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helenadotcom's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
slichto3's review against another edition
Eek... I really should have written this review closer to when I finished the book.... four months ago...
Well, on the whole, I like this book. And I very much liked the feeling of reading the book, which was an interesting and unique experience. I remember when I was in college and meeting lots of new people, I noticed that each person I met gave me a different feeling as well. Like of course these people were different people with different thoughts and everything, but I had this underlying quality of feeling associated with each individual person, and it felt really good! This book reminded me of that in a very refreshing way.
The book is a two-tracked story about two characters: one is a timeless character whose name I can't really remember. If you trust everything that the book says, she is some sort of marine person there at the creation of human beings. Eventually, through some magical process, she becomes a human being and starts a life in China at some point before now (I wasn't exactly clear on the timing of everything). She falls in love with a girl who smells like salt fish, but salt fish's father isn't approving, so she hatches a plot for them to get away (but doesn't exactly check this with the salt fish girl beforehand...). What follows is a wild fairy tale with shifting relationships through some weird but fascinating places.
Our other character is living in the future in I think Canada? She's struggling because she has some condition where she smells like durian fruit (which apparently smells like cat pee, so this is not very flattering). Weirdly, her conception involved something with durian as well... At the same time, there are other people in her community with similar smells associated with them - these people are looked down upon.
Eventually, these stories sort of link up. It all operates with a strange sort of dream logic where surprising things end up being true and then committed to. A weird story, and I'm not really sure of what it all means (beyond the dangers of bioengineering and greed - it gets to that at some point), but I liked it. I liked the dream like feeling/logic, and the unique way this book made me feel. I would recommend - but be ready for an odd ride!
Well, on the whole, I like this book. And I very much liked the feeling of reading the book, which was an interesting and unique experience. I remember when I was in college and meeting lots of new people, I noticed that each person I met gave me a different feeling as well. Like of course these people were different people with different thoughts and everything, but I had this underlying quality of feeling associated with each individual person, and it felt really good! This book reminded me of that in a very refreshing way.
The book is a two-tracked story about two characters: one is a timeless character whose name I can't really remember. If you trust everything that the book says, she is some sort of marine person there at the creation of human beings. Eventually, through some magical process, she becomes a human being and starts a life in China at some point before now (I wasn't exactly clear on the timing of everything). She falls in love with a girl who smells like salt fish, but salt fish's father isn't approving, so she hatches a plot for them to get away (but doesn't exactly check this with the salt fish girl beforehand...). What follows is a wild fairy tale with shifting relationships through some weird but fascinating places.
Our other character is living in the future in I think Canada? She's struggling because she has some condition where she smells like durian fruit (which apparently smells like cat pee, so this is not very flattering). Weirdly, her conception involved something with durian as well... At the same time, there are other people in her community with similar smells associated with them - these people are looked down upon.
Eventually, these stories sort of link up. It all operates with a strange sort of dream logic where surprising things end up being true and then committed to. A weird story, and I'm not really sure of what it all means (beyond the dangers of bioengineering and greed - it gets to that at some point), but I liked it. I liked the dream like feeling/logic, and the unique way this book made me feel. I would recommend - but be ready for an odd ride!
e___ee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jazminrose's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not sure how this book isn’t more well known, as it’s very good. The mix of speculative fiction (I would say it reminds me of ‘Oryx and Crake’, only this was written first) and Chinese mythology is original and satisfying. The feminist and queer undertones made for a pleasant surprise as well.
I would rate this a full five, had more of the minor loose ends been tied up.
I would rate this a full five, had more of the minor loose ends been tied up.
dangosaffron's review against another edition
4.0
it’s weird to be reading this 20 years after its publication in british columbia, when vancouver’s still waiting on the very same overdue earthquake that lai writes about here. anyway, not to be dramatic, but this may be one of the best books of all time. scarily relatable. tastes (and smells!) like home.
rachelclarareed's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
greyreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
5.0
beeminor's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Is this book perfect? No.
Are there parts I wish were drawn out and more in depth? Yes.
Were there moments when all the built up tension was broken? Yes.
Am I obsessed with this book? Absolutely!
I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this one and for that I’m willing to overlook what I would typically consider flaws.
I found this book to be incredibly readable. I found myself immersed in it. It also has some beautiful usage of language too. It’s one of those ones you either love or hate.
But I think one of my favorite things about this book was the unpredictability of it. I love that Lai didn’t give us everything and didn’t spell it all out. It just left me thinking and pondering and wondering “hmm.” And I think that’s what some readers don’t like about it. In a lot of ways Lai has expertly set this story up so that the reader’s imagine can flourish and fill in the blanks.
Highly recommend if you’re into queer dystopian magical-realism creation mythology lol. It felt like having an epic dream that turns nightmarish at points. It also reminds me of a Studio Ghibli film. Like Spirited Away meets Margaret Atwood’s Oryx and Crake.
qpy's review against another edition
4.0
honestly I need to reread this but am dealing with a ton of nonrenewable interlibrary loans right now. it was brilliant, strange, bizarre, illustrious. the weirdness had me hooked. i really enjoyed it. so many smells, so many descriptions of pain.