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A review by akookieforyou
A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Elsie Chapman, Ellen Oh
3.0
Asian Readathon 2019
I've realized while reading this book that anthologies aren't really for me. I would much rather read one long story over a dozen or more short stories. My rating for this book is a three because I liked certain shorts, and didn't care for others, so a three seemed the best way to go. I really like and appreciate the idea behind this collection, and even though I didn't love every single one, I still learned something from each. I also must say that one of the most entertaining things about each story, was the authors' notes after each tale. I really liked seeing what was the inspiration for all of them.
My favorites were The Land of the Morning Calm, I think this one packed a lot of heart and emotion in such a short amount of pages; Still Star-Crossed had a lot of really interesting elements that I would love to have seen explored more in a full novel; and Eyes Like Candlelight being about Kitsune, one of the more interesting Japanese myths, had my attention the whole way through. Overall these ones were the most engaging and interesting to me.
My least favorites were Spear Carrier, the main character was annoying and I wasn't all that interested in his problems; and The Counting of Vermillion Beads was confusing at times, and I wish certain things could've been explained better.
I've realized while reading this book that anthologies aren't really for me. I would much rather read one long story over a dozen or more short stories. My rating for this book is a three because I liked certain shorts, and didn't care for others, so a three seemed the best way to go. I really like and appreciate the idea behind this collection, and even though I didn't love every single one, I still learned something from each. I also must say that one of the most entertaining things about each story, was the authors' notes after each tale. I really liked seeing what was the inspiration for all of them.
My favorites were The Land of the Morning Calm, I think this one packed a lot of heart and emotion in such a short amount of pages; Still Star-Crossed had a lot of really interesting elements that I would love to have seen explored more in a full novel; and Eyes Like Candlelight being about Kitsune, one of the more interesting Japanese myths, had my attention the whole way through. Overall these ones were the most engaging and interesting to me.
My least favorites were Spear Carrier, the main character was annoying and I wasn't all that interested in his problems; and The Counting of Vermillion Beads was confusing at times, and I wish certain things could've been explained better.