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courtney_scott1025 's review for:
Lady Tan's Circle of Women
by Lisa See
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*This rating is specifically for the contents of the book. The issue of Lisa See's heritage was not factored into the rating*
I enjoyed this book more than I thought. As someone that has a slight background in medicine, I thought it was very interesting from the Eastern Medicine perspective. I learned a lot, and it didn't feel like learning. It is pretty gory with the foot binding. It did hurt my heart a little. I did however think that this book was too long. There were definitely some parts that got expanded on that I did not seem necessary for the story.
Now, for the issue of Lisa See's heritage. I literally just finished Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (fantastic), so once I found out that Lisa See is only 1/8th Chinese, I did have some trouble seeing past that. I am not Chinese, therefore I cannot and will not comment on her authority to write a book centered on Chinese struggle. Instead, I will amplify a review by someone that is more acquainted with Chinese culture:
" The novel feels like someone trying too hard to show how well researched and historically accurate she is. She seems to forget that her readers would rather be entertained than lectured at.
The writing is also especially grating for me. -- As a native Chinese speaker, I have never drawn the mental equation between "zi gong" (womb) and "child palace". -- There are other similar instances in the book. By foregoing romanised Pinyin and instead, presenting the literal meaning of a word to an audience that has no sufficient knowledge of the workings of the Chinese language, thousands of years of linguistic sophistication is lost in the reading. The effect is unnatural and just plain childish. While it may not be the author's intention, the subtext seems to be, "How quaint is the Chinese language? I think it's quaint! Don't you think it's quaint?!"
Thank goodness there are still writers that are capable of portraying foreign voices without infantalising the language in question. Imagine a Japanese character saying "child of the tree" instead of "kinoko" for mushrooms. Or a German character saying "hand shoes" instead of "handschuhe" for gloves. The abomination.
Then the author somehow inexplicably and inconsistently uses Western terminology for the herbs and medical procedures referred to in the book. Why? Are the Chinese names not good enough in these regard?
"Child palace" (eye-roll) is just one example of the author's constant need to explain and hammer in her idea of "chinese-ness" for the "education" of a non-Chinese readership, who can then claim "enlightenment" on Chinese culture and history. Add in two-dimensional characters that I can't seem to care for and a plodding narrative, this book makes for very painful reading indeed, at least for this reader.
I would recommend the Chinese classic "Dream of the Red Chamber" by Cao Xueqin to anyone interested in truly complex and well-rounded Chinese female characters in traditional patriarchal China. "
I enjoyed this book more than I thought. As someone that has a slight background in medicine, I thought it was very interesting from the Eastern Medicine perspective. I learned a lot, and it didn't feel like learning. It is pretty gory with the foot binding. It did hurt my heart a little. I did however think that this book was too long. There were definitely some parts that got expanded on that I did not seem necessary for the story.
Now, for the issue of Lisa See's heritage. I literally just finished Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (fantastic), so once I found out that Lisa See is only 1/8th Chinese, I did have some trouble seeing past that. I am not Chinese, therefore I cannot and will not comment on her authority to write a book centered on Chinese struggle. Instead, I will amplify a review by someone that is more acquainted with Chinese culture:
" The novel feels like someone trying too hard to show how well researched and historically accurate she is. She seems to forget that her readers would rather be entertained than lectured at.
The writing is also especially grating for me. -- As a native Chinese speaker, I have never drawn the mental equation between "zi gong" (womb) and "child palace". -- There are other similar instances in the book. By foregoing romanised Pinyin and instead, presenting the literal meaning of a word to an audience that has no sufficient knowledge of the workings of the Chinese language, thousands of years of linguistic sophistication is lost in the reading. The effect is unnatural and just plain childish. While it may not be the author's intention, the subtext seems to be, "How quaint is the Chinese language? I think it's quaint! Don't you think it's quaint?!"
Thank goodness there are still writers that are capable of portraying foreign voices without infantalising the language in question. Imagine a Japanese character saying "child of the tree" instead of "kinoko" for mushrooms. Or a German character saying "hand shoes" instead of "handschuhe" for gloves. The abomination.
Then the author somehow inexplicably and inconsistently uses Western terminology for the herbs and medical procedures referred to in the book. Why? Are the Chinese names not good enough in these regard?
"Child palace" (eye-roll) is just one example of the author's constant need to explain and hammer in her idea of "chinese-ness" for the "education" of a non-Chinese readership, who can then claim "enlightenment" on Chinese culture and history. Add in two-dimensional characters that I can't seem to care for and a plodding narrative, this book makes for very painful reading indeed, at least for this reader.
I would recommend the Chinese classic "Dream of the Red Chamber" by Cao Xueqin to anyone interested in truly complex and well-rounded Chinese female characters in traditional patriarchal China. "
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Sexism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Murder, Pregnancy