortable direction.
competencefantasy's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
pannii's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don't often write reviews but I just wanna say that Xia Jia has easily become one of my favourite authors and I can't wait to read more of her works. She uses the language masterfully and the translations are amazing as well. The way she can create stories that span centuries and millennias and describe entire worlds and characters using but a few words is incredible. She also ponders complicated questions around existence and responsibility, what one persons owes another, the future and the possibilities and hardships it may hold, among other things. I absolutely loved this collection, especially "Up in The Air", "On Miluo River", "Eternal Summer Dream" and "Night Journey of the Dragon-Horse". Highly recommend it.
endlesswonder's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
leguinstan's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0