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A review by labunnywtf
A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh
3.0
Read for the Asian Readathon.
I love this. I love that this is a massively diverse collection of stories based on Asian lore and legend. I love that we get everything from the Philippines to India, cultures I know and cultures I've never heard of before. I want to read some of these authors' other works, I want to read more stories that feature terms I have to pause to google.
This is especially fun since two of these authors have written books I REALLY didn't like. :-X
Let's talk about each individually.
Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi - A breathtakingly beautiful Filipino fairy tale, with more than a slight hint of Moana flavor to it. I wasn't getting into it at first, the storytelling style wasn't working, but once I started getting into it, I drank it up. Beautiful, and so, so sad.
Olivia’s Table by Alyssa Wong - Possibly my favorite. Based around the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival, this is the story of a young woman who is an "exorcist". Except instead of holy water and levitation, to get rid of these spirits, you feed them. Taking over for her mother, Olivia cooks and prepares food at a rapid pace, getting it set out and inviting all the wandering spirits to eat and move on to the next world. It's the idea behind this that hit me in all of my feelings.
Steel Skin by Lori M. Lee - Ennnnnh. This was a little more sci fi than I wanted, which is DESPERATELY unfair of me, considering that I enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles, which is a sci fi retelling of more commonly known fairy tales. The twist to it is amazing, though I must admit, I don't see how this was a retelling of the original story.
Still Star-Crossed by Sona Charaipotra - I liked this more for the culture than I did for the story itself. This is almost a ghost story, felt like something I would've seen on Are You Afraid of the Dark back in the day. A fantastic idea, though abrupt ending is abrupt.
The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette De Bodard - I don't even know what to do with this one. I think I expected too much, because the build up was gorgeous, and the ending just confused me. Great story, ::head wobble:: ending.
The Land of the Morning Calm by E. C. Myers - I, uh. I may have cried a bit at this one. How a story based in a virtual reality RPG game and featuring heavy cosplay could make me cry is because I am too soft for my own good.
The Smile by Aisha Saeed - Feminine mystique, feminine power, feminine strength and courage, and women protecting women. Yes all around.
Things started going downhill from here, so I'm only going to mention two others.
Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers by Preeti Chhibber - I enjoyed this more for the googling of Youtube videos than I did the story itself. Full of culture and traditions, which I loved, and the videos of the dances described were wonderful. The story itself was forgettable, sadly.
Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa - This was gorgeous, and sweet, and heart breaking. A fox falls in love with a boy who saves her from dogs. And again, another incredibly sad ending.
Anthologies will always be hit or miss for me, but the joy of this anthology is, I want to read so much more folk lore from each of these cultures.
And, in some cases, better ones.
I love this. I love that this is a massively diverse collection of stories based on Asian lore and legend. I love that we get everything from the Philippines to India, cultures I know and cultures I've never heard of before. I want to read some of these authors' other works, I want to read more stories that feature terms I have to pause to google.
This is especially fun since two of these authors have written books I REALLY didn't like. :-X
Let's talk about each individually.
Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi - A breathtakingly beautiful Filipino fairy tale, with more than a slight hint of Moana flavor to it. I wasn't getting into it at first, the storytelling style wasn't working, but once I started getting into it, I drank it up. Beautiful, and so, so sad.
Olivia’s Table by Alyssa Wong - Possibly my favorite. Based around the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival, this is the story of a young woman who is an "exorcist". Except instead of holy water and levitation, to get rid of these spirits, you feed them. Taking over for her mother, Olivia cooks and prepares food at a rapid pace, getting it set out and inviting all the wandering spirits to eat and move on to the next world. It's the idea behind this that hit me in all of my feelings.
Steel Skin by Lori M. Lee - Ennnnnh. This was a little more sci fi than I wanted, which is DESPERATELY unfair of me, considering that I enjoyed The Lunar Chronicles, which is a sci fi retelling of more commonly known fairy tales. The twist to it is amazing, though I must admit, I don't see how this was a retelling of the original story.
Still Star-Crossed by Sona Charaipotra - I liked this more for the culture than I did for the story itself. This is almost a ghost story, felt like something I would've seen on Are You Afraid of the Dark back in the day. A fantastic idea, though abrupt ending is abrupt.
The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette De Bodard - I don't even know what to do with this one. I think I expected too much, because the build up was gorgeous, and the ending just confused me. Great story, ::head wobble:: ending.
The Land of the Morning Calm by E. C. Myers - I, uh. I may have cried a bit at this one. How a story based in a virtual reality RPG game and featuring heavy cosplay could make me cry is because I am too soft for my own good.
The Smile by Aisha Saeed - Feminine mystique, feminine power, feminine strength and courage, and women protecting women. Yes all around.
Things started going downhill from here, so I'm only going to mention two others.
Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers by Preeti Chhibber - I enjoyed this more for the googling of Youtube videos than I did the story itself. Full of culture and traditions, which I loved, and the videos of the dances described were wonderful. The story itself was forgettable, sadly.
Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa - This was gorgeous, and sweet, and heart breaking. A fox falls in love with a boy who saves her from dogs. And again, another incredibly sad ending.
Anthologies will always be hit or miss for me, but the joy of this anthology is, I want to read so much more folk lore from each of these cultures.
And, in some cases, better ones.