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transparent_tea 's review for:
Legend of the White Snake
by Sher Lee
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
"'Someone wise once told me why eachhalf of the yin-yang circle has a small dot of the opposite color. It means thta in every choice, we have to consider the good of the other person in some small way. Only then will things turn out well.'" - Chapter 15, Xian caught Zhen in a lie, and Xian explaining the possible reason for this lie
"'...Someone I care about very deeply once reminded me that the small dot of the opposite color in each half of the yin-yang circle represents the choice to act not just to one's on advantage but in other person's.'" - Chapter 35, Xian mentioning this to his father about Wang's consequences and the reaction behind it (without spoiling this consequence)
I recall seeing the name "Sher Lee" before and remembered that the author wrote one of the cutest books I read last year, Fake Dates and Mooncakes. Originally, I wasn't planning to read Legend of the White Snake because I thought I wasn't a big fan of historical fiction when this book was announced. However, after reading A Crane Among Wolves, I figured I could try a historical Chinese-inspired YA LGBTQ novel.
The story feels like Chinese folklore, but I can't confirm that since I never really learned about these "fables" when growing up. The story starts with the prince of Wuyue on his way back from retrieving a spirit pearl to heal his mother from a white snake bite, he gets ambushed on the way back, and almost drowns to death but gets saved by a snake, who somehow swallows this pearl.
Fast-forward seven years, Xian is still on the hunt for this white snake, and Zhen is aware of the action he took seven years ago, swallowing a spirit pearl to become human. Both find each other and ends up "falling in love" but need to decide to make a sacrifice for each other to "prove their love".
The story is short enough that it doesn't take too much time to understand the plot, but because of the length, there are a few holes within the story that I wish the author elaborated a bit more. For starters, it's assumed that whoever bit XIan's mother is not Zhen, but for some reason, my assumption is the "traitor" of the story did it, because of the desire of the spirit pearl. Another would be having Deng's appearance cut very short, only appearing four times and not "repaying" back Zhen.
However, despite these incomplete subplots, I did enjoy the ending and the epilogue didn't need to e an epilogue, as it was a continuous of the story, but a way to wrap it up in a nice package.
Lastly, I did want to make a note for my future self about the jiăo bēi. I've seen this in action before but never really understood the meaning/tradition behind it. (This explanation is in Chapter 25.)
- One yin, one yang: shèng jiăo, the answer of sagehood; the deities were in favor
- Two yang: xiào jiăo, the answer of derision; the deities were laughing in scorn
- Two yin: nù jiăo, the answer of fury; the deities were displeased