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A review by tani
Tong Lashing by Peter David
2.0
I listened to this on audiobook, and as usual, the narration was spot-on. However, I definitely had some issues with the story itself.
Here's the thing: I understand that this is satire, with bad puns thrown in for flavor. I totally get that. But this particular bit of satire just didn't work for me. Peter David takes on Asian satire, and it quickly got uncomfortable for me. In particular, the way that he mushes together China and Japan (the country is literally called Chinpan) was a non-starter for me. I don't think that Peter David meant it badly, and I will say that he took care to show how much Apropos cares for the people of the story, and that counteracted some of my bad feelings, but still. It feels kind of gross to experience. I suppose you could argue that the satire is less about the actual Asian countries and more about Western perceptions of them, but I still didn't enjoy that element. And let's be honest. The Chin jokes were a bit too far.
In terms of the story, the theme is getting a bit worn too. Nothing can ever go right for Apropos. He is never given the benefit of the doubt, and everything bad that can happen, will happen. It's tiring, and it makes the story less enjoyable. Apropos did show some signs of change in this book, but with the way that life just smacked him down, it seems unlikely to me that any of them will stick.
Finally, I had a real issue with the ending.The revelation that the woman Apropos was in love with was actually a transgender woman was awful. And please don't misunderstand. I have no problem with transgender people. But the way that the narrative treats her is just the worst. Her entire existence is framed as a joke on Apropos, which is so dismissive and awful. And then her death...I can't fault Apropos too much for his shock, but this just isn't the kind of thing that I want to read about. Again, the narrative tries to point out how much Apropos has screwed up, but at that point in the book, it just felt false to me. This was really what dropped my rating to two stars.
So, the lingering question is whether I'll read the final book in the series. It's one I'll have to think about. Part of me just wants to call it quits here, but I do wonder if the story can recover a little bit. I guess I'll have to give it some time and see how I feel about it.
Here's the thing: I understand that this is satire, with bad puns thrown in for flavor. I totally get that. But this particular bit of satire just didn't work for me. Peter David takes on Asian satire, and it quickly got uncomfortable for me. In particular, the way that he mushes together China and Japan (the country is literally called Chinpan) was a non-starter for me. I don't think that Peter David meant it badly, and I will say that he took care to show how much Apropos cares for the people of the story, and that counteracted some of my bad feelings, but still. It feels kind of gross to experience. I suppose you could argue that the satire is less about the actual Asian countries and more about Western perceptions of them, but I still didn't enjoy that element. And let's be honest. The Chin jokes were a bit too far.
In terms of the story, the theme is getting a bit worn too. Nothing can ever go right for Apropos. He is never given the benefit of the doubt, and everything bad that can happen, will happen. It's tiring, and it makes the story less enjoyable. Apropos did show some signs of change in this book, but with the way that life just smacked him down, it seems unlikely to me that any of them will stick.
Finally, I had a real issue with the ending.
So, the lingering question is whether I'll read the final book in the series. It's one I'll have to think about. Part of me just wants to call it quits here, but I do wonder if the story can recover a little bit. I guess I'll have to give it some time and see how I feel about it.