Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo by Zen Cho

1 review

mariebrunelm's review

Go to review page

funny lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.5

Jade, or rather Geok Huay, is a young Chinese woman in 1920's multicultural London, eeking out a life as a writer of women magazine columns and literary reviews, until one day her path crosses that of the famous author of the moment whose book she has just written a scathing review of.
This novella was a lot of fun, with a diverse cast of characters (both in terms of origin & sexuality). The narrator tells her adventures in her journal, and her witticisms reminded me of I Capture the Castle (a book I adore). One thing that really threw me off, I'd rather point out, is the very graphic sex scene. I wish, given that the narrator tells the story retrospectively, that that scene had been put a little more into context rather than being thrown at the reader like that. Apart from this, there were interesting character dynamics, and a lot of themes packed into this quick story, including a distinction between romantic and sexual attraction which was quite welcome.
Rep : Chinese MC, Indian secondary character, lesbian secondary character.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...