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A review by oh_no_shes_reading
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Summary: Fang Runin (Rin for short) is an orphan in a country destabilized by war, internal politics, pride, and opium. Desperate to escape her fate in her small town and her cruel adoptive family (who also use her like a drug mule), Rin takes the equivalent of an eight-hour long ACT from Hell, placing first in her town against all odds. While this seems like a blessing at first, Rin finds herself embroiled in new conflicts, ones that threaten her school, friends, country, and life. Rivers turn red with blood and she struggles to gain power enough to save her country... though it may mean losing herself in the process.
Favorite quotes:
Slowly, RIn removed the incense stick from her nostril. "Hello," she said. "I'm praying." "Please leave." (p. 24)
"I don't believe in gods. But I do believe in power." (p. 173)
"Once an empire has becomes convinced of its worldview, anything that evidences the contrary must be erased." (p. 196)
My thoughts: This book took me by surprise and almost made me vomit. Not joking, I was physically sick for 24 hours thinking about it before I could pick it back up and finish it. It is a menace and a masterpiece.
At the start, your worries are Rin's biggest worries: getting into school, escaping home, overcoming bullies, and being praised for her achievements. She is a child, although a traumatized one, with worries and wants that are not unfamiliar to the standard person. And then the war comes. And as a reader, the war comes for you, too.
Fart jokes and childlike ambition give way to horror and the necessity to survive above all else. We watch Rin start losing everything she has come to know and begin wondering is she's also losing her mind under the weight of the horrors she is witnessing and the power she is coming into contact with. I think her character development is one of the most rapid and extreme that I have ever read.
This is not a light read. This is watching a child endure and grasp at power in an attempt to feel in control only to lose more. Undoubtedly, this book should have trigger warnings, especially for pages 424-425. Reading fantasy or fiction, you get a little more used to books writing cities of corpses. What caught me off guard was the detail, the horror, and the sheer realness of these pages depicting the violence against women in wartime. For a book of gods, this is also a book about war and was a sobering reminder that while some elements are fantasy, others are painfully real.
I would recommend this book, as it was fantastically written. That being said, I do think it will take me a while to be brave enough to read the next one. I recommend that anyone undertaking this series seriously checks trigger warnings before beginning.
Favorite quotes:
Slowly, RIn removed the incense stick from her nostril. "Hello," she said. "I'm praying." "Please leave." (p. 24)
"I don't believe in gods. But I do believe in power." (p. 173)
"Once an empire has becomes convinced of its worldview, anything that evidences the contrary must be erased." (p. 196)
My thoughts: This book took me by surprise and almost made me vomit. Not joking, I was physically sick for 24 hours thinking about it before I could pick it back up and finish it. It is a menace and a masterpiece.
At the start, your worries are Rin's biggest worries: getting into school, escaping home, overcoming bullies, and being praised for her achievements. She is a child, although a traumatized one, with worries and wants that are not unfamiliar to the standard person. And then the war comes. And as a reader, the war comes for you, too.
Fart jokes and childlike ambition give way to horror and the necessity to survive above all else. We watch Rin start losing everything she has come to know and begin wondering is she's also losing her mind under the weight of the horrors she is witnessing and the power she is coming into contact with. I think her character development is one of the most rapid and extreme that I have ever read.
This is not a light read. This is watching a child endure and grasp at power in an attempt to feel in control only to lose more. Undoubtedly, this book should have trigger warnings, especially for pages 424-425. Reading fantasy or fiction, you get a little more used to books writing cities of corpses. What caught me off guard was the detail, the horror, and the sheer realness of these pages depicting the violence against women in wartime. For a book of gods, this is also a book about war and was a sobering reminder that while some elements are fantasy, others are painfully real.
I would recommend this book, as it was fantastically written. That being said, I do think it will take me a while to be brave enough to read the next one. I recommend that anyone undertaking this series seriously checks trigger warnings before beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail