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lynnie05's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
onceuponatime's review against another edition
the question stops being "how many stories can there be of men fucking random women they see or that show up in their rooms" and more "is that gonna curse them this time or not"
jcampbell's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
A strange and fun collection of stories. They vary in length from several pages to just a couple of paragraphs, some of the stories were a little repetitive but reading was never boring. The influences of Chinese religious beliefs are seen through out and help to immerse you in another culture.
As a translation it is always hard to guess who accurate it is but this edition seemed to be fairly interesting and engaging. Would love to see a more complete collection of translations.
As a translation it is always hard to guess who accurate it is but this edition seemed to be fairly interesting and engaging. Would love to see a more complete collection of translations.
darbz89's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
2.5
pamwinkler's review against another edition
5.0
Alternately strange, vivid, horrifying and really impressive. There's a 104 stories; some are a few sentences and some are pages. It is worth a read, flat out. It's really something.
lewisharrington's review against another edition
3.75
N.B. From what I’ve read elsewhere, this translation is insultingly inaccurate. I found the prose dry and anodyne. This was the edition I had, but I’m looking forward to reading a different translation in the future.
gettyhesse's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
saralynnburnett's review against another edition
5.0
These stories were excellent! Ghosts, fox spirits, adulterous spouses, zombies - who knew 17th/18th century China was so rich with imagination? You can detect the turmoil of the dynastic shift from Ming to Manchu in these and perhaps thats where a lot of these tales stem from, the uncertainty of their situation. Many of these stories were just a few paragraphs long, and others went on for pages and each was accompanied by a classically drawn picture which will help many western readers put some of the items mentioned into context (ancestor tablets, Chinese architecture etc). The notes and glossary in the back of the book were as interesting as the stories themselves and provided a scholarly look into Chinese customs and beliefs.