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A review by macaronoui
A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling
4.0
Includes spoilers!
The book centers around one woman, and the men all claim her in their own way. What I was struck with is how much she gave up for them versus what she got in return.
The writing and translation was beautiful.
The story was a bit long winded in certain bits. Sometimes it was a little confusing with story belonged to which man, but luckily there were small summaries in between with clearly guided me towards the correct man.
Now I know this might sound odd, but the section told by the two dogs was both my favorite and least favorite part of the book. I understand they had a better overview and reason to tell a part of the story from their perspective, but if we were adding in new things, I would have liked to read more from Ah Yan/Stella/Wende's perspective.
I haven't been able to verify how much of the story was historically inaccurate/accurate, but it was fascinating to learn more about the wars and how it affected everyone. Wars have no real winners, and everybody is branded with it for life.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.
The book centers around one woman, and the men all claim her in their own way. What I was struck with is how much she gave up for them versus what she got in return.
The writing and translation was beautiful.
The story was a bit long winded in certain bits. Sometimes it was a little confusing with story belonged to which man, but luckily there were small summaries in between with clearly guided me towards the correct man.
Now I know this might sound odd, but the section told by the two dogs was both my favorite and least favorite part of the book. I understand they had a better overview and reason to tell a part of the story from their perspective, but if we were adding in new things, I would have liked to read more from Ah Yan/Stella/Wende's perspective.
I haven't been able to verify how much of the story was historically inaccurate/accurate, but it was fascinating to learn more about the wars and how it affected everyone. Wars have no real winners, and everybody is branded with it for life.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.