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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Some good action sequences, and I think it's sparked an interest for more Western/Fantasy novels, but this one didn't quite do it for me.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
First off, western isn't my cup of tea. The plot was okayish, but the ending of the book seemed rushed, quite unsatisfactory. My ending thought: "all this drama for that ending!?"
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Murder, Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutely wonderful and blood drenched western I've been longing for forever. When it comes to its brutality, no wonder this became a quick favourite among people who love the work of Cormac McCarthy.
"What good is an elegy sung by a man who cannot remember?"
From the get-go, The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu boasts a stellar premise—a gritty revisionist western/revenge thriller, following an #ownvoices Asian lead? Enthralled from the beginning.
Admittedly, this executes as promised—but also, not really. If anything, probably not in the way you would expect from reading such an explosive blurb. Yes, there is lots of gratuitous violence, but it is tempered by the flowing, weaving simplicity of a narrative voice in the vein of Cormac McCarthy. In fact, even the plot itself, while broadly structured, is likely not as intricate as you might expect for an elaborate vendetta.
If you are looking for answers, you will not find them. The mystical connection between Ada and Hazel, Hazel and Ming, Ming's fragmented memories and his past, Ada's motivations—all left up in the air. The characters and their backgrounds (especially Ming) are relatively vague, as are any details about their pasts and motivations; in fact, the entire narrative feels like you are viewing it from behind a dusty glass, mired by years of wear and breathtakingly glaring desert heat. Untouchable, distant. Heck, even the climax felt relatively anticlimactic in comparison to the harsh wear of the buildup. In most books, that doesn't work—but for this one, somehow, it does. Or, at least, I didn't mind it so much.
I was lulled into going on by the evocative sublimity of Lin's American West in very much the same way as I was Blood Meridian, and found the supporting characters (such as Hunter Reed, the prophet, and Hazel) to be mysterious and endearing in their own ways. The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tzu is quiet in the way a Coen Brothers film is, creeping in the underbrush with its vague writing and hazy features. Ambiguous—but, perhaps, arguably more powerful that way?
Though the climax didn't feel very satisfying, overall reading this certainly was an experience. Give it a try; sink yourself into the imagery and the magical realism. Overall, 3½ stars—rounded up.
"Man out of bounds. I know the time of every man not yet perished. And mine as well." He looked back at Ming. "But not yours."