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mysimas's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is a romance about as much as Romeo and Juliet is a romance: not very. Man sees woman, woman sees man, they like what they see, and they keep exchanging heated looks for like a week every year for three years because that’s the only occasion they can see each other. They risk their lives for this, and their ‘affair’ does in fact cost an innocent life.
So at first I thought, damn, it sure is stupid to so obsessively lust after someone after such sparse interactions, with no promise of more interactions and under such a great risk to boot. But then I thought some more, and. This man leads a life on autopilot, devoid of any real engagement or interest. That is, until this woman ‘on the end of the world’ that’s unattainable for him catches his eye and suddenly, he feels something. Ultimately that’s all that matters in life, isn’t it. To feel something.
And he could’ve felt with his wife, had he pulled his head out of his ass. She knew how to do it for him, and she was willing to. Right? Is that the point of the letter at the end? God, I don’t get it.
Anyway, I really liked the short chapters and the writing style. It was vivid, easy to read, engaging. I liked the dude who first introduced the protagonist to the silk trade; he had a disarming philosophy and a great sense of humour.
One thing I noted — the author was very particular about continually rooting the story in time. It is also highlighted that just a few years later this story would no longer be possible because the travel was getting progressively faster, silk more common, etc.
Overall a very nice read that I will visit again someday. Might notice more things next time too.
So at first I thought, damn, it sure is stupid to so obsessively lust after someone after such sparse interactions, with no promise of more interactions and under such a great risk to boot. But then I thought some more, and. This man leads a life on autopilot, devoid of any real engagement or interest. That is, until this woman ‘on the end of the world’ that’s unattainable for him catches his eye and suddenly, he feels something. Ultimately that’s all that matters in life, isn’t it. To feel something.
Anyway, I really liked the short chapters and the writing style. It was vivid, easy to read, engaging. I liked the dude who first introduced the protagonist to the silk trade; he had a disarming philosophy and a great sense of humour.
One thing I noted — the author was very particular about continually rooting the story in time. It is also highlighted that just a few years later this story would no longer be possible because the travel was getting progressively faster, silk more common, etc.
Overall a very nice read that I will visit again someday. Might notice more things next time too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Racism and Sexism
kiwi_33's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I did not enjoy reading this one bit.
To start with, the structure of the writing in the form of extremely short chapters (0,5-2 pages each) was really off-putting. There was no way for the story to gain any momentum before being abruptly interrupted.
The female characters were written as completely passive and the description of the Japanese woman (and yes, she is Japanese) felt like something straight out of the r/menwritingwomen reddit thread. And that relates to my next point, which is the blatant Orientalism present throughout the novel. The woman is described several times as being Japanese and yet Hervé is simply incapable of seeing her as such for the stupidest reason. That she does not have an epicanthic fold; in his words “her eyes, did not have an oriental slant”. This trait is what draws his eyes to her in the first place, and spark his obsession with her. He then repeatedly insists on calling her white and compares her to the other women in the village by emphasising how non-oriental she looks, or how the other women look oriental compared to her. And this is just one example of the rampant Orientalism in this work.
Not to mention the fact that she is repeatedly described as a young girl throughout the book while he’s in his mid-thirties and happily married! The romanticisation of cheating in this also really bothered me. I didn’t see anything romantic about it and it honestly made me a bit disgusted.Also, a kid died because they were feeling horny, so there’s that.
The only thing that made me give this 2 stars instead of 1, is the plot twist at the end of the book. It made sense, but still surprised me.At first, the sex letters just made me even more uncomfortable about the situation than I already was. I found them tasteless. However, once we find out that it was Hélène’s final wish to possibly be seen by her husband the way she knew he was looking at the other woman, it gained a tragic sort of beauty. It also added to Hervé’s tragic circumstances, which I didn’t mind. He should have seen what he had while it was still there. Him driving his wife to tears from violent love-making due to his own sexual frustrations was a disgusting act, and I hold no sympathy for him, or the situation he wound his own damn self into.
To start with, the structure of the writing in the form of extremely short chapters (0,5-2 pages each) was really off-putting. There was no way for the story to gain any momentum before being abruptly interrupted.
The female characters were written as completely passive and the description of the Japanese woman (and yes, she is Japanese) felt like something straight out of the r/menwritingwomen reddit thread. And that relates to my next point, which is the blatant Orientalism present throughout the novel. The woman is described several times as being Japanese and yet Hervé is simply incapable of seeing her as such for the stupidest reason. That she does not have an epicanthic fold; in his words “her eyes, did not have an oriental slant”. This trait is what draws his eyes to her in the first place, and spark his obsession with her. He then repeatedly insists on calling her white and compares her to the other women in the village by emphasising how non-oriental she looks, or how the other women look oriental compared to her. And this is just one example of the rampant Orientalism in this work.
Not to mention the fact that she is repeatedly described as a young girl throughout the book while he’s in his mid-thirties and happily married! The romanticisation of cheating in this also really bothered me. I didn’t see anything romantic about it and it honestly made me a bit disgusted.
The only thing that made me give this 2 stars instead of 1, is the plot twist at the end of the book. It made sense, but still surprised me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death and Rape