Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune

It gets better as it moves towards the ending and mysteries are revealed, but this book didn't grab me. It does a lot more telling than showing, and the writing, especially dialogue, often feels stilted. The payoff to certain mysteries was interesting and unexpected, but I didn't get invested enough in the mysteries before that point.

I also didn't appreciate the romance plotline; even if the love interest us appealing, it felt an unnecessary addition to a story about the community of neighborhood and of family.

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective sad slow-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

4.0

Overall, a good piece of magical realism. There were some things that came about too easily, and early on I was worried that it was going to become a strictly romance book. Roselle Lim did a good job balancing both elements. The pacing was a little slow for my tastes, but the descriptions of food were tantalizing. Some of the narration got redundant. But, there was a twist at the end I wasn't expecting (mostly because I kept forgetting about the mystery, by no fault of the author). Overall, a good read. It won't go down as one of my favorites of all time, but I'm glad I read it and would recommend it to others.

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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

1.5

A strong premise that is done little to no justice in execution. The writing itself is not that good -- from certain descriptions, Lim clearly knows how to show rather than tell, but frequently refuses to do so, stating things (often through unrealistic, stilted blocks of dialogue) and then repeating them ad nauseam. It especially shows in the last few chapters, where descriptions and sentiments are repeated within sentences of each other. It's as if there's no faith in the reader to draw conclusions and remember character/plot details on their own, which is a very frustrating tone to read. Even the more interesting passages, mostly those relating to food and the magical elements, end up as equally grating purple prose before long.

What the novel lacks in style, it doesn't quite make up for in substance. With the dull way the plot is conveyed, the conflicts and characters all feel, if you'll excuse the pun, underbaked. Moments that should be powerful and emotional instead come across as melodramatic and dry. I couldn't sympathize or connect to Natalie at all, and found her mother and grandmother much more compelling despite their merely posthumous presence. The dynamics between characters were, like many other elements, only really intriguing in theory, with their actual writing fairly shallow and any interpersonal conflict resolved in an awkward, rushed manner.

The romance is particularly unconvincing. Daniel is even less well-developed than Natalie; I felt no chemistry between them, even when it's insisted out of absolutely nowhere that they're soulmates. It being a subplot at all feels a bit... odd -- maybe I skimmed past some timeline details, but making romance a priority presumably less than a month after your (estranged, but still) mother dies is just strange to me. Though it's not the main focus of the novel, it does take attention away from other plotlines, since a significant number of conversations with other characters after Daniel is introduced regard his and Natalie's relationship. Ultimately, I feel like excising -- or at least even more significantly downplaying -- romance would have been in the narrative's favor.

I truly wish I had more positive things to say, but I find myself at a loss -- in addition to the above grievances, the setting feels inauthentic; a white audience seems to have been intended for how heavy-handed some notes on Chinese culture are (unfamiliar readers can just look up what an erhu is, I promise!); the light tone is inconsistent with themes that have potential to be so much better explored; many fabulistic elements serve no real purpose; and the progression of the plot is choppy and unsatisfying. I did conceptually like certain revelations and events, but their actual handling leaves a lot to be desired. In the end, while the recipes within may be filling, Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune is decidedly less so.

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