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anl2633's reviews
91 reviews
A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
So this really isn't my favorite JJM book. I prefer Kenobi a lot more to this one. And this book isn't terrible by any means. I'm surprised by how much character development is packed into this book, especially for the side characters. JJM is extremely skilled at rounding out his side characters and at world-building. And both of those elements shine in this novel. I was just a little bored with it.
The first couple hundred pages are a bit slow, and then the book rockets to the finish in the last half. There was a lot of political and character set-up that caused friction while reading. I think this book could've cut a hundred or so pages and been a lot better for it. But I do appreciate all of the monologues on how horrifying capitalism is, especially when it boots people out of its system that turn right back around and become fascists. Vidian was the extreme case in this novel, but I think the gradual piecing together of his history was really interesting. I could definitely see at least parts of his story becoming reality in our world. There's certainly enough back-stabbing in the capitalist machine that I think the idea of someone breaking free of it only to exploit the system for personal gain in a different "body" would probably work.
Skelly really grew on me in this one as well. I really underestimated him as a crazy retaliator seeking revenge, but the way his character was handled by JJM was phenomenal. I was tearing up in the end. Skelly went through so much, and he really does have an almost endearing war-criminal streak to him that probably has some influence on why Kanan and Hera love Chopper so much. They have a similar kind of energy.
I was also pleasantly surprised at how much female representation is in this book. From women in leadership roles like Sloane, Lal, and Zaluna to the badass Hera Syndulla, to so many mentions of female stormtroopers and Imperial lieutenants...there are a lot of women in this book. And perhaps the most perfect of all of them is Hera. I think JJM has an insane respect and adoration for her. Hera is just on the side of too perfect in this one. It almost became a caricature at some point. I mean, I can only hear about her insane athletic skills and mysterious feminine charm so many times before I'm rolling my eyes throughout the thing. But I am a bit charmed by how charmed JJM is.
Kanan is the character I developed a real love and respect for. Not that I hated his character in Rebels. Far from it. I just didn't pay that much mind to his character. But he's fleshed out so well in this novel that I'll definitely be re-watching the show with new eyes and a new appreciation for how strong Kanan is. He's an angsty sonofabitch in this novel, but you can't help but love him for it. And boy does he have an obsession with Hera in this one. I was cackling every single time he mentions Hera's alluring voice, her mysterious smiles, her phenomenal piloting skills. Kanan was whipped before he even met her. And that is entirely on brand for Kanan, I'll give JJM that.
I give this one a 3.75/4, only because I was struggling to push through it. Not out of intense hatred for what was going on, but just because the pace kind of threw me off. And part of that score is also that the appreciation for women is so appreciative that it kinda comes off as a tad creepy. I love Hera- don't get me wrong- but there was just a bit too much focus on how perfect she was that there wasn't any room for flaws and for her character to undergo some change in this. JJM is a master of character-development; he just missed Hera along the way.
The first couple hundred pages are a bit slow, and then the book rockets to the finish in the last half. There was a lot of political and character set-up that caused friction while reading. I think this book could've cut a hundred or so pages and been a lot better for it. But I do appreciate all of the monologues on how horrifying capitalism is, especially when it boots people out of its system that turn right back around and become fascists. Vidian was the extreme case in this novel, but I think the gradual piecing together of his history was really interesting. I could definitely see at least parts of his story becoming reality in our world. There's certainly enough back-stabbing in the capitalist machine that I think the idea of someone breaking free of it only to exploit the system for personal gain in a different "body" would probably work.
Skelly really grew on me in this one as well. I really underestimated him as a crazy retaliator seeking revenge, but the way his character was handled by JJM was phenomenal. I was tearing up in the end. Skelly went through so much, and he really does have an almost endearing war-criminal streak to him that probably has some influence on why Kanan and Hera love Chopper so much. They have a similar kind of energy.
I was also pleasantly surprised at how much female representation is in this book. From women in leadership roles like Sloane, Lal, and Zaluna to the badass Hera Syndulla, to so many mentions of female stormtroopers and Imperial lieutenants...there are a lot of women in this book. And perhaps the most perfect of all of them is Hera. I think JJM has an insane respect and adoration for her. Hera is just on the side of too perfect in this one. It almost became a caricature at some point. I mean, I can only hear about her insane athletic skills and mysterious feminine charm so many times before I'm rolling my eyes throughout the thing. But I am a bit charmed by how charmed JJM is.
Kanan is the character I developed a real love and respect for. Not that I hated his character in Rebels. Far from it. I just didn't pay that much mind to his character. But he's fleshed out so well in this novel that I'll definitely be re-watching the show with new eyes and a new appreciation for how strong Kanan is. He's an angsty sonofabitch in this novel, but you can't help but love him for it. And boy does he have an obsession with Hera in this one. I was cackling every single time he mentions Hera's alluring voice, her mysterious smiles, her phenomenal piloting skills. Kanan was whipped before he even met her. And that is entirely on brand for Kanan, I'll give JJM that.
I give this one a 3.75/4, only because I was struggling to push through it. Not out of intense hatred for what was going on, but just because the pace kind of threw me off. And part of that score is also that the appreciation for women is so appreciative that it kinda comes off as a tad creepy. I love Hera- don't get me wrong- but there was just a bit too much focus on how perfect she was that there wasn't any room for flaws and for her character to undergo some change in this. JJM is a master of character-development; he just missed Hera along the way.
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin
5.0
I like that this story can leave you with different moral convictions every time you read. Perhaps those of us who stay are simply the ones who are most tired in this world and too soft for all the rest.
I'd like to think I'd be one of those people to walk away. And the first time I read this in 10th grade, I staunchly defended that in a Socratic seminar as the only sensible thing to do and something I would undoubtedly do. Because it is the right thing to do. Now that I'm older and a bit more in tune with myself, I know that I'd most likely stay despite knowing.
What an overwhelming moral question is raised here. The image of the broken and tormented child is so stark and visceral, it hurts my heart to read. But again, I'd probably stay, and I feel like I already have the defense lined up too--the one I'd use to convince myself to stay: 1) the child is too far gone to know any real joy if I were to actually rescue it, 2) the good of 1 child doesn't outweigh the good of hundreds of other children in the town, and 3) walking away from Omelas is just as bad as staying because it doesn't change the child's situation anyways.
So yeah, maybe I'm not the most morally noble person out there. But I think I've gained an understanding of my own maturity and perspective. It's hard to say you'll stand up for what's right like this when you might be one of those people in Omelas with family and friends you don't want to leave behind, when you don't know what's outside the city walls, etc.
I'd like to think I'd be one of those people to walk away. And the first time I read this in 10th grade, I staunchly defended that in a Socratic seminar as the only sensible thing to do and something I would undoubtedly do. Because it is the right thing to do. Now that I'm older and a bit more in tune with myself, I know that I'd most likely stay despite knowing.
What an overwhelming moral question is raised here. The image of the broken and tormented child is so stark and visceral, it hurts my heart to read. But again, I'd probably stay, and I feel like I already have the defense lined up too--the one I'd use to convince myself to stay: 1) the child is too far gone to know any real joy if I were to actually rescue it, 2) the good of 1 child doesn't outweigh the good of hundreds of other children in the town, and 3) walking away from Omelas is just as bad as staying because it doesn't change the child's situation anyways.
So yeah, maybe I'm not the most morally noble person out there. But I think I've gained an understanding of my own maturity and perspective. It's hard to say you'll stand up for what's right like this when you might be one of those people in Omelas with family and friends you don't want to leave behind, when you don't know what's outside the city walls, etc.
Venus in Fur by David Ives
5.0
"In our society, a woman's only power is through men. Her character is her lack of character. She's a blank, to be filled in by creatures who at heart despise her. I want to see what woman will be when she ceases to be men's slave. When she's his equal in education and his partner in work. When she becomes herself. An individual."
In my quest to watch everything that Hugh Dancy has been in, I stumbled over this play. 2 hours later after coming across the sketchiest website to find a bootleg tape of the 2011 performance, I became obsessed. Dang this play was so good.
Based on The Bacchae and the 1870 novel Venus in Fur by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (Masoch? Masochism?), at face value the play seems like it'll be too on the nose. But then it becomes a striking commentary on the toxicity and abuse that actors face in the theater industry. Vanda's speech at the end about how Thomas is duping "some poor, willing, idiot actress and bending her to [his] program" to try and achieve the gratification he's ultimately looking for--*chef's kiss*. You don't really think about how actors (especially female artists) walk into auditions trying to get a job that will pay the bills, and the top dog in the industry, the director, the master can ask anything of them. Making demands of someone who is desperate enough to do anything just to survive is honestly sickening.
Beyond the commentary about the theater industry, ultimately this play deals with the constant gaining and loss of power, sexuality, gender roles, and S&M. On my second go around reading the play, I noticed that Thomas finishes his final lines as the female character Dunayev. He took to reading these lines so effortlessly. This play slips into dealing with sexual duality and gender duality so often. Thomas is just as happy giving orders as he is taking them. And Vanda is such an amazing character. Snarky and unapologetic, refusing to back down when Thomas slips into his misogynistic little tirades. She has full control over every scene and is so unforgettable.
This play forces us to grapple with alternating displays of gender and sex, domination and submission, and the desire for power and the desire to take power away from someone else. It is absolutely alluring, sexy, humorous, and thoughtful. And I will definitely be reading it again to see what else I've missed.
In my quest to watch everything that Hugh Dancy has been in, I stumbled over this play. 2 hours later after coming across the sketchiest website to find a bootleg tape of the 2011 performance, I became obsessed. Dang this play was so good.
Based on The Bacchae and the 1870 novel Venus in Fur by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (Masoch? Masochism?), at face value the play seems like it'll be too on the nose. But then it becomes a striking commentary on the toxicity and abuse that actors face in the theater industry. Vanda's speech at the end about how Thomas is duping "some poor, willing, idiot actress and bending her to [his] program" to try and achieve the gratification he's ultimately looking for--*chef's kiss*. You don't really think about how actors (especially female artists) walk into auditions trying to get a job that will pay the bills, and the top dog in the industry, the director, the master can ask anything of them. Making demands of someone who is desperate enough to do anything just to survive is honestly sickening.
Beyond the commentary about the theater industry, ultimately this play deals with the constant gaining and loss of power, sexuality, gender roles, and S&M. On my second go around reading the play, I noticed that Thomas finishes his final lines as the female character Dunayev. He took to reading these lines so effortlessly. This play slips into dealing with sexual duality and gender duality so often. Thomas is just as happy giving orders as he is taking them. And Vanda is such an amazing character. Snarky and unapologetic, refusing to back down when Thomas slips into his misogynistic little tirades. She has full control over every scene and is so unforgettable.
This play forces us to grapple with alternating displays of gender and sex, domination and submission, and the desire for power and the desire to take power away from someone else. It is absolutely alluring, sexy, humorous, and thoughtful. And I will definitely be reading it again to see what else I've missed.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
5.0
So, how fucking spoiled am I, then? How fucking broken? What is wrong with me that I can have everything I could ever want and have ever asked for and still wake up in the morning feeling like every day is a slog?
You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.
This novella was so nicely done. I love the simple yet impactful moments of world-building slipped in here. The sections about Dex's work as a tea monk were especially comforting to read. I found myself slipping into fluttery warmth at the beauty of that kind of selfless aid. I could picture myself having someone to tell my worries and anxieties to, a cup of tea brewed just for me cradled in my palms, and the opportunity to lounge amongst a nest of pillows with strings of lanterns overhead, suspended in time for a moment of peace. How beautiful, how wonderful, how frustrating not to have that in our world! This novella is so good at creating moments of pure atmosphere. It's a sci-fi utopian aesthetic dream.
It honestly gave me the same type of feeling as the game Stray does. Might just be because of the fact that both have very human-like robots in them. But it also has the same meandering through a changed society so far away into the future. Again, there's a certain atmosphere there that's hard to describe, but for me, they're similar enough that they are reminiscent of each other. So if you like this book, then try the game for that similar atmosphere and vice versa...
As far as philosophical musings go, I'm always a sucker for the message that life is beautiful because it ends and there's no purpose to it other than to experience it. Our society puts so much stock into wealth accumulation and success, leaving an indelible mark on the world for future generations to know you by, and always pushing for more success and more ways to prove your worth. We forget to actually do the living part.
I love the way this novella made me feel. It was simple and beautiful and poetic and just what I needed to feel.
You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live.
This novella was so nicely done. I love the simple yet impactful moments of world-building slipped in here. The sections about Dex's work as a tea monk were especially comforting to read. I found myself slipping into fluttery warmth at the beauty of that kind of selfless aid. I could picture myself having someone to tell my worries and anxieties to, a cup of tea brewed just for me cradled in my palms, and the opportunity to lounge amongst a nest of pillows with strings of lanterns overhead, suspended in time for a moment of peace. How beautiful, how wonderful, how frustrating not to have that in our world! This novella is so good at creating moments of pure atmosphere. It's a sci-fi utopian aesthetic dream.
It honestly gave me the same type of feeling as the game Stray does. Might just be because of the fact that both have very human-like robots in them. But it also has the same meandering through a changed society so far away into the future. Again, there's a certain atmosphere there that's hard to describe, but for me, they're similar enough that they are reminiscent of each other. So if you like this book, then try the game for that similar atmosphere and vice versa...
As far as philosophical musings go, I'm always a sucker for the message that life is beautiful because it ends and there's no purpose to it other than to experience it. Our society puts so much stock into wealth accumulation and success, leaving an indelible mark on the world for future generations to know you by, and always pushing for more success and more ways to prove your worth. We forget to actually do the living part.
I love the way this novella made me feel. It was simple and beautiful and poetic and just what I needed to feel.
Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
5.0
“At the end of the day, there is no banquet in the world that doesn’t come to an end.”
Wow, I forgot how happy Hualian makes me feel. I love both characters so much and their relationship together. They invented love. Seriously.
First off with Xie Lian. My favorite character. Absolute cinnamon roll with an internal snarky personality that makes him so funny for no reason. He’s kind of an airhead, kind of an out-of-touch boomer grandpa, kind of a peerlessly wise monk, and also kind of cutting when he’s judging you. He’s so wonderfully authentic and generous and optimistic.
I can’t help but be inspired by someone who can be so genuinely good-natured without being a doormat for people to walk over when he knows those people are wrong. I kinda wish I could be like him. Selfless and kind but with a bit of a mean streak toward people who deserve it. I love the hell out of the Donghua adaptation, but this novel enhances his character so much. Like Xie Lian is actually so friggin hilarious for no reason when he’s being sarcastic. And he's unbelievably powerful and strong. I mean, he ascended as a martial god.
And underneath it all is the self-deprecation, the zero self-preservation skills, and the mental health issues that make him actually terrifyingly easy to empathize with. Here is someone who ascended to godhood at 17, here is someone who was unbelievably powerful, and now he’s reduced to being the laughingstock of the heavenly realm, constantly judged, constantly spit on-- here is someone who isn’t perfect. All he does is try. And then his bad luck makes him fail time and time again.
I was actually shocked speechless by the random pieces into his trauma that MXTX just throws in there like landmines for us to blow ourselves up on:
“Xie Lian was someone who possessed the worst of luck, so when he ventured deep into the mountains, eight times out of ten he would step on vipers or run into venomous insects and get bitten, stung, jabbed, or poisoned in thousands of ways. However, he’d always been very stubborn at not dying, and at most he’d run a fever. After three days and three nights of fever, he’d wake up right as rain and continue on as if nothing had happened. He simply wasn’t sensitive to pain. So much as it hurt, he could live with it.”
“As long as it wasn’t lava or fire, or some pool of corpse-dissolving water, it shouldn’t be too terrible when he jumped down.”
“In the midst of battle, everyone saw red, so when he rushed out and both sides saw it was him, for some reason all the blades and swords went after him and cut him down. . . Even if nothing could kill him, he still couldn’t endure that kind of butchering, so with the thought “this can’t go on!” Xie Lian resolutely dropped to the ground to fake his death. But even in “death” he was trampled to the point of passing out.”
It made me so sad to read that line where he tells everyone that he purposely forgets when really painful and traumatizing things happen to him because he’d rather remember eating a delicious meat bun from yesterday than the agony of being trampled to death or being poisoned or getting dissolved in acid or falling from a high cliff and breaking every bone in his body. How mentally scarred from PTSD Xie Lian must be. . .and this is only volume 1!!! I’m honestly terrified of what’s in store for future me. I am curious to see, though, how Xie Lian makes the jump from spoiled prince to a god that’s been banished twice and is now reviled as a plague god, bringer of bad luck, and a trash god collecting scraps for a living. It’s gonna break me. But it’s too late. I already love him (and project onto him) too much to quit now.
That’s why I’m really glad he’s got San Lang with him.
Ah, San Lang, Hua Cheng, Crimson Rain Sought Flower, ghost king, exploder of Scorpion-snakes, mysterious bridegroom, wielder of red umbrellas and silver butterflies, unbelievably powerful and extremely cunning, witty, clever, cutting, sarcastic, manipulative, and treacherous.
If you’re a cinnamon bun like Xie Lian who is constantly ridiculed by others, you need a Hua Cheng with you to treat you like the god you literally are and worship the ground you walk on. I love how vindictive he is. He remembers every slight and rude comment to Xie Lian and then proceeds to ruin and torture that person in retribution. I love the energy that this brings to the story. It sort of aligns with the grumpy x sunshine trope, but honestly, both Xie Lian and San Lang are constantly orbiting with eyes only on each other, and everyone else who gets in the way is immediately on the tail-end of both their ire and exasperation. I love it I love it I love it.
When they were in the sinner pit and hundreds of scorpion snakes started raining down on everyone and they bowed to San Lang and his might. . . yeah that was hot. It’s too bad that wasn’t animated in the Donghua! I’ve gotta say, I’m really excited to see Hua Cheng in his true form and in his element in the ghost city. It’s about time we get away from the brutal underhand dealings of the Heavenly Realm. I’m so sick of the good-for-nothing trash in the Upper Court (San Lang’s words, not mine, but absolutely true). I want to see the chaotic and rowdy underbelly of TGCF’s underworld equivalent!
And lastly, I’ve already been spoiled as to who Nan Feng and Fu Yao are. So I’ll say now with 85% certainty that my opinion of Fu Yao won’t change despite what’s gonna come in the next 7 novels. I friggin despise Fu Yao, aka Mu Qing. Seriously that guy, every single time he’s in a scene, he’s just so smug and petty and judgemental. It makes me want to scream. I get that he’s got a pride complex a mile wide because he grew up poor and as a servant to Xie Lian when he was the Crown Prince. But good lord that dude needs to take a whole bottle of chill pills and shut the f up. I hate that he treats Xie Lian like dirt. I hate that he gets all smug when he sees that Xie Lian is struggling or hurt. The only thing going for him now in my book is that he has the most hilarious banter with Nan Feng, aka Feng Xin. And that he’s always in the prime spot to get dragged by San Lang. But that’s about it. I just hate him.
All in all, I loved the hell out of this book and I’m sad I never read it sooner, especially when I watched the Donghua and fell in love with the characters there. I am very glad to be getting out of the Banyue arc. Seriously, for the longest time, we kept getting that arc over and over and over again with the fan translation, the Donghua, the manhua, and then the official translation. So excited to see what’s in store with vol 2!
Wow, I forgot how happy Hualian makes me feel. I love both characters so much and their relationship together. They invented love. Seriously.
First off with Xie Lian. My favorite character. Absolute cinnamon roll with an internal snarky personality that makes him so funny for no reason. He’s kind of an airhead, kind of an out-of-touch boomer grandpa, kind of a peerlessly wise monk, and also kind of cutting when he’s judging you. He’s so wonderfully authentic and generous and optimistic.
I can’t help but be inspired by someone who can be so genuinely good-natured without being a doormat for people to walk over when he knows those people are wrong. I kinda wish I could be like him. Selfless and kind but with a bit of a mean streak toward people who deserve it. I love the hell out of the Donghua adaptation, but this novel enhances his character so much. Like Xie Lian is actually so friggin hilarious for no reason when he’s being sarcastic. And he's unbelievably powerful and strong. I mean, he ascended as a martial god.
And underneath it all is the self-deprecation, the zero self-preservation skills, and the mental health issues that make him actually terrifyingly easy to empathize with. Here is someone who ascended to godhood at 17, here is someone who was unbelievably powerful, and now he’s reduced to being the laughingstock of the heavenly realm, constantly judged, constantly spit on-- here is someone who isn’t perfect. All he does is try. And then his bad luck makes him fail time and time again.
I was actually shocked speechless by the random pieces into his trauma that MXTX just throws in there like landmines for us to blow ourselves up on:
“Xie Lian was someone who possessed the worst of luck, so when he ventured deep into the mountains, eight times out of ten he would step on vipers or run into venomous insects and get bitten, stung, jabbed, or poisoned in thousands of ways. However, he’d always been very stubborn at not dying, and at most he’d run a fever. After three days and three nights of fever, he’d wake up right as rain and continue on as if nothing had happened. He simply wasn’t sensitive to pain. So much as it hurt, he could live with it.”
“As long as it wasn’t lava or fire, or some pool of corpse-dissolving water, it shouldn’t be too terrible when he jumped down.”
“In the midst of battle, everyone saw red, so when he rushed out and both sides saw it was him, for some reason all the blades and swords went after him and cut him down. . . Even if nothing could kill him, he still couldn’t endure that kind of butchering, so with the thought “this can’t go on!” Xie Lian resolutely dropped to the ground to fake his death. But even in “death” he was trampled to the point of passing out.”
It made me so sad to read that line where he tells everyone that he purposely forgets when really painful and traumatizing things happen to him because he’d rather remember eating a delicious meat bun from yesterday than the agony of being trampled to death or being poisoned or getting dissolved in acid or falling from a high cliff and breaking every bone in his body. How mentally scarred from PTSD Xie Lian must be. . .and this is only volume 1!!! I’m honestly terrified of what’s in store for future me. I am curious to see, though, how Xie Lian makes the jump from spoiled prince to a god that’s been banished twice and is now reviled as a plague god, bringer of bad luck, and a trash god collecting scraps for a living. It’s gonna break me. But it’s too late. I already love him (and project onto him) too much to quit now.
That’s why I’m really glad he’s got San Lang with him.
Ah, San Lang, Hua Cheng, Crimson Rain Sought Flower, ghost king, exploder of Scorpion-snakes, mysterious bridegroom, wielder of red umbrellas and silver butterflies, unbelievably powerful and extremely cunning, witty, clever, cutting, sarcastic, manipulative, and treacherous.
If you’re a cinnamon bun like Xie Lian who is constantly ridiculed by others, you need a Hua Cheng with you to treat you like the god you literally are and worship the ground you walk on. I love how vindictive he is. He remembers every slight and rude comment to Xie Lian and then proceeds to ruin and torture that person in retribution. I love the energy that this brings to the story. It sort of aligns with the grumpy x sunshine trope, but honestly, both Xie Lian and San Lang are constantly orbiting with eyes only on each other, and everyone else who gets in the way is immediately on the tail-end of both their ire and exasperation. I love it I love it I love it.
When they were in the sinner pit and hundreds of scorpion snakes started raining down on everyone and they bowed to San Lang and his might. . . yeah that was hot. It’s too bad that wasn’t animated in the Donghua! I’ve gotta say, I’m really excited to see Hua Cheng in his true form and in his element in the ghost city. It’s about time we get away from the brutal underhand dealings of the Heavenly Realm. I’m so sick of the good-for-nothing trash in the Upper Court (San Lang’s words, not mine, but absolutely true). I want to see the chaotic and rowdy underbelly of TGCF’s underworld equivalent!
And lastly, I’ve already been spoiled as to who Nan Feng and Fu Yao are. So I’ll say now with 85% certainty that my opinion of Fu Yao won’t change despite what’s gonna come in the next 7 novels. I friggin despise Fu Yao, aka Mu Qing. Seriously that guy, every single time he’s in a scene, he’s just so smug and petty and judgemental. It makes me want to scream. I get that he’s got a pride complex a mile wide because he grew up poor and as a servant to Xie Lian when he was the Crown Prince. But good lord that dude needs to take a whole bottle of chill pills and shut the f up. I hate that he treats Xie Lian like dirt. I hate that he gets all smug when he sees that Xie Lian is struggling or hurt. The only thing going for him now in my book is that he has the most hilarious banter with Nan Feng, aka Feng Xin. And that he’s always in the prime spot to get dragged by San Lang. But that’s about it. I just hate him.
All in all, I loved the hell out of this book and I’m sad I never read it sooner, especially when I watched the Donghua and fell in love with the characters there. I am very glad to be getting out of the Banyue arc. Seriously, for the longest time, we kept getting that arc over and over and over again with the fan translation, the Donghua, the manhua, and then the official translation. So excited to see what’s in store with vol 2!
Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
5.0
AHHH this book was amazing. A billion times better than the first one. Seriously, I inhaled the chapters in this like a starved man seeing bread for the first time.
First of all, I want to comment on how much MXTX has layered Xie Lian’s character in book 2. It is unbelievably hard to get an immortal character right, and this. . . MXTX is a genius. I was so shocked reading. It’s insane how much Xie Lian comes off as innocent and naive once we transition into his past in the last tenth of the novel. The difference between past Xie Lian and present Xie Lian is so striking, but there’s still this undercurrent of familiarity there. An 800-year gap is a huge timeline to draw on, but the parallels are still there. Even as a 17-year-old, Xie Lian was still compassionate, selfless, and always trying to shoulder everyone’s problems as he does in the present. He’s just a lot more pampered, naive, and ignorant about the world.
And I love the way that comes across. It’s still irrevocably Xie Lian. . . but definitely a 17-year-old version rather than an 800-year-old one. And I think this kind of character-writing is extremely daunting and difficult for writers to get right. I actually can’t think of another fictional character this old that actually feels real. MXTX is beyond belief.
The dynamism between the first 75% and then the last 25% was so fun to read. Starting out, we’re seeing Xie Lian at his lowest. At his literal breaking point ignited by Qi Rong and all that chaos. We see a Xie Lian that has spent his whole life trying to take on the burdens of others, to step in to solve everyone else’s problems, only to realize that every. single. time. he ends up making the situation worse and bringing misfortune down on the people he’s tried to save. That is beyond heartbreaking. Seriously. I love this cinnamon roll man who has the biggest heart and the most selfless soul and suffers beyond belief for it. And then like the literal swing of a sword, we brought immediately into the past. Now here’s a Xie Lian who is confident and self-assured, compassionate, and full of energy. He’s naive about the world and the people around him, but he still wants to solve the world’s problems. He wants a kind of justice in the world that defies gods, humans, and ghosts. And it’s insane to see how different that philosophy is from 800-year-old Xie Lian who has seen the world, lived in it among the rabble, and suffered for it. 800-year-old Xie Lian is embarrassed that he ever thought he could save the common people, be the one god in the world to make it and bring about that kind of change.
Building off that, I love the parallels that are hidden between past and present. In the past: Xie Lian catching Hua Cheng and holding him during a fight, them travelling with an ox cart, and the red pearl earring. In the present: Hua Cheng catching Xie Lian and holding him during a fight, them travelling on an ox cart, and Hua Cheng wearing the pearl in his hair. I adore the continuity of it all. MXTX is, once again, a friggin genius of the highest level.
There are a few philosophical questions that this novel raises, and I’m excited to see the way they are drawn out and layered in the next few novels. First, the difference between obsession and devotion. Qi Rong (I actually kinda like his character by the way, for anyone wondering) is obsessed with Xie Lian in the past. He adores his cousin, defends him at every turn, and sees no wrong in Xie Lian. Therein lies the issue. Obsession doesn’t leave room for imperfections and flaws. I know the rest of these novels are going to rip my heart to shreds about this. . . but I welcome the pain. Because I know that when Xie Lian returns to save his people, they’re going to turn on him and demand to know why he wasn’t perfect enough to keep them all safe.
They and Qi Rong will burn his temples and desecrate his statues, spit on him, and call him the laughingstock of the three realms because their obsession blinded them to the simple fact that is brought up by Guoshi at the very end of the novel: when humans ascend, they are still human. . . when they fall, they are still human. Xie Lian might have ascended to godhood, but he was and still is human. He makes mistakes and has flaws. By putting him on a pedestal, the people and Qi Rong couldn’t see past their idolization of Xie Lian. They felt personally aggrieved by any mistakes Xie Lian made.
It reminds me a lot of the kinds of debilitating effects of parasocial relationships we see in our modern world. The way our society looks at celebrities, politicians, and athletes is the same way that the people of Xianle looked at Xie Lian. It’s all blind worship and obsession without the thought that all those people are humans just like the rest of us. Not only do those people make mistakes, but they have the same hopes, fears, and thoughts that the rest of us commoners do. They aren’t better than us or higher than us. They’re just people. It really brings into focus how much of a clown show the Heavenly Realm is in the first novel. The Officials aren’t concerned with anything unless there’s a chance to gossip about it or see something dramatic happen.
On the other hand, devotion is something so pure. Because it acknowledges that the other party is human, and so, is flawed. Despite those imperfections, the love and the appreciation are there and can withstand the tempests of trials and tribulations. That’s why I can’t understand the hate Hua Cheng receives from the fandom or the idea that his only purpose is to trail Xie Lian to the ends of the Earth. I may not have read this novel to the end, but I can see that MXTX is setting us up to understand a general theme that runs through this novel, MDZS, and SVSSS: there is so much power in having at least someone in your life stay, understand you, and love you alongside all your flaws. Therefore, I can’t see Hua Cheng as a creepy stalker or someone obsessed with Xie Lian. He’s devoted, and there’s a world of a difference there.
I also had to stop and think a lot about the parable the Guoshi brought up about the two men in the desert and the singular cup of water. Feng Xin doesn’t give a crap (obviously), Mu Qing wants to judge every good and bad thing both men have done in life to decide who deserves the cup more, and Xie Lian wants to conjure a second cup of water. Neither of these possibilities occurred to me. I figured you could just “split” the cup in two and give half to each dehydrated man. But maybe that falls in line with Xie Lian. There just isn’t enough water for both men, only one. So how do you even live with the knowledge that you have to betray one or both of those people? It’s so difficult to be a good person. And we can say all we want to about the altruistic deeds we’ve all done in our lives. But how many of us could face this issue of not having enough water and being forced to watch others die because we aren’t powerful enough to fix the issue? It’s marvelous that Xie Lian could spend 800 years of his life failing people (through no fault of his own honestly) but still want to get up each morning and keep saving people. He’s so inspiring. I wish I could be more like Xie Lian.
Breaking away from all the philosophical crap, I simply adore Honghong-er. I love how he immediately latches onto Xie Lian as someone who will defend him despite what others think of him. And they do think a lot with that whole Star of Solitude thing. Nobody even wanted to touch him, and then Xie Lian just kneels down and gives him a hug without hesitation. *wipes tear*
I really do feel so bad for little Hua Cheng. I mean, it would suck to be cursed with extremely horrible luck like Xie Lian, but to be born cursed so that nothing bad ever happens to you but terrible things happen to those around you?? That’s such a harsh life. I’m glad Hua Cheng gets to have something divine and wonderful at the end of this series. Both he and Xie Lian deserve a lifetime of ease, happiness, domesticity at Puqi Shrine, and not a care in the world.
All-in-all, this book was so fun to read. I finished it so quickly. . . too quickly, since the series isn’t actually wrapping up until the end of the year. I’m excited to move onto the next one but also terrified out of my mind because I’m afraid of what’s coming for Xie Lian now that he’s ascended and Xianle’s destruction is just around the corner.
First of all, I want to comment on how much MXTX has layered Xie Lian’s character in book 2. It is unbelievably hard to get an immortal character right, and this. . . MXTX is a genius. I was so shocked reading. It’s insane how much Xie Lian comes off as innocent and naive once we transition into his past in the last tenth of the novel. The difference between past Xie Lian and present Xie Lian is so striking, but there’s still this undercurrent of familiarity there. An 800-year gap is a huge timeline to draw on, but the parallels are still there. Even as a 17-year-old, Xie Lian was still compassionate, selfless, and always trying to shoulder everyone’s problems as he does in the present. He’s just a lot more pampered, naive, and ignorant about the world.
And I love the way that comes across. It’s still irrevocably Xie Lian. . . but definitely a 17-year-old version rather than an 800-year-old one. And I think this kind of character-writing is extremely daunting and difficult for writers to get right. I actually can’t think of another fictional character this old that actually feels real. MXTX is beyond belief.
The dynamism between the first 75% and then the last 25% was so fun to read. Starting out, we’re seeing Xie Lian at his lowest. At his literal breaking point ignited by Qi Rong and all that chaos. We see a Xie Lian that has spent his whole life trying to take on the burdens of others, to step in to solve everyone else’s problems, only to realize that every. single. time. he ends up making the situation worse and bringing misfortune down on the people he’s tried to save. That is beyond heartbreaking. Seriously. I love this cinnamon roll man who has the biggest heart and the most selfless soul and suffers beyond belief for it. And then like the literal swing of a sword, we brought immediately into the past. Now here’s a Xie Lian who is confident and self-assured, compassionate, and full of energy. He’s naive about the world and the people around him, but he still wants to solve the world’s problems. He wants a kind of justice in the world that defies gods, humans, and ghosts. And it’s insane to see how different that philosophy is from 800-year-old Xie Lian who has seen the world, lived in it among the rabble, and suffered for it. 800-year-old Xie Lian is embarrassed that he ever thought he could save the common people, be the one god in the world to make it and bring about that kind of change.
Building off that, I love the parallels that are hidden between past and present. In the past: Xie Lian catching Hua Cheng and holding him during a fight, them travelling with an ox cart, and the red pearl earring. In the present: Hua Cheng catching Xie Lian and holding him during a fight, them travelling on an ox cart, and Hua Cheng wearing the pearl in his hair. I adore the continuity of it all. MXTX is, once again, a friggin genius of the highest level.
There are a few philosophical questions that this novel raises, and I’m excited to see the way they are drawn out and layered in the next few novels. First, the difference between obsession and devotion. Qi Rong (I actually kinda like his character by the way, for anyone wondering) is obsessed with Xie Lian in the past. He adores his cousin, defends him at every turn, and sees no wrong in Xie Lian. Therein lies the issue. Obsession doesn’t leave room for imperfections and flaws. I know the rest of these novels are going to rip my heart to shreds about this. . . but I welcome the pain. Because I know that when Xie Lian returns to save his people, they’re going to turn on him and demand to know why he wasn’t perfect enough to keep them all safe.
They and Qi Rong will burn his temples and desecrate his statues, spit on him, and call him the laughingstock of the three realms because their obsession blinded them to the simple fact that is brought up by Guoshi at the very end of the novel: when humans ascend, they are still human. . . when they fall, they are still human. Xie Lian might have ascended to godhood, but he was and still is human. He makes mistakes and has flaws. By putting him on a pedestal, the people and Qi Rong couldn’t see past their idolization of Xie Lian. They felt personally aggrieved by any mistakes Xie Lian made.
It reminds me a lot of the kinds of debilitating effects of parasocial relationships we see in our modern world. The way our society looks at celebrities, politicians, and athletes is the same way that the people of Xianle looked at Xie Lian. It’s all blind worship and obsession without the thought that all those people are humans just like the rest of us. Not only do those people make mistakes, but they have the same hopes, fears, and thoughts that the rest of us commoners do. They aren’t better than us or higher than us. They’re just people. It really brings into focus how much of a clown show the Heavenly Realm is in the first novel. The Officials aren’t concerned with anything unless there’s a chance to gossip about it or see something dramatic happen.
On the other hand, devotion is something so pure. Because it acknowledges that the other party is human, and so, is flawed. Despite those imperfections, the love and the appreciation are there and can withstand the tempests of trials and tribulations. That’s why I can’t understand the hate Hua Cheng receives from the fandom or the idea that his only purpose is to trail Xie Lian to the ends of the Earth. I may not have read this novel to the end, but I can see that MXTX is setting us up to understand a general theme that runs through this novel, MDZS, and SVSSS: there is so much power in having at least someone in your life stay, understand you, and love you alongside all your flaws. Therefore, I can’t see Hua Cheng as a creepy stalker or someone obsessed with Xie Lian. He’s devoted, and there’s a world of a difference there.
I also had to stop and think a lot about the parable the Guoshi brought up about the two men in the desert and the singular cup of water. Feng Xin doesn’t give a crap (obviously), Mu Qing wants to judge every good and bad thing both men have done in life to decide who deserves the cup more, and Xie Lian wants to conjure a second cup of water. Neither of these possibilities occurred to me. I figured you could just “split” the cup in two and give half to each dehydrated man. But maybe that falls in line with Xie Lian. There just isn’t enough water for both men, only one. So how do you even live with the knowledge that you have to betray one or both of those people? It’s so difficult to be a good person. And we can say all we want to about the altruistic deeds we’ve all done in our lives. But how many of us could face this issue of not having enough water and being forced to watch others die because we aren’t powerful enough to fix the issue? It’s marvelous that Xie Lian could spend 800 years of his life failing people (through no fault of his own honestly) but still want to get up each morning and keep saving people. He’s so inspiring. I wish I could be more like Xie Lian.
Breaking away from all the philosophical crap, I simply adore Honghong-er. I love how he immediately latches onto Xie Lian as someone who will defend him despite what others think of him. And they do think a lot with that whole Star of Solitude thing. Nobody even wanted to touch him, and then Xie Lian just kneels down and gives him a hug without hesitation. *wipes tear*
I really do feel so bad for little Hua Cheng. I mean, it would suck to be cursed with extremely horrible luck like Xie Lian, but to be born cursed so that nothing bad ever happens to you but terrible things happen to those around you?? That’s such a harsh life. I’m glad Hua Cheng gets to have something divine and wonderful at the end of this series. Both he and Xie Lian deserve a lifetime of ease, happiness, domesticity at Puqi Shrine, and not a care in the world.
All-in-all, this book was so fun to read. I finished it so quickly. . . too quickly, since the series isn’t actually wrapping up until the end of the year. I’m excited to move onto the next one but also terrified out of my mind because I’m afraid of what’s coming for Xie Lian now that he’s ascended and Xianle’s destruction is just around the corner.
Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel) Vol. 3 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
4.0
"That beauty exists in this world is, in itself, something to be grateful for."
"In this world, simply doing your best isn’t good enough."
"Young people are like this, unheeding of advice. They won’t believe they can’t walk until they’ve fallen."
So, truthfully, I didn't rate this one as high as the others. It's not that I hated the book, more like I was just terrified to keep reading through part 2. It was incredibly violent, incredibly depressing, and incredibly packed full of exposition. I think I'll have to come back and re-read it again once I've finished the entirety of TGCF so I can appreciate what MXTX is doing in this flashback.
From the outside, the first half of this book is utterly perfect. It spirals deep into a miserable, political upheaval and the start of a war-torn, and plague-ridden world. The fall of Xianle is achingly fast, and it's meant to feel that way as Xie Lian's desperation to save his people and the people of Yong'an heightens. And as we keep reading, that desperation plateaus and then suddenly plummets with Xie Lian's heartbreaking realization that he isn't powerful enough to save even himself, much less the common people.
That scene where he holds up the pagoda with his golden statue was probably one of the most painful things for me to read.
I remember being in full-on tears on my couch when he tells his mom: "Don’t worry, mother. I’m all right. I’m not suffering" as he's literally splintering deep down inside. That feeble little voice in his mind that shouted Save me— actually broke me. Like the angst is beautifully written and geniously done, but it did not feel good at all.
The way the arc starts out slowly in that last part of volume 2 and then just suddenly collapses into chaos in the last few chapters here is simply amazing. I know MXTX didn't write this novel during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, but she certainly dredged up quite a few memories for me about how well the quarantine situation went down for us (spoiler alert: not well at all!). In TGCF, the people started going mad without hope for a cure. And honestly, COVID pushed people too far in the same way. People went a little mad in our world as well.
I'm not one to shy away from gore and violence, especially in books. I was fully aware of the content warnings before jumping into TGCF, but it still shocked me how far MXTX actually goes in this one. There were 3 insanely grotesque scenes that shifted the ground beneath my feet (triggering content ahead):
1. The scene where the man and his baby try to scale the walls of Xianle and then the rope is cut actually sent shivers up my spine. The way that MXTX words it really feels like the last nail getting hammered into the coffin. After that one, there was no going back, and there was no way to stop the subsequent war that followed.
2. The Human Face Disease. Seriously, that outbreak is so kickass and such an awesome world-building aspect of this novel. The disease is absolutely terrifying but it's at the same time. The part where the faces shriek and wail and actually reach out to chew grass tripped me out. The details are so creative and chilling!
3. The Land of the Tender arc. The bit with the lady who had her stomach ripped open and all her insides spilling out... I was shocked. Mouth gaping. Absolutely traumatized.
That Land of the Tender arc was something else. I never thought I'd see the day that sex pollen would be used as an actual plot device in a novel. I was blushing like mad at some of the things the flowers were shouting:"My root, my root can't hold back any longer, it's going to thrust out of the ground!" (literally SWEATING as I type that out...). And with little Hua Cheng trapped in the cave with Xie Lian... I was a little hesitant that MXTX was going to take that a little too far in a way wrong direction, but it was fine! But I took an arrow to the heart when Xie Lian thought that the only way to prevent him from breaking his vow of chastity with a literal aphrodisiac rushing through him was the stab a sword through his stomach. Xie Lian! No!
And then as always, there were some wise words from Guoshi in these chapters. I really like his character, because he seems old and wise beyond belief, but he's also utterly besotted by this 17-year-old crown prince who thinks he can save the world as a newly-ascended god. And I agree with him for the most part about a lot of things. It makes sense that humans who have ascended to godhood have to sacrifice the things that made them mortal: their kingdoms, their families, etc. Because otherwise, the gods would be constantly at war with each other since they all have different stakes in different territories. Being a god doesn't allow you to prioritize your people in the same way a king is expected to. Which is why Xie Lian ends up failing to keep delivering rain to the people of Yong'an once he's swamped with the war, caring for the Human Face Disease patients, and still answering the prayers of his worshippers. He was spread too far trying to fix everyone's problems, and as a god, there are rules that bar him from interfering. Because it wouldn't have worked out anyway.
I don't know if I agree with all of Guoshi's explanation for that. I can see the parts where Xie Lian interfering with fate (i.e. the fall of Xianle) with his divine power would force the universe to eke out more destruction in order to balance it all out. But it kind of tears me apart inside that Guoshi says that putting fault on Xie Lian is kind of useless at this point because the world would've gone better anyway had he never been born or his ancestors never lasted long enough to allow Xie Lian to be born in the first place. I mean, it ties in with the whole idea of Xie Lian being the god of misfortune. But Xie Lian being born as the beginning of the end of life really rubs me the wrong way (in that it's really painful and depressing to think about).
In summary, I am not excited to return to the flashback. By then, Xie Lian will have gone through his first banishment and nothing will go right in his life ever for the next 800 years (*cries*).
But oh my gosh did returning to the present really flip things around for me.
Hua Cheng is the most romantic sonofabitch around. He's wonderful, he's amazing, he's absolutely deserving of his dianxia and so utterly infatuated with Xie Lian that it warmed my cold, dead, Part-2-misery heart. The Mid Autumn festival was so fun to read. It's about time that the other gods in the Heavenly Realm start seeing Xie Lian as the powerful, amazing person he is. I expected his lantern count to be like a thousand or something. Just enough of a number that edges past Jun Wu and pisses him the f off. But then Hua Cheng sent THREE THOUSAND. Absolutely shook. Hualian invented love.
Also, I love how Xie Lian keeps getting thrown into situations where he's forced to dress in women's clothes and then keeps running into Hua Cheng right afterward. Every time. My man can't catch a break. But oh my that underwater kiss scene was glorious.
Poor sheltered cinnamon bun Xie Lian had me rolling on the floor laughing.
Xie Lian: *gets kissed like 5 times in the water*
Xie Lian: *xielian.exe has stopped working*
Xie Lian: *blinking blankly* "I'm hungry"
Big mood. 800 years of repression will absolutely do that to you. And then the icing on the cake is Hua Cheng bringing them back to the Ghost Realm and grabbing onto Xie Lian's ankle to prevent him from running away. And when the ghosts see, they call out to Hua Cheng to ask if he'd like them to hold Xie Lian down while Hua Cheng assaults him. I mean, in retrospect typing that out, it's horrifying. But the scene was so gosh dang funny. I was guffawing the whole time.
And then in true Xie Lian fashion, the embarrassment doesn't end there. It just gets worse! He's accused of being the baby daddy of some fetus spirit in front of all the gods in the Upper Court. And it goes about as well as someone with the worst luck ever would be subject to. Not only is he accused of breaking his chastity vows, but here comes Shi Qingxuan trying to help by saying, "This pure soul? Probably hasn't ever held hands with someone" (Xie Lian has. With Hua Cheng. Many times) "This absolute virgin? Probably hasn't even kissed someone before" (Xie Lian has. With Hua Cheng. Many times). Like it just cracks me up how unfortunate Xie Lian is. His bad luck makes for the best friggin comedy imaginable. I'm just shook that at the end of this scene, Jun Wu brings out a virginity-detecting sword to see whether or not Xie Lian being the dad is actually true. Where the hell did he get that and why??? does he have it in the first place lol.
All-in-all though, this book pulled my heart in so many directions. First, it raised it up by the throat and slapped it back and forth silly. And then it lowered it to the ground, brushed it off, patted it on the head, and made it cry with laughter. I'm still giving it 4 stars simply because I was really afraid to even start it. The last half is definitely 5 stars. And who knows? Maybe when I come back for a re-read, I can appreciate it with more knowledgeable eyes and give it the 5/5 it probably deserves!
"In this world, simply doing your best isn’t good enough."
"Young people are like this, unheeding of advice. They won’t believe they can’t walk until they’ve fallen."
So, truthfully, I didn't rate this one as high as the others. It's not that I hated the book, more like I was just terrified to keep reading through part 2. It was incredibly violent, incredibly depressing, and incredibly packed full of exposition. I think I'll have to come back and re-read it again once I've finished the entirety of TGCF so I can appreciate what MXTX is doing in this flashback.
From the outside, the first half of this book is utterly perfect. It spirals deep into a miserable, political upheaval and the start of a war-torn, and plague-ridden world. The fall of Xianle is achingly fast, and it's meant to feel that way as Xie Lian's desperation to save his people and the people of Yong'an heightens. And as we keep reading, that desperation plateaus and then suddenly plummets with Xie Lian's heartbreaking realization that he isn't powerful enough to save even himself, much less the common people.
That scene where he holds up the pagoda with his golden statue was probably one of the most painful things for me to read.
I remember being in full-on tears on my couch when he tells his mom: "Don’t worry, mother. I’m all right. I’m not suffering" as he's literally splintering deep down inside. That feeble little voice in his mind that shouted Save me— actually broke me. Like the angst is beautifully written and geniously done, but it did not feel good at all.
The way the arc starts out slowly in that last part of volume 2 and then just suddenly collapses into chaos in the last few chapters here is simply amazing. I know MXTX didn't write this novel during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, but she certainly dredged up quite a few memories for me about how well the quarantine situation went down for us (spoiler alert: not well at all!). In TGCF, the people started going mad without hope for a cure. And honestly, COVID pushed people too far in the same way. People went a little mad in our world as well.
I'm not one to shy away from gore and violence, especially in books. I was fully aware of the content warnings before jumping into TGCF, but it still shocked me how far MXTX actually goes in this one. There were 3 insanely grotesque scenes that shifted the ground beneath my feet (triggering content ahead):
1. The scene where the man and his baby try to scale the walls of Xianle and then the rope is cut actually sent shivers up my spine. The way that MXTX words it really feels like the last nail getting hammered into the coffin. After that one, there was no going back, and there was no way to stop the subsequent war that followed.
2. The Human Face Disease. Seriously, that outbreak is so kickass and such an awesome world-building aspect of this novel. The disease is absolutely terrifying but it's
3. The Land of the Tender arc. The bit with the lady who had her stomach ripped open and all her insides spilling out... I was shocked. Mouth gaping. Absolutely traumatized.
That Land of the Tender arc was something else. I never thought I'd see the day that sex pollen would be used as an actual plot device in a novel. I was blushing like mad at some of the things the flowers were shouting:"My root, my root can't hold back any longer, it's going to thrust out of the ground!" (literally SWEATING as I type that out...). And with little Hua Cheng trapped in the cave with Xie Lian... I was a little hesitant that MXTX was going to take that a little too far in a way wrong direction, but it was fine! But I took an arrow to the heart when Xie Lian thought that the only way to prevent him from breaking his vow of chastity with a literal aphrodisiac rushing through him was the stab a sword through his stomach. Xie Lian! No!
And then as always, there were some wise words from Guoshi in these chapters. I really like his character, because he seems old and wise beyond belief, but he's also utterly besotted by this 17-year-old crown prince who thinks he can save the world as a newly-ascended god. And I agree with him for the most part about a lot of things. It makes sense that humans who have ascended to godhood have to sacrifice the things that made them mortal: their kingdoms, their families, etc. Because otherwise, the gods would be constantly at war with each other since they all have different stakes in different territories. Being a god doesn't allow you to prioritize your people in the same way a king is expected to. Which is why Xie Lian ends up failing to keep delivering rain to the people of Yong'an once he's swamped with the war, caring for the Human Face Disease patients, and still answering the prayers of his worshippers. He was spread too far trying to fix everyone's problems, and as a god, there are rules that bar him from interfering. Because it wouldn't have worked out anyway.
I don't know if I agree with all of Guoshi's explanation for that. I can see the parts where Xie Lian interfering with fate (i.e. the fall of Xianle) with his divine power would force the universe to eke out more destruction in order to balance it all out. But it kind of tears me apart inside that Guoshi says that putting fault on Xie Lian is kind of useless at this point because the world would've gone better anyway had he never been born or his ancestors never lasted long enough to allow Xie Lian to be born in the first place. I mean, it ties in with the whole idea of Xie Lian being the god of misfortune. But Xie Lian being born as the beginning of the end of life really rubs me the wrong way (in that it's really painful and depressing to think about).
In summary, I am not excited to return to the flashback. By then, Xie Lian will have gone through his first banishment and nothing will go right in his life ever for the next 800 years (*cries*).
But oh my gosh did returning to the present really flip things around for me.
Hua Cheng is the most romantic sonofabitch around. He's wonderful, he's amazing, he's absolutely deserving of his dianxia and so utterly infatuated with Xie Lian that it warmed my cold, dead, Part-2-misery heart. The Mid Autumn festival was so fun to read. It's about time that the other gods in the Heavenly Realm start seeing Xie Lian as the powerful, amazing person he is. I expected his lantern count to be like a thousand or something. Just enough of a number that edges past Jun Wu and pisses him the f off. But then Hua Cheng sent THREE THOUSAND. Absolutely shook. Hualian invented love.
Also, I love how Xie Lian keeps getting thrown into situations where he's forced to dress in women's clothes and then keeps running into Hua Cheng right afterward. Every time. My man can't catch a break. But oh my that underwater kiss scene was glorious.
Poor sheltered cinnamon bun Xie Lian had me rolling on the floor laughing.
Xie Lian: *gets kissed like 5 times in the water*
Xie Lian: *xielian.exe has stopped working*
Xie Lian: *blinking blankly* "I'm hungry"
Big mood. 800 years of repression will absolutely do that to you. And then the icing on the cake is Hua Cheng bringing them back to the Ghost Realm and grabbing onto Xie Lian's ankle to prevent him from running away. And when the ghosts see, they call out to Hua Cheng to ask if he'd like them to hold Xie Lian down while Hua Cheng assaults him. I mean, in retrospect typing that out, it's horrifying. But the scene was so gosh dang funny. I was guffawing the whole time.
And then in true Xie Lian fashion, the embarrassment doesn't end there. It just gets worse! He's accused of being the baby daddy of some fetus spirit in front of all the gods in the Upper Court. And it goes about as well as someone with the worst luck ever would be subject to. Not only is he accused of breaking his chastity vows, but here comes Shi Qingxuan trying to help by saying, "This pure soul? Probably hasn't ever held hands with someone" (Xie Lian has. With Hua Cheng. Many times) "This absolute virgin? Probably hasn't even kissed someone before" (Xie Lian has. With Hua Cheng. Many times). Like it just cracks me up how unfortunate Xie Lian is. His bad luck makes for the best friggin comedy imaginable. I'm just shook that at the end of this scene, Jun Wu brings out a virginity-detecting sword to see whether or not Xie Lian being the dad is actually true. Where the hell did he get that and why??? does he have it in the first place lol.
All-in-all though, this book pulled my heart in so many directions. First, it raised it up by the throat and slapped it back and forth silly. And then it lowered it to the ground, brushed it off, patted it on the head, and made it cry with laughter. I'm still giving it 4 stars simply because I was really afraid to even start it. The last half is definitely 5 stars. And who knows? Maybe when I come back for a re-read, I can appreciate it with more knowledgeable eyes and give it the 5/5 it probably deserves!
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
5.0
I'm reeling from this book. Wow, that was good. Kicked me right out of a reading slump too. I'm honestly amazed that R.F. Kuang was able to tell a story like this. It's a scathing critique on the publishing industry and online bookish communities like Book Twitter and BookTok. And it's done so well.
First, the cover is a delightful little in-your-face representation of June Hayward. It's a block of yellow, no defining "Asian" features other than a cartoonish set of slanted eyes. All the traits that an absolutely ignorant white person would try to pass off as "Asian" just as she changes her pen name to Juniper Song to pass off as "Asian enough" for people to pick up her book. The real tea is that when you remove the dust jacket, the actual hardcover underneath is all white. I guffawed.
It is extremely uncomfortable sitting in June's head throughout the book. June has all the audacity and delusion of a well-intentioned white person with a lot of internalized racism. Maybe not even well-intentioned. In most of the book, she tries convincing us readers and herself that she stole Athena's manuscript and published it as her own because she wanted to give Athena's voice back to the world. When in actuality, June did it to leech off Athena's success and gain a taste of her success and fame. It's crazy that in the first part of the book, she tells herself that it's fine to publish the book because it's mostly hers anyway, she transcribed it into a Word document, edited it, and padded it up in places. And then by the end of the book, she's fully convinced herself that she actually wrote most of it and Athena was just an inspiration to her.
I was shook at a lot of the internalized racism that June shows in this book:
1. The way she edits Athena's manuscript to take out some places she feels are exhaustive when vilifying the French and British soldiers. And then she adds a British girl that walks through the camps for the Chinese laborers to fawn over and gawk at.
2. Every time she talks to someone of Asian descent, whether it be the guy working at a restaurant in Chinatown or a group of readers at an author event, she just assumes that they probably don't speak English that well. And then she's shocked that they do speak great English or she deliberately slows her speech down and talks extra loud to them like she's coaching a toddler.
3. Every time she brings up the idea that diversity is all the rage in the publishing world, and that if you're a white author, you have to work so much harder to get picked up by a publisher because your story doesn't matter enough now. There have to be boxes checked (aka racism, aka queer).
4. When June eviscerates a 17-year-old's short story out of revenge for that girl talking about the article circulating online about how June probably stole Athena's work and passed it off as her own.
5. The way she judges people who rightfully call her out. Like the girl at the Cambridge event, Adele Sparks-Sato, Candice, the girl she mentors, Diana Qiu, etc. She either insults their appearance or she goes on a whole racist rant about how these women are being racist right back to her, doing it for clout, delusional, and villainous.
6. The way she'll look at a POC and basically think that they're only at the panel or the barcon for diversity points.
June tries to pass herself off as the victim at every turn. She is absolutely despicable, and it's not subtle at all. Your stomach turns on every page. But R.F. Kuang also gives this story a lot of nuance, and that's something a naive author wouldn't be able to do. There are moments when you do feel bad for June.
There's a lot of good mental health rep in this book. June has some pretty serious trauma, and I think R.F. Kuang handles it so well. We get little glimpses of it here and there in the beginning, and then by the middle it spirals into anxiety attacks and delusions, and by the end June's mental and emotional health has rocketed toward mania, hallucinations, paranoia, and a lost grip on reality. I think it's really well done, and honestly, there are moments where I relate to her. That anxiety you feel after you've done something wrong and you're waiting for the hammer to fall. There were so many moments in this book that I started to feel that uncomfortable twist in my stomach too, secondhand anxiety at all the wrong things June has done and at the anticipation of the backlash.
A lot of R.F. Kuang's anxieties about community reception peek through in this book as well. I haven't seen any talk really about the middle of this book from reviewers or people on YouTube and TikTok. I don't know if it just went over their heads, they don't want to talk about it, or maybe I'm just reading into it the wrong way. But I do think there's a critique in here on the sort of drama that erupts and sparks unruly outrage across social media.
Especially if you've ever spent time on Book Twitter, BookTube, or BookTok, you've seen it. There are entire accounts dedicated to "spilling the tea" or going over bookish drama. Most people who use these platforms are cool. But there are a lot of rollercoaster moments of pure and unadulterated outrage where one account calls something out, and then there's just a dogpile of outrage in the kind of mob mentality that's disgusting and terrifying. I'm all for calling out problematic behavior and expecting change, but when it gets to the point that it eventually does in this book (i.e. death threats, i.e. threatening to find June's location and beat her, i.e. harassment, i.e. plaguing her with edited photos of her dead friend/acquaintance Athena as a stretch-faced demon). June is honestly correct to say that a lot of drama on Twitter is utter bullshit. People find something to go crazy about, but then a week later the outrage has boiled over and instead turned on something new. Sometimes there is good change. Sometimes there are cases when such a mobbed force is required against a creator who really is harmful, but other times it really is just a punishment to call out problematic behavior and then other accounts make all sorts of abusive comments that drive a creator into deactivating their social media for a time. I do agree that some social media accounts these days just want to see drama. They want to see creators be eviscerated. They seek out moments when people are problematic because this kind of content gains followers and attention. Sometimes it is about educating the community on someone that shouldn't be getting praise for problematic behavior. Other times it is just about watching the mob descend on someone.
I found myself terrified a bit of the whole process of publication. After your book has gone out, the world can do and say whatever they want to about your creative expression. If they want to tear it apart, there's no stopping it. And often, rather than calling out problematic moments and giving creators the space and time to educate themselves and then start the process for change, people would rather have those creators spiral to depression under threat and bullying. Again, it becomes a punishment rather than a way to educate. And that is not only terrifying, but it's also kind of turned away the part of me that has always wanted to write and publish books. Maybe I'll just stick to fanfiction.
I do think this book starts this question but also doesn't necessarily answer it for you: Can white authors write stories about marginalized communities? And the answer in this book at least is clear in the case of June. Because June doesn't publish the book out of the desire to make the world aware of a forgotten part of history (the involvement of Chinese laborers in World War I). She does it for the fame that the book promises. And while you could argue that she does educate herself later, she does read all of the sources in Athena's bibliography, she does research about Chinese naming conventions, and she also does try her hand at learning Chinese. None of it, however, was out of a true desire to learn. It was all done so she could save face during Q&As and interviews that would call out her ignorance. And she is highly defensive about hiring a sensitivity reader to scope out the moments in her book that show internalized racism. I think R.F. Kuang builds upon this question deeper, though, and exposes a conversation that I still think we probably aren't ready to have. And that is: At what point are you marginalized enough to write stories about your ancestry, and at what point are you too far removed from that cultural history? Because while Athena wrote visceral accounts of her family, she never actually had to deal with the same oppression. She couldn't speak Chinese. And she didn't only write stories about Chinese ancestry. She won awards for publishing stories from Korean veterans without giving credit to them. Was she the right person to tell that narrative? Was she the right person to write about the outrage of racism and oppression experienced by her parents and their parents when Athena only ever lived in America?
Again, it's an entirely nuanced conversation to have. How do we judge who has the right to tell the stories they want to tell? And again, the questions aren't answered bold-faced on the page. I'm still not sure of the answers, but one thing is marked in both questions. And that is that the intention behind the writing matters.
Last, this book is also a scathing critique of the publishing world. I think this book would actually hit harder for people who work in publishing. There were so many eye-opening moments that have also turned away the part of me that wants to write and publish books:
1. The showboating and jealousy over other authors' advances and success. Instead of being genuinely happy for others, a lot of these authors just gossip behind each others' backs.
2. The idea that publishers turn away most of the work from POC because they've already published a work from a marginalized voice for the year and it would be too formulaic to do another. Also, the idea that they only bring on one POC to be their token diverse representation and turn away other authors because they already have the one token POC.
3. The way some books are marked immediately as bestsellers and get all the resources toward marketing and advertisement, reviews, interviews, tours, signings, awards, etc. I mean, it makes sense from a profit standpoint, but it's really just shitty.
4. That POC are pigeon-holed into one thing. I'm talking about the fact that Athena was always expected by her publisher to write historical Asian trauma porn. She couldn't branch off and do something else. It had to be "asian" and it had to be tragic.
All in all, I loved this satire so much. I definitely think a lot of this love stems from the fact that these are recognizable conversations from online bookish spaces. A lot of this information wasn't necessarily new to me, but it's packaged in a way that makes all this conversation more visceral and horrifying. I think people who are in the know about publishing will appreciate this book more than someone who has probably just entered this space. I'm definitely planning to re-read this one to see what new things will pop out at me. And I want to pick up R.F. Kuang's other work. Technically this is and isn't my first Kuang book. I've read a good chunk of both The Poppy War and Babel and honestly loved what I read of both, I just wasn't at a place in my life where I could finish either. But I definitely want to read all of R.F. Kuang's work all the way through because this novel was just brilliant! And I'm also so excited for what she has in store for us in the future.
First, the cover is a delightful little in-your-face representation of June Hayward. It's a block of yellow, no defining "Asian" features other than a cartoonish set of slanted eyes. All the traits that an absolutely ignorant white person would try to pass off as "Asian" just as she changes her pen name to Juniper Song to pass off as "Asian enough" for people to pick up her book. The real tea is that when you remove the dust jacket, the actual hardcover underneath is all white. I guffawed.
It is extremely uncomfortable sitting in June's head throughout the book. June has all the audacity and delusion of a well-intentioned white person with a lot of internalized racism. Maybe not even well-intentioned. In most of the book, she tries convincing us readers and herself that she stole Athena's manuscript and published it as her own because she wanted to give Athena's voice back to the world. When in actuality, June did it to leech off Athena's success and gain a taste of her success and fame. It's crazy that in the first part of the book, she tells herself that it's fine to publish the book because it's mostly hers anyway, she transcribed it into a Word document, edited it, and padded it up in places. And then by the end of the book, she's fully convinced herself that she actually wrote most of it and Athena was just an inspiration to her.
I was shook at a lot of the internalized racism that June shows in this book:
1. The way she edits Athena's manuscript to take out some places she feels are exhaustive when vilifying the French and British soldiers. And then she adds a British girl that walks through the camps for the Chinese laborers to fawn over and gawk at.
2. Every time she talks to someone of Asian descent, whether it be the guy working at a restaurant in Chinatown or a group of readers at an author event, she just assumes that they probably don't speak English that well. And then she's shocked that they do speak great English or she deliberately slows her speech down and talks extra loud to them like she's coaching a toddler.
3. Every time she brings up the idea that diversity is all the rage in the publishing world, and that if you're a white author, you have to work so much harder to get picked up by a publisher because your story doesn't matter enough now. There have to be boxes checked (aka racism, aka queer).
4. When June eviscerates a 17-year-old's short story out of revenge for that girl talking about the article circulating online about how June probably stole Athena's work and passed it off as her own.
5. The way she judges people who rightfully call her out. Like the girl at the Cambridge event, Adele Sparks-Sato, Candice, the girl she mentors, Diana Qiu, etc. She either insults their appearance or she goes on a whole racist rant about how these women are being racist right back to her, doing it for clout, delusional, and villainous.
6. The way she'll look at a POC and basically think that they're only at the panel or the barcon for diversity points.
June tries to pass herself off as the victim at every turn. She is absolutely despicable, and it's not subtle at all. Your stomach turns on every page. But R.F. Kuang also gives this story a lot of nuance, and that's something a naive author wouldn't be able to do. There are moments when you do feel bad for June.
There's a lot of good mental health rep in this book. June has some pretty serious trauma, and I think R.F. Kuang handles it so well. We get little glimpses of it here and there in the beginning, and then by the middle it spirals into anxiety attacks and delusions, and by the end June's mental and emotional health has rocketed toward mania, hallucinations, paranoia, and a lost grip on reality. I think it's really well done, and honestly, there are moments where I relate to her. That anxiety you feel after you've done something wrong and you're waiting for the hammer to fall. There were so many moments in this book that I started to feel that uncomfortable twist in my stomach too, secondhand anxiety at all the wrong things June has done and at the anticipation of the backlash.
A lot of R.F. Kuang's anxieties about community reception peek through in this book as well. I haven't seen any talk really about the middle of this book from reviewers or people on YouTube and TikTok. I don't know if it just went over their heads, they don't want to talk about it, or maybe I'm just reading into it the wrong way. But I do think there's a critique in here on the sort of drama that erupts and sparks unruly outrage across social media.
Especially if you've ever spent time on Book Twitter, BookTube, or BookTok, you've seen it. There are entire accounts dedicated to "spilling the tea" or going over bookish drama. Most people who use these platforms are cool. But there are a lot of rollercoaster moments of pure and unadulterated outrage where one account calls something out, and then there's just a dogpile of outrage in the kind of mob mentality that's disgusting and terrifying. I'm all for calling out problematic behavior and expecting change, but when it gets to the point that it eventually does in this book (i.e. death threats, i.e. threatening to find June's location and beat her, i.e. harassment, i.e. plaguing her with edited photos of her dead friend/acquaintance Athena as a stretch-faced demon). June is honestly correct to say that a lot of drama on Twitter is utter bullshit. People find something to go crazy about, but then a week later the outrage has boiled over and instead turned on something new. Sometimes there is good change. Sometimes there are cases when such a mobbed force is required against a creator who really is harmful, but other times it really is just a punishment to call out problematic behavior and then other accounts make all sorts of abusive comments that drive a creator into deactivating their social media for a time. I do agree that some social media accounts these days just want to see drama. They want to see creators be eviscerated. They seek out moments when people are problematic because this kind of content gains followers and attention. Sometimes it is about educating the community on someone that shouldn't be getting praise for problematic behavior. Other times it is just about watching the mob descend on someone.
I found myself terrified a bit of the whole process of publication. After your book has gone out, the world can do and say whatever they want to about your creative expression. If they want to tear it apart, there's no stopping it. And often, rather than calling out problematic moments and giving creators the space and time to educate themselves and then start the process for change, people would rather have those creators spiral to depression under threat and bullying. Again, it becomes a punishment rather than a way to educate. And that is not only terrifying, but it's also kind of turned away the part of me that has always wanted to write and publish books. Maybe I'll just stick to fanfiction.
I do think this book starts this question but also doesn't necessarily answer it for you: Can white authors write stories about marginalized communities? And the answer in this book at least is clear in the case of June. Because June doesn't publish the book out of the desire to make the world aware of a forgotten part of history (the involvement of Chinese laborers in World War I). She does it for the fame that the book promises. And while you could argue that she does educate herself later, she does read all of the sources in Athena's bibliography, she does research about Chinese naming conventions, and she also does try her hand at learning Chinese. None of it, however, was out of a true desire to learn. It was all done so she could save face during Q&As and interviews that would call out her ignorance. And she is highly defensive about hiring a sensitivity reader to scope out the moments in her book that show internalized racism. I think R.F. Kuang builds upon this question deeper, though, and exposes a conversation that I still think we probably aren't ready to have. And that is: At what point are you marginalized enough to write stories about your ancestry, and at what point are you too far removed from that cultural history? Because while Athena wrote visceral accounts of her family, she never actually had to deal with the same oppression. She couldn't speak Chinese. And she didn't only write stories about Chinese ancestry. She won awards for publishing stories from Korean veterans without giving credit to them. Was she the right person to tell that narrative? Was she the right person to write about the outrage of racism and oppression experienced by her parents and their parents when Athena only ever lived in America?
Again, it's an entirely nuanced conversation to have. How do we judge who has the right to tell the stories they want to tell? And again, the questions aren't answered bold-faced on the page. I'm still not sure of the answers, but one thing is marked in both questions. And that is that the intention behind the writing matters.
Last, this book is also a scathing critique of the publishing world. I think this book would actually hit harder for people who work in publishing. There were so many eye-opening moments that have also turned away the part of me that wants to write and publish books:
1. The showboating and jealousy over other authors' advances and success. Instead of being genuinely happy for others, a lot of these authors just gossip behind each others' backs.
2. The idea that publishers turn away most of the work from POC because they've already published a work from a marginalized voice for the year and it would be too formulaic to do another. Also, the idea that they only bring on one POC to be their token diverse representation and turn away other authors because they already have the one token POC.
3. The way some books are marked immediately as bestsellers and get all the resources toward marketing and advertisement, reviews, interviews, tours, signings, awards, etc. I mean, it makes sense from a profit standpoint, but it's really just shitty.
4. That POC are pigeon-holed into one thing. I'm talking about the fact that Athena was always expected by her publisher to write historical Asian trauma porn. She couldn't branch off and do something else. It had to be "asian" and it had to be tragic.
All in all, I loved this satire so much. I definitely think a lot of this love stems from the fact that these are recognizable conversations from online bookish spaces. A lot of this information wasn't necessarily new to me, but it's packaged in a way that makes all this conversation more visceral and horrifying. I think people who are in the know about publishing will appreciate this book more than someone who has probably just entered this space. I'm definitely planning to re-read this one to see what new things will pop out at me. And I want to pick up R.F. Kuang's other work. Technically this is and isn't my first Kuang book. I've read a good chunk of both The Poppy War and Babel and honestly loved what I read of both, I just wasn't at a place in my life where I could finish either. But I definitely want to read all of R.F. Kuang's work all the way through because this novel was just brilliant! And I'm also so excited for what she has in store for us in the future.
Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
4.0
I'm not quite sure how I feel about this book, and in fact, I'm a bit unsure I even know what I've read. Don't get me wrong, this story is unbelievably gorgeous. I've never read anything like Deathless before. Every sentence was crafted to absolute perfection, rife with metaphor and imagery that really smashes you over the head like a hammer. And I'm not even lying that every sentence you read in this book has the power to strip layers of your soul from your body one by one. Again, I'm not even sure how to explain what I'm feeling. It's difficult to put into words. I was attracted to the poetic language of this story, the way every sentence flowed like the smoothest music. And yet, every word in Deathless was as brittle as shattered glass.
This isn't a novel that you can say you related to the characters or what was happening in the story. First of all, there isn't really 'story'. Just layers upon layers upon layers of things that happen to our main character and you're just kind of sucked into a world that changes as freely and mischievously as the weather does. Second of all, the characters aren't rounded in the way you would expect. Yes, there is growth. Characters age in this story and have plenty of experiences to shove under their belts to signify that they have grown since Point A and now they are utterly different. But at the same time, the characters still feel like apparitions of characters. Copies of characters that were once alive. Makes no sense, right? It makes sense when your read this book, and you'll realize how unbelievably freaking brilliant the author is to make such an ingenious and clever decision with her characters. I've never read a book where the author is so entirely aware of what is happening at every moment of the story. There are so many layers that are compiled in the pages of Deathless, and I'm left staggering in awe and wonder that Valente has managed to keep this fierce and wild project under perfect control.
Now back to the whole 'this-shouldn't-be-a-book-you-relate-to-thing'. Little friendly warning that this book is unapologetic. That is the best way to describe it. Unapologetic. Unapologetic sex. Unapologetic violence. Unapologetic abuse. Unapologetic pleasure. Unapologetic pain and depression and ecstasy and joy. Characters seek pain and pleasure. They deal out pain and pleasure like a dealer distributes cards at the gambling table. There is so much death, too. Characters try to claw their way into your heart and then they disappear and then they reappear again, but by then they are changed, and you don't trust their intentions. You don't trust anything in this story. That's probably the best way to describe how one should read this book- warily.
You will never understand Deathless in its entirety. It's too surreal for that. You just get tugged along in this strange tapestry of a story. You wander in circles and never get back to where you started. You wouldn't be able to describe what happens, what the plot is, and who the characters are if someone asks you about this book. In fact, if you think about it too long, you'll spend your whole life blinking disconnectedly into space because there is no way to truly give this story words. So when you read, just let the author tug you along into a strange world rife with death, richness, pain, joy, sex, fear, agony, and pleasure.
I gave Deathless four stars because of four things:
1) the poetic, lush, richly layered writing style
2) its ability to surprise me at every turn. Every time I thought I could guess what might happen, a phrase or plot element would arise and completely turn the story- and me- on our heads
3) the way it took me out of reality: every time I would read even a page or two and then have to set the book down to deal with life, I found myself in this state of melancholy disassociation. Like my whole life was a spinning record, endlessly spinning and moving on just like life moves on despite a simple breath, a blink of the eyes, and the cells in your body dying one by one by one, and yet I'm just watching myself live from afar. So strange.
4) that it changed me in ways that I couldn't possibly describe
This isn't a novel that you can say you related to the characters or what was happening in the story. First of all, there isn't really 'story'. Just layers upon layers upon layers of things that happen to our main character and you're just kind of sucked into a world that changes as freely and mischievously as the weather does. Second of all, the characters aren't rounded in the way you would expect. Yes, there is growth. Characters age in this story and have plenty of experiences to shove under their belts to signify that they have grown since Point A and now they are utterly different. But at the same time, the characters still feel like apparitions of characters. Copies of characters that were once alive. Makes no sense, right? It makes sense when your read this book, and you'll realize how unbelievably freaking brilliant the author is to make such an ingenious and clever decision with her characters. I've never read a book where the author is so entirely aware of what is happening at every moment of the story. There are so many layers that are compiled in the pages of Deathless, and I'm left staggering in awe and wonder that Valente has managed to keep this fierce and wild project under perfect control.
Now back to the whole 'this-shouldn't-be-a-book-you-relate-to-thing'. Little friendly warning that this book is unapologetic. That is the best way to describe it. Unapologetic. Unapologetic sex. Unapologetic violence. Unapologetic abuse. Unapologetic pleasure. Unapologetic pain and depression and ecstasy and joy. Characters seek pain and pleasure. They deal out pain and pleasure like a dealer distributes cards at the gambling table. There is so much death, too. Characters try to claw their way into your heart and then they disappear and then they reappear again, but by then they are changed, and you don't trust their intentions. You don't trust anything in this story. That's probably the best way to describe how one should read this book- warily.
You will never understand Deathless in its entirety. It's too surreal for that. You just get tugged along in this strange tapestry of a story. You wander in circles and never get back to where you started. You wouldn't be able to describe what happens, what the plot is, and who the characters are if someone asks you about this book. In fact, if you think about it too long, you'll spend your whole life blinking disconnectedly into space because there is no way to truly give this story words. So when you read, just let the author tug you along into a strange world rife with death, richness, pain, joy, sex, fear, agony, and pleasure.
I gave Deathless four stars because of four things:
1) the poetic, lush, richly layered writing style
2) its ability to surprise me at every turn. Every time I thought I could guess what might happen, a phrase or plot element would arise and completely turn the story- and me- on our heads
3) the way it took me out of reality: every time I would read even a page or two and then have to set the book down to deal with life, I found myself in this state of melancholy disassociation. Like my whole life was a spinning record, endlessly spinning and moving on just like life moves on despite a simple breath, a blink of the eyes, and the cells in your body dying one by one by one, and yet I'm just watching myself live from afar. So strange.
4) that it changed me in ways that I couldn't possibly describe
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
4.0
So it took me way more time to finish this one than it did Uprooted, and for a while, I kept wondering if it would be a DNF book for me. It wasn't that it was boring. My heart just wasn't in it for a while, and I kept going through periods of time where I could knock out 100 pages in one sitting and times when I could barely get through 2 pages. There were moments when I marveled at how beautifully the book is written and times where I just couldn't get through another description of one of the towns or the winter or some back story.
That's not to say that this book was awful, because now that I look back on it, I actually really enjoyed it almost all of the time. My favorite characters are Miryem and Irina. Miryem, because I wish I was as clever and unapologetic as her. Irina, because she starts out as an unassuming and meek character and then grows throughout the novel to become strong and inspiring.
I love many of the descriptions in the book, especially those of the winter kingdom and the people there. Novik creates an astounding culture that is entirely different than those in Uprooted,and I was dying to learn more about. I loved that the Staryk actually appear to be "made of ice" and I really want an interpreted illustration to see how others imagined their ice skin that melts and frosts according to health, their white hair and clothes, and the mountain palace they live in.
I think it's absolutely phenomenal that Naomi Novik created an entirely different novel than Uprooted with an entirely different world governed by an entirely different set of magical rules. This book definitely read more like a fairy tale retelling than Uprooted did, and I love that Novik just took the story of Rumpelstiltskin and absolutely freaking RAN with it. We got a novel brimming to the rim with beautiful details of the characters' cultures, magic, background, and relationships. I find it fascinating how much she drew in elements like 'debt' and 'payment' and 'lending' and 'promises' to a level I couldn't even imagine to exist. Everything in Spinning Silver revolved around debts and repaying them, and Naomi Novik did SUCH A GREAT JOB tying these themes and elements in, weaving them into the story in such a way that they didn't seem tedious or repetitive. Just a way of life for these people.
I was grateful that Naomi Novik also created a Jewish character that became one of the novel's leading protagonists. I don't read many books at all that draw upon the Jewish culture in a way that reads smooth rather than stuck there for diversity points and rough with quick internet search. The Jewish culture and way of life was layered so seamlessly into the book.
I would've loved to have more romance, but I quite like the way the ending leaves us hopeful yet satisfied, the way most fairy tales do. The wrapped-up ending just read so 'fairy tale-esque' and reminded me of how much I missed reading novels that are based off of fairy tales. Uprooted can be considered a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, but it was more of a stand-alone fantasy with elements of hate-to-love that Beauty and the Beast is famous for having. Spinning Silver is definitely a Rumpelstiltskin-type fairy tale, but again, Naomi Novik pretty much took the general structure of the tale and then wove a full tapestry, colored, and layered over, and thick with details and rich culture and timeless magic that is breathtaking and wonderful.
This novel was magical to read, and even though it took a while, I'm glad to have spent so much time in a world that is as beautiful as it is strict and unforgiving, just like winter and paying what's owed.
That's not to say that this book was awful, because now that I look back on it, I actually really enjoyed it almost all of the time. My favorite characters are Miryem and Irina. Miryem, because I wish I was as clever and unapologetic as her. Irina, because she starts out as an unassuming and meek character and then grows throughout the novel to become strong and inspiring.
I love many of the descriptions in the book, especially those of the winter kingdom and the people there. Novik creates an astounding culture that is entirely different than those in Uprooted,and I was dying to learn more about. I loved that the Staryk actually appear to be "made of ice" and I really want an interpreted illustration to see how others imagined their ice skin that melts and frosts according to health, their white hair and clothes, and the mountain palace they live in.
I think it's absolutely phenomenal that Naomi Novik created an entirely different novel than Uprooted with an entirely different world governed by an entirely different set of magical rules. This book definitely read more like a fairy tale retelling than Uprooted did, and I love that Novik just took the story of Rumpelstiltskin and absolutely freaking RAN with it. We got a novel brimming to the rim with beautiful details of the characters' cultures, magic, background, and relationships. I find it fascinating how much she drew in elements like 'debt' and 'payment' and 'lending' and 'promises' to a level I couldn't even imagine to exist. Everything in Spinning Silver revolved around debts and repaying them, and Naomi Novik did SUCH A GREAT JOB tying these themes and elements in, weaving them into the story in such a way that they didn't seem tedious or repetitive. Just a way of life for these people.
I was grateful that Naomi Novik also created a Jewish character that became one of the novel's leading protagonists. I don't read many books at all that draw upon the Jewish culture in a way that reads smooth rather than stuck there for diversity points and rough with quick internet search. The Jewish culture and way of life was layered so seamlessly into the book.
I would've loved to have more romance, but I quite like the way the ending leaves us hopeful yet satisfied, the way most fairy tales do. The wrapped-up ending just read so 'fairy tale-esque' and reminded me of how much I missed reading novels that are based off of fairy tales. Uprooted can be considered a re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, but it was more of a stand-alone fantasy with elements of hate-to-love that Beauty and the Beast is famous for having. Spinning Silver is definitely a Rumpelstiltskin-type fairy tale, but again, Naomi Novik pretty much took the general structure of the tale and then wove a full tapestry, colored, and layered over, and thick with details and rich culture and timeless magic that is breathtaking and wonderful.
This novel was magical to read, and even though it took a while, I'm glad to have spent so much time in a world that is as beautiful as it is strict and unforgiving, just like winter and paying what's owed.