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A review by eb2114
Wallet of Kai Lung by Ernest Bramah
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
Most of the stories in this book have a very Wodehouse-ian or even fairy tale feel to them. They often involve a young man (who is often not the smartest tool in the shed) of modest means who falls in love with a wealthy girl and the humorous adventures (often involving outwitting the girl’s repressive guardian or the inept bureaucrats who run society) encountered on the path to romance. By themselves, the plots and structures of the stories are unobjectionable.
The problem with this book is that it’s a bad racist take on Imperial Chinese society of an undetermined time period. It’s written in a stilted and overly exaggerated fashion, as though it’s a poor translation of a Chinese text. For example, the characters never use a personal pronoun when talking about themselves, often referring to themselves as “the miserable and debased one performing the before stated action”. Similarly, when talking about newspapers they’re referred to as “printed leaves” and comedic performances are “gravity-relieving”. In many ways reading it put me in mind of Mickey Rooney’s character in “A Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.
It’s very much a product of its time and does not really hold up beyond it’s era.
The problem with this book is that it’s a bad racist take on Imperial Chinese society of an undetermined time period. It’s written in a stilted and overly exaggerated fashion, as though it’s a poor translation of a Chinese text. For example, the characters never use a personal pronoun when talking about themselves, often referring to themselves as “the miserable and debased one performing the before stated action”. Similarly, when talking about newspapers they’re referred to as “printed leaves” and comedic performances are “gravity-relieving”. In many ways reading it put me in mind of Mickey Rooney’s character in “A Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.
It’s very much a product of its time and does not really hold up beyond it’s era.