Reviews

Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge

mwayman314's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jnelsontwo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

agirlcalledal's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

This book reminded me of Piranesi in the same mysterious world building. Beautiful translation. 

lotusnbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

reaching_green's review against another edition

4.0

A heady, phantasmagorical book. The language wove a wild tapestry of inner psychological worlds, darkly rich magic, and nervy suspense. It sometimes felt like a Miyazaki film in word form. It was occasionally hard to follow, but it's totally unique... I was captivated.

fezamadoodle's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

jules_25's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

3.75

p9ng's review against another edition

5.0

Loved this. Interesting premise. A mixture of fantasy and maybe a bit of film noir, set in China.

siobhanward's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• 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? No

3.0

NYT Notable Books 2021: 14/100

This started off really strong and then kind of dropped off, before ending on a strong note. I think that if Ge had focused on fewer beasts, the book might have been stronger. I loved the first chapter and thought the book would focus on only one kind of beast, but when each chapter focused on a different beast, things started to feel less focused and I wasn't as attached to anyone as I should have been. This book requires readers to feel pulled by the characters, and with so much changing in each chapter, it was hard to do that.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

axellae's review against another edition

challenging mysterious medium-paced

3.75

Yan Ge (with translation by Jeremy Tiang) spins a tightly woven tale of melancholy and hope over the skin of mythical beasts. I feel like I need to return to this book after percolating on it for a bit, but the mirror warped version of our world where beasts flit in the shadows will sit with me for a long while.