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A review by sarah984
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Right before I started reading this, I read an interview with RF Kuang where she talked about her goal was to explore how a person went from being a peasant to a war criminal, and I was really excited to pick it up. However, I wound up disappointed.
All of the characters are interesting psychologically (if not particularly likable, this is a war story), the details of actually fighting a war are well-done, the occasional bursts of humour to break the tension are well deployed, and the tie-ins to real-world Chinese history mostly work well.
However, I think the way the supernatural element is incorporated works against the themes. If a character is being possessed or corrupted by a supernatural presence are we really exploring their choices? Making the magic Rin can use a trait of her naturally angry race was certainly a decision as well. Making a race of people who are oppressed because they are naturally dangerous is one of my least favourite tropes and it looks like this series is going all-in on that.
Also, the reactivity of Rin’s character really annoyed me. At first, she seems like she has her own opinions about things, but she changes her mind literally any time anyone else has an opinion in her presence. Like Jiang tells her something and she's like, oh I was wrong, but then Altan contradicts him and she's like, oh Jiang was wrong, and then someone else comes along with an opinion and she's like, oh Altan was wrong... And it happens every time. The impact of the ending kind of falls apart because while Rin is told that her decisions led her to that place, it never really felt like she was thinking for herself.
All of the characters are interesting psychologically (if not particularly likable, this is a war story), the details of actually fighting a war are well-done, the occasional bursts of humour to break the tension are well deployed, and the tie-ins to real-world Chinese history mostly work well.
However, I think the way the supernatural element is incorporated works against the themes. If a character is being possessed or corrupted by a supernatural presence are we really exploring their choices? Making the magic Rin can use a trait of her naturally angry race was certainly a decision as well. Making a race of people who are oppressed because they are naturally dangerous is one of my least favourite tropes and it looks like this series is going all-in on that.
Also, the reactivity of Rin’s character really annoyed me. At first, she seems like she has her own opinions about things, but she changes her mind literally any time anyone else has an opinion in her presence. Like Jiang tells her something and she's like, oh I was wrong, but then Altan contradicts him and she's like, oh Jiang was wrong, and then someone else comes along with an opinion and she's like, oh Altan was wrong... And it happens every time. The impact of the ending kind of falls apart because while Rin is told that her decisions led her to that place, it never really felt like she was thinking for herself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Bullying