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samraetom's review against another edition
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
stephaniesteen73's review against another edition
3.0
I found this book extremely difficult to get into, and actually considered abandoning it near the end of Book One. This is definitely not my usual genre - magical realism? lovesick spirits? - but it sucked me in and I did enjoy the ending. Interesting historical details too - 1500s(?)era China, complete with Manchus, footbinding, ancestor worship, etc.
anjalisudarsan's review against another edition
4.0
Loved learning about Chinese customs and their afterlife, it was very new to me! The whole lovesickness theme was depressing, especially women starving to death while in love, but the pacing worked so well (Lisa see is a brilliant author). Had me engaged right up till the end.
daumari's review against another edition
3.0
Quick read. Wondering if some of the alluded-to verses are in my premodern Chinese lit books (though maybe not- is 1600s considered premodern?)A bit of a love story, a bit of a ghost story, with a root in historical fact.
egalindo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
yellowhouselady's review against another edition
The writing was not great. I have enjoyed a couple other of Lisa See’s books. Maybe this was an early one?
jbridges99's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the 2nd half of the book better than the first half - no spoiler but the "after" part was better than the "before".
nizzlebee's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
eggjen's review against another edition
3.0
There were things I liked about this one and other things I didn't like. I felt like the plot on a whole was very interesting and unique but sometimes the main character seemed way too slow to pick up on really obvious things. I much prefered See's previous book, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan but it was still a good book for the most part.
tashaseegmiller's review against another edition
4.0
I devoured this book - the culture intrigued me and I was completely enamored by Peony. It requires some imagination to read, taking on the belief system of a society that is a bit unfamiliar and seemingly far fetched, but I loved it.