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hileahrious's review against another edition
4.0
Un buen misterio. Algo predecible pero bastante bien escrito y aprendí cosillas nuevas sobre China. Me ha gustado mucho la mezcla del caso policiaco y la literatura clásica china.
ribeirofrio's review against another edition
3.0
Giallo raffinatissimo come una porcellana cinese: una serie di omicidi, caratterizzati dall'abito indossato da tutte le vittime, un qipao rosso, diventa l'occasione per riflettere su una delle pagine più tristi della storia cinese moderna, la Rivoluzione culturale, in netto contrasto con le dinamiche di potere della Shanghai capitalista negli anni '90.
L'indagine è molto lenta e introspettiva, una contemplazione sul cambiamento del panorama politico e sociale cinese, impreziosito da moltissime citazioni di poesie della dinastia Tang e di Confucio. E' molto interessante il punto di vista dell'autore: malgrado le vittime siano tutte donne di umili origini, il corpo femminile assassinato diventa un simbolo di critica ad una cultura sostanzialmente misogina e repressiva - per l'ispettore Chen, gli orrori dettati dall'indottrinamento politico sono la proverbiale goccia che fa traboccare il vaso, e di conseguenza l'indulgenza nei confronti di un paese in tumulto si trasforma bruscamente in una seria revisione dei valori in nome dei quali troppi crimini sono stati giustificati.
L'indagine è molto lenta e introspettiva, una contemplazione sul cambiamento del panorama politico e sociale cinese, impreziosito da moltissime citazioni di poesie della dinastia Tang e di Confucio. E' molto interessante il punto di vista dell'autore: malgrado le vittime siano tutte donne di umili origini, il corpo femminile assassinato diventa un simbolo di critica ad una cultura sostanzialmente misogina e repressiva - per l'ispettore Chen, gli orrori dettati dall'indottrinamento politico sono la proverbiale goccia che fa traboccare il vaso, e di conseguenza l'indulgenza nei confronti di un paese in tumulto si trasforma bruscamente in una seria revisione dei valori in nome dei quali troppi crimini sono stati giustificati.
draconicdesmond's review against another edition
Unable to due to personal circumstances
maplessence's review against another edition
4.0
4.5★
Beautiful writing, especially at the start. I haven't read the previous books in the series (hoping to remedy that soon!) but the reader is aware because of problems in a previous case, Chief Inspector Chen is both trying to keep a low profile & improve his qualifications by taking a literature paper. But a young girl of blameless character is found dead attired only in an old fashioned scarlet mandarin dress. More deaths follow & the Chief Inspector is pulled into the case.
The reader learns a lot about the new China (where corruption is rampant) Chinese poetry, attire & above all, food is most elegantly described. The food becomes crueller (live monkey brains anyone???) as we move into the killer's world & some of the descriptions were too much for me.
I also felt the denouement went on a bit long, but Qiu Xialong is a detective writer of extraordinary talent & I yearn to read more of his books.
Beautiful writing, especially at the start. I haven't read the previous books in the series (hoping to remedy that soon!) but the reader is aware because of problems in a previous case, Chief Inspector Chen is both trying to keep a low profile & improve his qualifications by taking a literature paper. But a young girl of blameless character is found dead attired only in an old fashioned scarlet mandarin dress. More deaths follow & the Chief Inspector is pulled into the case.
The reader learns a lot about the new China (where corruption is rampant) Chinese poetry, attire & above all, food is most elegantly described. The food becomes crueller (live monkey brains anyone???) as we move into the killer's world & some of the descriptions were too much for me.
I also felt the denouement went on a bit long, but Qiu Xialong is a detective writer of extraordinary talent & I yearn to read more of his books.
roshk99's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting and fast-paced mystery with a psychological angle as well as an interweaving of Chinese politics. The ending is classic but powerful
snugglor's review against another edition
4.0
Written in lovely poetic style, this book gives an insight into a side of Chinese culture we don't normally hear about.
fateleanor's review
mysterious
medium-paced
3.25
Quite predictable but I found the references to the culture very interesting
andrew61's review against another edition
3.0
5th in this series in which Inspector Chen is focussing on his studies while Yu has to manage a potential serial killer targeting young women and leaving them in the famous Chinese fashion item of the title.
When Chen eventually gets pulled in the investigation rapidly moves into gear.
While the plots of these books never bear close scrutiny it is the fascinating look at the culture that always draws me back to this series although I have to say that some of the foods referenced as delicacies in this episode were extremely disturbing and do not need thinking about too closely,
When Chen eventually gets pulled in the investigation rapidly moves into gear.
While the plots of these books never bear close scrutiny it is the fascinating look at the culture that always draws me back to this series although I have to say that some of the foods referenced as delicacies in this episode were extremely disturbing and do not need thinking about too closely,