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kappafrog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Cons: The plot was really meandering. There was a lot of time spent with Li Lan wandering around aimlessly, and while it showed off the cool worldbuilding, it left her motivations often muddled. She was a very weepy character which was all right but sometimes got a bit repitive. It was sometimes frustrating as a reader how big the disconnect was between what she was thinking and how she acted - she was often very passive in her conversations compared to what she was thinking. It wasn't unrealistic, but it did make her grate on me a bit. I was also never fully sold on Er Lang as a love interest. He was quite misogynistic and while this is true of most of the male characters in the book, which is appropriate to their place and time, it didn't make him seem that appealing.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
sarahb919's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Self harm, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
legs_n_chins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I hoped I would enjoy this more. The world building was fascinating and I loved all the descriptions of the world of the dead and the Chinese folklore woven throughout. The parts in the world of the dead were certainly my favorite, and I think the most successful parts of the book when it came to the mystery and tense situations. The build up to that, I thought, was also very good, setting the stage well and teasing a lot of the world of the dead without giving everything away. But the final part of the book just didn’t capture me. The climax was surprisingly underwhelming and everything after that just felt like it dragged. I guess there were sort of two climaxes to tie up the two ends of the two plot lines that were introduced, but neither of them really felt like they lived up to what I had been hoping for.
Overall, I liked the characters. Though, mostly the secondary characters. Li Lan as a main character was perfectly serviceable, I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t like her as much as, say, Old Wong or even Yan Hong. I understand a lot of her actions were dictated by the context of her being young and sheltered and lacking a lot of worldly experience, but sometimes I just felt like she lapsed back into total helplessness. Most of her choices made sense, but some of them still felt like they were stupider than they should have been, even considering that she’s working with a serious lack of information and youthful impulsivity. I didn’t find it onerous to read from her perspective, but she did frustrate me sometimes.
I appreciated learning more about Chinese culture and folklore through this book, though. The author was clearly aware that some of her audience wouldn’t have a lot of familiarity with the culture and really aimed for clarity. (Sometimes it did take me out of the story when she would define the Chinese words. I don’t speak any Chinese, so it was welcome, but it still was like a sort of record scratch in the middle of a sentence.) My experience with Chinese tradition surrounding death is mainly regarding funeral offerings and a little vague understanding of the afterlife, so I liked learning more about that through this story.
I don’t know if I’ll pursue other books by this author, but for the most part I did enjoy reading this. It was definitely a uniquely Chinese story and that’s a lot of what I’m looking for these days.
Graphic: Death, Drug use, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
tahsintries's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Suicide, and Abortion
rafacolog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, and Murder
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
claudiatralenuvole's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Più superficiale invece la parte di indagine che riguarda l'omicidio e la corruzione dei funzionari dell'Aldilà, avrei voluto che la protagonista si concentrasse su quello invece di vagare per i fatti suoi e lasciare che le cose le accadessero. E gli innamoramenti sono stati troppi e troppo repentini (capisco la giovane età e l'inesperienza della protagonista ma così è troppo) per cui il finale mi ha lasciata abbastanza basita e insoddisfatta.
In generale la lettura è stata ok, con un focus forse diverso da quello che avrei voluto, ma mi ha dato comunque l'occasione di imparare qualcosa in più sul mondo dei morti concepito da una cultura diversa.
Minor: Murder
coryyalva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Nonetheless, I do recommend everyone read this book, especially women. This book was a deeply beautiful example of what it feels like to be a woman, the pressure that is put onto women, and it is a great reminder, in the midst of the story, that women have gone through so much to get where they are today.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Misogyny and Violence
Minor: Abortion and Murder
readandplaydk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Suicide
lectora21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, and Death of parent
Minor: Infertility, Abortion, and Murder