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horizonous's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
3.5
This is definitely a strange book and I feel like I missed a lot of social commentary. What I enjoyed the most is this hazy, almost dreamlike atmosphere and the beasts. There are some parts that left me a bit confused, but overall a fascinating book.
I think this type of short story collections, where the stories all follow a connected thread work a lot better for me than a book filled with separate stories.
I think this type of short story collections, where the stories all follow a connected thread work a lot better for me than a book filled with separate stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
lucky_stars's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I want to get my hands on the original Chinese since I definitely feel like some things had to be lost in translation. (Even if my Chinese isn’t the best, I’d be willing to struggle for this if I get the extra money to purchase a copy of 异兽志).
Although I might also be saying that because I spent a good portion of the book feeling like I was missing something. Sometimes things connected in ways that seemed impossible since the supposed conclusion reached in one story was contradicted in another.
The narrator’s relationship with the professor was one that endlessly confused me, even as it intrigued me. At times I thought they were lovers, other times just more disappointed mentor and student, and with the Heartsick Beasts story maybe literal creator and invention . The only consistency was the very unhealthy relationship, a common thread in a book that blurs the line between what it means to be beastly. (Lucia is perfect though and I won’t hear a word against her.)
The beasts are brilliantly constructed, although repetitive at times since there is so much death and melancholy. My favorite stories were the Impasse Beasts, the Heartsick Beasts, and the Flourishing Beasts.
The setting of Yong’an is hard to pin down. Most of the time is spent in either the Dolphin Bar or the narrator’s apartment, with a whole lot of un-described mostly unremarkable restaurants that Zhong Liang drags her to. However, despite this, I couldn’t offer a description of any of these locations. There are references to more concrete areas when talking about where the beasts live that are more conversational. These places feel real and made me feel like the narrator was letting me in on some deep secret. The timeline is similarly opaque. You’re left in this timeless place where the only way you can track things is based on subtle hits from secondary characters (their deaths, their institutionalization, their references to the narrator’s books/newspaper column being published). It’s very hypnotic and surreal. It’s strange yes (made even stranger by the epilogue), but there’s whimsy in it even as the beasts brutally commit suicide or otherwise die.
Common thematic ideas: Beasts are whoever the government decides to disenfranchise; Living must include pain to be worthwhile and Death is inevitable (and even an escape from living); People are beasts; Identity is a narrative, not a static idea.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Genocide, Toxic relationship, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Vomit and Dementia
charlie_cheese's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
the grief of figuring out everything too late and the humanity of the other........ great themes in this guy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Gore, Self harm, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Body horror, Forced institutionalization, and War
spaceteapot's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Vomit, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Car accident
theatrix's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was a quick and engrossing and thought-provoking read, but also challenging, both due to the wide range of disturbing themes (there are many, but most are touched on pretty briefly), and due to the style, which doesn't baby you with explanations and trusts you to put pieces together yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
feebles640's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Forced institutionalization
rorikae's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
'Strange Beasts of China' by Yan Ge is an inciteful story that explores different facets of humanity through a speculative lens.
The story centers on the unnamed narrator who is writing a book about the different beasts that inhabit her city. These beasts resemble humans in many ways but have other characteristics like gills or more than human abilities. Each section of the story explores a new beast type and the narrator's encounters with that particular type of beast. As she explores more beast types, she begins to learn more about herself and her past.
Ge presents a look at humanity through the ways that the characters interact with these so-called beasts. The story is colored by the narrator's history and experience with the beasts but this allows the reader to better understand her as she learns more about them. There were certain beasts that I found more interesting than others though I did appreciate how the character's story advanced through the different pieces. I will say that when I read the synopsis I expected more folkloric creatures whereas the beasts are more closely tied to humanity than to animals. The sections that I enjoyed the most were tied to the beasts that I found the most interesting. For example, the section on the flourishing beasts, which are the most unique creatures in the book, was my favorite section. This section also opened up a great deal about the narrator's relationship with her mother and began the process of diving deeper into the narrator's past.
This story is short and a quick read. I am interested in what Ge writes next as I think she utilizes the speculative aspects of the story in unique ways to explore human nature.
The story centers on the unnamed narrator who is writing a book about the different beasts that inhabit her city. These beasts resemble humans in many ways but have other characteristics like gills or more than human abilities. Each section of the story explores a new beast type and the narrator's encounters with that particular type of beast. As she explores more beast types, she begins to learn more about herself and her past.
Ge presents a look at humanity through the ways that the characters interact with these so-called beasts. The story is colored by the narrator's history and experience with the beasts but this allows the reader to better understand her as she learns more about them. There were certain beasts that I found more interesting than others though I did appreciate how the character's story advanced through the different pieces. I will say that when I read the synopsis I expected more folkloric creatures whereas the beasts are more closely tied to humanity than to animals. The sections that I enjoyed the most were tied to the beasts that I found the most interesting. For example, the section on the flourishing beasts, which are the most unique creatures in the book, was my favorite section. This section also opened up a great deal about the narrator's relationship with her mother and began the process of diving deeper into the narrator's past.
This story is short and a quick read. I am interested in what Ge writes next as I think she utilizes the speculative aspects of the story in unique ways to explore human nature.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
the_literarylinguist's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Magical realism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Forced institutionalization
ohlhauc's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This was a disappointing read.
Each chapter follows a formula of describing a new beast, sharing a story tinged with mystery involving the narrator and that beast, and then revealing the true nature of the beast that explains the mystery. Each story builds upon each other in the sense that they take place one after each other in the timeline.
I liked the idea of the book and can see why others would like per other reviews, but I was bored. SUPER bored reading this. Even the social commentary fell flat as I felt it was so subtle that it was easy to miss if you weren't expecting it (as I was) and then, the ideas didn't share new perspectives or interpretations on common issues like environmentalism, racism, confinement, state control, etc. It felt basic and the stories themselves lacked a tension or energy. There was always a mystery so that drove the plot forward, but the reveals were predictable, which I'm not against in and of itself, but it felt like the resolutions were too neat and full of coincidences and plot conveniences.
I really only finished this as it was part of a larger project. If the other reviews and the plot sparks your interest, you may like this. But you may also be bored like me so it's hard to say whether or not I'd recommend it.
Each chapter follows a formula of describing a new beast, sharing a story tinged with mystery involving the narrator and that beast, and then revealing the true nature of the beast that explains the mystery. Each story builds upon each other in the sense that they take place one after each other in the timeline.
I liked the idea of the book and can see why others would like per other reviews, but I was bored. SUPER bored reading this. Even the social commentary fell flat as I felt it was so subtle that it was easy to miss if you weren't expecting it (as I was) and then, the ideas didn't share new perspectives or interpretations on common issues like environmentalism, racism, confinement, state control, etc. It felt basic and the stories themselves lacked a tension or energy. There was always a mystery so that drove the plot forward, but the reveals were predictable, which I'm not against in and of itself, but it felt like the resolutions were too neat and full of coincidences and plot conveniences.
I really only finished this as it was part of a larger project. If the other reviews and the plot sparks your interest, you may like this. But you may also be bored like me so it's hard to say whether or not I'd recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content
Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Vomit, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
State-sanctioned euthanization/murder