emily1602's review against another edition
Really good writing. Characters that you go from sympathizing with to hating. People suffering and then enacting that suffering on others. I guess that is a classic gothic convention (like Wuthering Heights). There is real bleakness at one point in the middle, but then the author pulls back.
lifeinpoetry's review against another edition
5.0
A horrifying look at the effects of isolation and loneliness on an already vulnerable family.
This novel made me feel so claustrophobic, my chest one tight knot of anxiety, that I took a break of a few days for less emotionally involved reads. Disturbing and worthwhile but triggers abound here so tread carefully.
This novel made me feel so claustrophobic, my chest one tight knot of anxiety, that I took a break of a few days for less emotionally involved reads. Disturbing and worthwhile but triggers abound here so tread carefully.
savvylit's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Border of Paradise is an incredibly mesmerizing novel. Weijun Wang's prose is both haunting and luscious. As the Nowak family becomes increasingly isolated, the claustrophobic atmosphere of the story increases to the point of palpable anxiety. I felt myself suffocating in the remote homestead right alongside Daisy, Gillian, and William. The nuanced portrayal of David's mental instability in an era when such things were considered mere eccentricities by professionals is particularly well executed.
So: why did I rate this three stars? Well, the reason is twofold. First, I think that Daisy is a sorely underdeveloped character. Readers are given a brief glimpse into her background. As I read, though, I kept expecting more information that never came. Why did Daisy suddenly change her mind and leave Taiwan? How did being a madame make her feel?
The second reason that I didn't love this book is that one of the largest and most explored topics within this story is sibling incest. Nothing makes me want to drop a book more quickly than incest as a major plot point. It's a subject that I simply do not want to dwell upon. I do think incest can be discussed in literature - of course. However, there's a difference between considering its ramifications and then explicitly being forced to read - over and over again - the twisted and selfish justifications for abuse.
So: why did I rate this three stars? Well, the reason is twofold. First, I think that Daisy is a sorely underdeveloped character. Readers are given a brief glimpse into her background. As I read, though, I kept expecting more information that never came. Why did Daisy suddenly change her mind and leave Taiwan? How did being a madame make her feel?
The second reason that I didn't love this book is that one of the largest and most explored topics within this story is sibling incest. Nothing makes me want to drop a book more quickly than incest as a major plot point. It's a subject that I simply do not want to dwell upon. I do think incest can be discussed in literature - of course. However, there's a difference between considering its ramifications and then explicitly being forced to read - over and over again - the twisted and selfish justifications for abuse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Violence, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Incest, Child abuse, Death, and Sexual assault
colleenbyrne7's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Suicide
leafrust's review against another edition
dark
tense
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
4.0
hannahbananali's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
My god. Never have I read a novel so subtly horrifying and intensely unnerving. I can still feel myself mentally shuddering, as if something intrusive had burrowed itself underneath my skin. This book is deeply, deeply unsettling.
If I could pick three words to characterize or define this book I’d choose: Anguish. Isolation. Claustrophobic. I admit, when I scanned the summary of this novel I was doubtful and dismissive. But that’s because I realize now that it’s the bare bones of what this tale spans and although true seems inaccurate. Mental illness, trauma, and grief plague the Nowak family in this multi-generational novel. Some readers may find it slow and without a plot and they’re not wrong. It’s a pervasive study of the most horrid and pitiful people you can imagine.
This book invoked similar feelings I had while reading East of Eden and Wuthering Heights but if you asked me why or how, I would have no answer. There’s a sense of timelessness with the writing here: a cold and decaying house, a gut-wrenching forbidden relationship, and a near-apocalyptic fire. Yet Wang adds her own touch that transforms this into gold (if gold was dark and disturbing that is).
I was unsure with my rating because while THE BORDER OF PARADISE utterly impressed me, I couldn’t help but feel f***ing terrified in my entire reading experience.
My god. Never have I read a novel so subtly horrifying and intensely unnerving. I can still feel myself mentally shuddering, as if something intrusive had burrowed itself underneath my skin. This book is deeply, deeply unsettling.
If I could pick three words to characterize or define this book I’d choose: Anguish. Isolation. Claustrophobic. I admit, when I scanned the summary of this novel I was doubtful and dismissive. But that’s because I realize now that it’s the bare bones of what this tale spans and although true seems inaccurate. Mental illness, trauma, and grief plague the Nowak family in this multi-generational novel. Some readers may find it slow and without a plot and they’re not wrong. It’s a pervasive study of the most horrid and pitiful people you can imagine.
This book invoked similar feelings I had while reading East of Eden and Wuthering Heights but if you asked me why or how, I would have no answer. There’s a sense of timelessness with the writing here: a cold and decaying house, a gut-wrenching forbidden relationship, and a near-apocalyptic fire. Yet Wang adds her own touch that transforms this into gold (if gold was dark and disturbing that is).
I was unsure with my rating because while THE BORDER OF PARADISE utterly impressed me, I couldn’t help but feel f***ing terrified in my entire reading experience.
mimooo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
a generous two stars for writing some sustained sentences and there being a story. otherwise i dont want to be rude but personally i strongly hated this book and all it stands for. lmao. gothic, trashy, edgy…. to be fair i get why flowers in the attic was banned and idk, using incest as a major plot point and attaching it to the delusions of a an abusive Crazy Chinese Mother ™️ is so………wild … for the author to do.
so what i got from this book is that the ”good people” are this milky white blonde genius damaged free thinker teen born of true love and her ethereal white blond mother who had to give her up while the evil stepmother is a Taiwanese former Madame’s daughter with her compliant, nerdy, brainwashed mama’s boy hapa son. the former who is mauled to death by a dog and the latter is a piano playing horny manchild. not like thats what white supremacists think about asian male boys but it’s ok for the author to say so because she’s taiwanese. ok.
to me every character and plot decision in this book setup is depraved, orientalist, and misogynist but to make it worse makes a pretense at being against those things thru the feeble lens of “people who are mentally ill perpetuate generational trauma look look look racism and emotional abuse jokerfy women especially immigrant women see??? see???” not to be rude but when the revolution comes the author needs to be placed in a reeducation camp and recant bc the MFA libs programmed her good. sorry for being vitriolic but all you need to write to be lauded as a good progressive novelist of color ™️is a little trauma p*rn
characters’ dialogue is incredibly stilted needlessly twee “my chickadee” and also just offensive tell me the you did not have a taiwanese teen sex worker say “no one happy, yes?” and “you want sex with me?” to an american john. please get a grip. what do you mean “her face looked smudged by a thumb” the CIA really won the culture war because MFAs will write anything and pass it off as a good metaphor.
i also really hated how Daisy/Jia-Hui’s character’s relationship with language was handled. writing her “lack of fluency” and linguistic humiliation by every character was certainly a choice but then it was mad inconsistent . i appreciate the words in chinese to a degree but the device ended up gimmicky bc if you really want to alienate whites (rather than showboat or merely signal to them the limits of their understanding) then commit to the bit and don’t just make half of the chinese words be the names of foods for god’s sake
Awful book, truly deserves a prestige tv remake bc ppl love diverse depictions of suffering and transgression which allow you sickos to vicariously channel your racist perverted sadistic thoughts into feeling like you learned something .
so what i got from this book is that the ”good people” are this milky white blonde genius damaged free thinker teen born of true love and her ethereal white blond mother who had to give her up while the evil stepmother is a Taiwanese former Madame’s daughter with her compliant, nerdy, brainwashed mama’s boy hapa son. the former who is mauled to death by a dog and the latter is a piano playing horny manchild. not like thats what white supremacists think about asian male boys but it’s ok for the author to say so because she’s taiwanese. ok.
to me every character and plot decision in this book setup is depraved, orientalist, and misogynist but to make it worse makes a pretense at being against those things thru the feeble lens of “people who are mentally ill perpetuate generational trauma look look look racism and emotional abuse jokerfy women especially immigrant women see??? see???” not to be rude but when the revolution comes the author needs to be placed in a reeducation camp and recant bc the MFA libs programmed her good. sorry for being vitriolic but all you need to write to be lauded as a good progressive novelist of color ™️is a little trauma p*rn
characters’ dialogue is incredibly stilted needlessly twee “my chickadee” and also just offensive tell me the you did not have a taiwanese teen sex worker say “no one happy, yes?” and “you want sex with me?” to an american john. please get a grip. what do you mean “her face looked smudged by a thumb” the CIA really won the culture war because MFAs will write anything and pass it off as a good metaphor.
i also really hated how Daisy/Jia-Hui’s character’s relationship with language was handled. writing her “lack of fluency” and linguistic humiliation by every character was certainly a choice but then it was mad inconsistent . i appreciate the words in chinese to a degree but the device ended up gimmicky bc if you really want to alienate whites (rather than showboat or merely signal to them the limits of their understanding) then commit to the bit and don’t just make half of the chinese words be the names of foods for god’s sake
Awful book, truly deserves a prestige tv remake bc ppl love diverse depictions of suffering and transgression which allow you sickos to vicariously channel your racist perverted sadistic thoughts into feeling like you learned something .
mushimilda's review against another edition
4.0
Un premier roman dur et bien écrit sur une famille dysfonctionnelle, qui recoupe les questions d’immigration, de maladie mentale et d’inceste.
J’ai été un peu déçue par la fin, qui arrivait trop tôt à mon goût dans le développement de l’histoire et qui laisse trop d’éléments sans résolution. Apparemment l’autrice travaille sur un nouveau roman en ce moment, j’ai hâte de continuer à la lire.
J’ai été un peu déçue par la fin, qui arrivait trop tôt à mon goût dans le développement de l’histoire et qui laisse trop d’éléments sans résolution. Apparemment l’autrice travaille sur un nouveau roman en ce moment, j’ai hâte de continuer à la lire.