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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
One of my favorite books this year. Loved the fantasy Western vibe, the characters, the ending I didn't quite expect; all over, lovely.
A book I bought solely based on the blurb, The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu wound up being a much more languid, slower-paced read than I expected -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Make no mistake: this book is every bit as violent as promised. It is brutal, frank, and visceral, yet Tom Lin's prose reads like that of a more practiced author, not someone who's graced our bookshelves for the first time. His style has a cadance and a flow to it, almost like he's dancing with the words on the page.
That rhythm pairs nicely with the blood. It's even better when things slow down.
As brutal as Thousand Crimes is-- a brutality reflecting an America not only then, but an America now in a lot of ways -- this book is also ponderous. Almost philosophical at times. As is sometimes the case, though, the protagonist is the least interesting character of the whole lot, and much of the fun comes not in Ming making progress in his mission, but the way the characters in orbit interact -- if not with him, then with each other.
There's also the matter of an abrupt ending -- so abrupt, it almost feels like it snuck up on the author, too. It's an ending with finality, if not a satisfactory one, and for a book that truly felt like a journey, the proverbial brakes screeching was slightly disorienting.
Still, Lin has penned a magnificent debut. A deft, beautifully written tale of love, loss, hate, betrayal, and blood. Lots and lots of blood.
Make no mistake: this book is every bit as violent as promised. It is brutal, frank, and visceral, yet Tom Lin's prose reads like that of a more practiced author, not someone who's graced our bookshelves for the first time. His style has a cadance and a flow to it, almost like he's dancing with the words on the page.
That rhythm pairs nicely with the blood. It's even better when things slow down.
As brutal as Thousand Crimes is-- a brutality reflecting an America not only then, but an America now in a lot of ways -- this book is also ponderous. Almost philosophical at times. As is sometimes the case, though, the protagonist is the least interesting character of the whole lot, and much of the fun comes not in Ming making progress in his mission, but the way the characters in orbit interact -- if not with him, then with each other.
There's also the matter of an abrupt ending -- so abrupt, it almost feels like it snuck up on the author, too. It's an ending with finality, if not a satisfactory one, and for a book that truly felt like a journey, the proverbial brakes screeching was slightly disorienting.
Still, Lin has penned a magnificent debut. A deft, beautifully written tale of love, loss, hate, betrayal, and blood. Lots and lots of blood.
Pretty decent. Prose was dainty and released when needed. Plot was lacking something and not in a good way, honestly. Still, what remains was a consistent trail of potential echoing endlessly.
adventurous
dark
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
Found the middle extremely tedious. The side show characters were so interesting but then half the book just goes on and on about a cougar. Felt lost.
Overly reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy in a way that fails to achieve the author’s own voice. Loads of potential with intriguing characters that, for the most part, don’t fully develop. I feel like I’ve read (or seen) this one before.
This is a quiet western with some fantastical elements and a revenge plot. It’s also a bit of a historical fiction since it takes place at the time of the building the Central Pacific Railroad line. The story left me wanting more character development and plot, but I have no regrets reading this debut from Lin.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This disappointed me. I think when I read the synopsis, I was hoping for me. This felt like a book rendition of the movie Django Unchained but with a Chinese main character. It wasn't unique in the slightest. It felt like every single spaghetti western out there with the generic plot of man is wronged and makes a hit list of men he's going to go kill to get revenge. It also had the added bonus of Ming Tsu attempted to get his wife back. It hit every single western trope that there is. The ending is predictable long before the story ends. I didn't feel much sympathy for the main character. We were never given enough time before he begins his murder quest to get to know him or his backstory or really any of his actual personality and it just left me feeling unsatisfied.
Honestly, Ming Tsu felt interchangeable with every white stereotypical western cowboy with the exception that he faced tons of racial slurs in every conversation. Ming Tsu is supposed to be a Chinese orphan who was sentenced to work on the transcontinental railroad. The book could have shared a bit on the plight of Chinese lured to the U.S. with promises of a better life, then pressed into slave labor on the railroads. It's only mentioned in passing. He shows no sympathy for his countrymen and actually seems to hold almost contempt for them. And when asked about his Chinese heritage he says he doesn't remember it. He shows no interest in it at all. I didn't see the point of making him Chinese if that wasn't much of a factor in this book as all.
The two women in the book were flat characters and defined almost solely by their relationship to Ming Tsu. They didn't even feel real. The romance between himself and Hazel was rushed, non-existent and based almost solely on them having sex almost every night while he is with the caravan. Also, it unsettled me how little Ming Tsu thought of what Ada wanted. His daydreams her abandoning her child for him just because he came came back were sickening and selfish. Even his memories say that she was upset with him over lying to her about what he did for a living, for hiding things. What from that tells him that she would rejoice his return? Especially, when the Prophet told him that she was happy in her life. But I digress...
As a side note, I also didn't love the animal harm in this book. They shoot quite a number of horses in this novel, after of course having exhausted them until they can't even stand. It felt cruel and unnecessary.
All in all, the entire novel felt very one note and flat. It was tedious to read and honestly, the only things I liked about this was there were some beautiful scenery descriptions as they journeyed from southern Wyoming to Sacramento along the transcontinental railroad, and the bits of magical realism thrown in.
This book was recommended to me by TBR (Tailored Book Recommendations).
Honestly, Ming Tsu felt interchangeable with every white stereotypical western cowboy with the exception that he faced tons of racial slurs in every conversation. Ming Tsu is supposed to be a Chinese orphan who was sentenced to work on the transcontinental railroad. The book could have shared a bit on the plight of Chinese lured to the U.S. with promises of a better life, then pressed into slave labor on the railroads. It's only mentioned in passing. He shows no sympathy for his countrymen and actually seems to hold almost contempt for them. And when asked about his Chinese heritage he says he doesn't remember it. He shows no interest in it at all. I didn't see the point of making him Chinese if that wasn't much of a factor in this book as all.
The two women in the book were flat characters and defined almost solely by their relationship to Ming Tsu. They didn't even feel real. The romance between himself and Hazel was rushed, non-existent and based almost solely on them having sex almost every night while he is with the caravan. Also, it unsettled me how little Ming Tsu thought of what Ada wanted. His daydreams her abandoning her child for him just because he came came back were sickening and selfish. Even his memories say that she was upset with him over lying to her about what he did for a living, for hiding things. What from that tells him that she would rejoice his return? Especially, when the Prophet told him that she was happy in her life. But I digress...
As a side note, I also didn't love the animal harm in this book. They shoot quite a number of horses in this novel, after of course having exhausted them until they can't even stand. It felt cruel and unnecessary.
All in all, the entire novel felt very one note and flat. It was tedious to read and honestly, the only things I liked about this was there were some beautiful scenery descriptions as they journeyed from southern Wyoming to Sacramento along the transcontinental railroad, and the bits of magical realism thrown in.
This book was recommended to me by TBR (Tailored Book Recommendations).