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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Could have been names Shot Went Wide. This was a fun western action packed read. I like the magical realism throughout. The road trip storyline keeps the plot moving with some interesting characters along the way. If you love shoot em up westerns this is a book for you. lots of that
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
at first glance, the premise is solid enough: Ming Tsu is violently and forcibly separated from his wife Ada by her disapproving family and subsequently embarks on a 10-year-long journey to kill those responsible and reunite with his wife. but for a story centered on revenge, the readers are left with strikingly little to work with — we know hardly anything about Ada, for one, and it's difficult to see why he's so singlemindedly hellbent on reuniting with her for so long when the author himself writes lines like "Ada walked into the room then and he looked at her and though he knew he loved her he could not remember why" (126). as far as we know, Ada's most prominent feature is her beauty; then, out of the blue, in the middle of the novel, Ming launches into the first detailed memory of Ada and our first glimpse into what Ada was like as a person apart from her physical appearance (describing the scene in which she figures out he is a murderer) but stops there. the issue is that the strength of the premise is contingent on Ada and Ming's relationship, but we don't know anything about it.
if Lin's intent was to explore how revenge takes on a life of its own, detached from the original purpose and sentiment to the point where Ming loses sight of what he's fighting for, it would've made more sense to explicate what Ming and Ada's relationship was like before to highlight the contrasting motivations.
the satisfaction of a revenge story stems partly from the reader's vicarious desire to see the protagonist's tormenters punished for causing him pain. it boils down to empathy: we understand the protagonist's motivation and pain, and we root for him. The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu lacks this motivation and fails to invite the reader to participate in feeling and understanding Ming's pain, thereby zapping the story's premise of its power. the route that Thousand Crimes takes is to whittle the story down and strip it of its emotional context, and it would do much better as a movie rather than a book (evidenced by John Wick and Kill Bill, to a certain extent). as a movie, Lin's descriptions would certainly come to life with stunning cinematography and spectacular action sequences, which perhaps would draw the focus away from the story's striking lack of momentum.
if Lin's intent was to explore how revenge takes on a life of its own, detached from the original purpose and sentiment to the point where Ming loses sight of what he's fighting for, it would've made more sense to explicate what Ming and Ada's relationship was like before to highlight the contrasting motivations.
the satisfaction of a revenge story stems partly from the reader's vicarious desire to see the protagonist's tormenters punished for causing him pain. it boils down to empathy: we understand the protagonist's motivation and pain, and we root for him. The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu lacks this motivation and fails to invite the reader to participate in feeling and understanding Ming's pain, thereby zapping the story's premise of its power. the route that Thousand Crimes takes is to whittle the story down and strip it of its emotional context, and it would do much better as a movie rather than a book (evidenced by John Wick and Kill Bill, to a certain extent). as a movie, Lin's descriptions would certainly come to life with stunning cinematography and spectacular action sequences, which perhaps would draw the focus away from the story's striking lack of momentum.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Too violent for me -- everything in the first few chapters was fights, shooting, etc.
The fact that the main protagonist is a Chinese immigrant in America is interesting, but not enough to keep me reading it.
The fact that the main protagonist is a Chinese immigrant in America is interesting, but not enough to keep me reading it.
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Throughout I thought this might win 3 stars. It was the climax and ending that brought it to 4. The reader, alongside the protagonist doesn't really know what to expect when the finale is upon them, making it all the more shocking.
I dare not give anything away but what this novel truly is at its core is an absolute tragedy. Ming Tsu might be an outlaw and murderer but his story is as tragic as that of Romeo and Juliet.
I would also like to mention the mystical aspects of this tale. I thought them to be a fun accessory to the story and made for an exciting tale.
I dare not give anything away but what this novel truly is at its core is an absolute tragedy. Ming Tsu might be an outlaw and murderer but his story is as tragic as that of Romeo and Juliet.
I would also like to mention the mystical aspects of this tale. I thought them to be a fun accessory to the story and made for an exciting tale.
adventurous
dark
slow-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
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated