jobinsonlis's review against another edition
4.0
There was an upsetting amount of torture in this book but overall I really enjoyed it. It's really fascinating to read a mystery set in a time, place, and judicial system that is so unknown to me (although van Gulik gives a great overview). I'll definitely try reading van Gulik's original novels based on this character.
ashleylm's review against another edition
5.0
So close to perfect. A few chapters felt long/unnecessary, and the torture is a bit much for me (Judge Dee subscribes to the Jack Bauer 24 school of interrogation techniques).
But wow. This is apparently a faithful translation of an 18th century text, and it reads very, very modern to me. The pacing, the ratio of description to dialogue, etc. are so modern it could have been written yesterday, let alone 1949 (when the translation was made) let alone the 18th Century.
I wondered if it were a hoax, but this seems to be legitimate, and there's a lengthy author's afterword (well worth listening to (sorry, I was using Audible) or reading) about how Chinese detective stories are likely to disappoint Western audiences, and why this particular one had the right characteristics to make it work. So it's sort of like the anthropic principle: if the book didn't seem modern and worth reading for Westerners, it wouldn't exist in a form Westerners could read.
I was pleased to see that the torture (which seems awfully gratuitous) and execution (graphic, disturbing) were required elements in Chinese law and stories about them, it wasn't van Gulik's attempt to appeal to prurient interests. Other than that, it's almost a cosy read, really.
There is a bit less actually detection than one might want (in terms of the classic "analyze clues, gather suspects in room, reveal murderer!" approach), but it's certainly enough to qualify as a mystery novel. I'd read some of his follow-ups (written himself, based on the character) as a child, but never the original. Well-pleased I did!
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
But wow. This is apparently a faithful translation of an 18th century text, and it reads very, very modern to me. The pacing, the ratio of description to dialogue, etc. are so modern it could have been written yesterday, let alone 1949 (when the translation was made) let alone the 18th Century.
I wondered if it were a hoax, but this seems to be legitimate, and there's a lengthy author's afterword (well worth listening to (sorry, I was using Audible) or reading) about how Chinese detective stories are likely to disappoint Western audiences, and why this particular one had the right characteristics to make it work. So it's sort of like the anthropic principle: if the book didn't seem modern and worth reading for Westerners, it wouldn't exist in a form Westerners could read.
I was pleased to see that the torture (which seems awfully gratuitous) and execution (graphic, disturbing) were required elements in Chinese law and stories about them, it wasn't van Gulik's attempt to appeal to prurient interests. Other than that, it's almost a cosy read, really.
There is a bit less actually detection than one might want (in terms of the classic "analyze clues, gather suspects in room, reveal murderer!" approach), but it's certainly enough to qualify as a mystery novel. I'd read some of his follow-ups (written himself, based on the character) as a child, but never the original. Well-pleased I did!
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). I feel a lot of readers automatically render any book they enjoy 5, but I grade on a curve!
sahibooknerd's review against another edition
3.5
This was definitely interesting to listen to, except ofcourse the parts where torturing the accused to elicit confessions is the norm which made me pretty uncomfortable. But Judge Di and his band of detectives are quite fun to follow and see how they might have investigated cases in that era. I wouldn’t mind reading more of Robert van Gulik’s fictional stories of Judge Di, if I can find them.
samranakhtar's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jstamper2022's review against another edition
4.0
Had to read this for RST China class. It was actually pretty interesting.
manalive's review against another edition
3.0
Like a 7th century Sherlock Holmes, but he uses torture and divination.
caribouffant's review against another edition
2.0
I confess that it was not as torturous as I thought it would be.
persey's review against another edition
4.0
Bumping up to four stars for historical interest. I’ve always enjoyed van Gulik’s Judge Dee mysteries and now I have a greater appreciation of them.
familiar_diversions's review against another edition
4.0
In this book, Judge Dee handles three cases. In the first, two traveling silk merchants stay at a hostel and are later found murdered. The hostel owner is accused of robbing and killing them, although it's immediately clear to Judge Dee that there's more to the case than that. In the second, Judge Dee listens to an old woman's story about her son's death and her daughter-in-law's strange behavior in the period since then. He immediately suspects that the son was poisoned and that his wife had something to do with it. But can he get her to confess? The third case involves a beautiful young bride who may have been poisoned by a jealous scholar.
Although van Gulik explained in his notes that, contrary to modern Western mystery readers' expectations, Judge Dee would be handling these cases simultaneously, I didn't initially understand what that meant. I figured that it would be like mystery novels where one mystery takes precedence but little ones crop up in the middle for a bit of variety. Or perhaps it would be more like a short story anthology, with each story stitched together with transitional scenes in which criminals were punished or Judge Dee got caught up on his paperwork.
Instead, Judge Dee went hunting for clues/information about the double murder and accidentally stumbled across another mystery. He couldn't just ignore it, so he started investigating that one too. And, although a single symbolism-filled dream gave Judge Dee hints for all three cases, none of the cases were related in any way. It was definitely different from what I'm used to in my mystery reading, but not in a bad way.
All right, backing up a bit: I originally bought this during a used book shopping trip because I remembered watching and enjoying Detective Dee and the Phantom Flame. It was way more action-packed than this book, and I don't recall the movie's Detective Dee ever torturing anyone the way Judge Dee did, but I might have blocked that out. Still, despite the differences, I'm glad the movie got me to try this book.
While I probably would have found the mysteries interesting without van Gulik's notes, there are several aspects of the book that likely would have taken me aback without the context that he provided. The torture, for one thing, as well as the way some of the final sentencing was carried out. There was also a bit of an edutainment factor - van Gulik's analysis of the legal aspects of the book was fascinating, and I'm looking forward to eventually reading the original Judge Dee books he wrote after translating this book.
I was somewhat worried that this would be a dry read, but thankfully that turned out not to be the case, and van Gulik's notes added another level to my enjoyment. Although this can't quite be read with the same expectations one might have for a modern Western mystery - it was a shock when, before even seeing the crime scene, Judge Dee had a warden beaten for the way he'd handled the investigation's initial steps, and I winced at the part where Judge Dee decided to forgo an autopsy on a poisoning victim because the victim's family was so scholarly and respectable - it wasn't as far outside modern mystery expectations as I thought it might be. There were even a few nice humorous bits here and there (or at least humorous to me). I got a kick out of the false name Judge Dee chose for himself at one point in the story, as well as Ma Joong (one of Judge Dee's lieutenants) excitement at getting to play the part of a thief.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
Although van Gulik explained in his notes that, contrary to modern Western mystery readers' expectations, Judge Dee would be handling these cases simultaneously, I didn't initially understand what that meant. I figured that it would be like mystery novels where one mystery takes precedence but little ones crop up in the middle for a bit of variety. Or perhaps it would be more like a short story anthology, with each story stitched together with transitional scenes in which criminals were punished or Judge Dee got caught up on his paperwork.
Instead, Judge Dee went hunting for clues/information about the double murder and accidentally stumbled across another mystery. He couldn't just ignore it, so he started investigating that one too. And, although a single symbolism-filled dream gave Judge Dee hints for all three cases, none of the cases were related in any way. It was definitely different from what I'm used to in my mystery reading, but not in a bad way.
All right, backing up a bit: I originally bought this during a used book shopping trip because I remembered watching and enjoying Detective Dee and the Phantom Flame. It was way more action-packed than this book, and I don't recall the movie's Detective Dee ever torturing anyone the way Judge Dee did, but I might have blocked that out. Still, despite the differences, I'm glad the movie got me to try this book.
While I probably would have found the mysteries interesting without van Gulik's notes, there are several aspects of the book that likely would have taken me aback without the context that he provided. The torture, for one thing, as well as the way some of the final sentencing was carried out. There was also a bit of an edutainment factor - van Gulik's analysis of the legal aspects of the book was fascinating, and I'm looking forward to eventually reading the original Judge Dee books he wrote after translating this book.
I was somewhat worried that this would be a dry read, but thankfully that turned out not to be the case, and van Gulik's notes added another level to my enjoyment. Although this can't quite be read with the same expectations one might have for a modern Western mystery - it was a shock when, before even seeing the crime scene, Judge Dee had a warden beaten for the way he'd handled the investigation's initial steps, and I winced at the part where Judge Dee decided to forgo an autopsy on a poisoning victim because the victim's family was so scholarly and respectable - it wasn't as far outside modern mystery expectations as I thought it might be. There were even a few nice humorous bits here and there (or at least humorous to me). I got a kick out of the false name Judge Dee chose for himself at one point in the story, as well as Ma Joong (one of Judge Dee's lieutenants) excitement at getting to play the part of a thief.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)