cmcgarvey's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alisarae's review
I haven't read much by Chinese authors and the narrative construction is a different than a typical western format. Shifting perspectives and extended networks of characters were a bit hard to follow because it's not very familiar to me. But well worth it, and I enjoyed the prose. Moses on the Plain was my favorite of the three novellas because the murder mystery unfolding through the perspectives of so many people was expertly told.
It was lovely to revisit Shenyang--makes me want jiaozi and a glass of peanut milk!
It was lovely to revisit Shenyang--makes me want jiaozi and a glass of peanut milk!
paulataua's review
2.0
‘Rouge Street’ is Shuang Xuetao’s English language debut. It is hard to avoid the hype surrounding these three ‘dazzling’ novellas by the ‘lauded’ Chinese writer who has already been ‘compared to Hemingway and Murakami’. The excitement continues as the foreward dived into setting the context of the dilapidated and gritty city of Shenyang with all its social ills as it was left behind in China’s transformation from communism to capitalism. The stories themselves were, for me, pretty ordinary and I struggled my way through hoping that for some odd reason the publishers were keeping the best of the three stories til last. It was not to be. For me, all three novellas were uninspiring. I can’t help wondering, however, if I might have liked the stories more had they not followed all that hype.
samikoonjones's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
thepaperbackplace's review
3.0
I read this for a book club and will likely try to reread before the club so my review may change but I didn’t like this book very much. The characters felt confusing but I did like that they were all interconnected. I felt that the stories being told had no true endings and that things may be lost in the translation that would’ve made this book more impactful.
fkshg8465's review
3.0
Had a hard time staying focused. Didn't love it. I'm probably one of the few who thought so.
pbarkus's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
calling_sister_midnight's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
clellman's review
Had trouble keeping track of the characters (or didn't put enough effort into it), so the stories were a bit hard to follow. Enjoyed the writing and the mood and the settings, otherwise.