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minniepauline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
thewolvesread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Abortion
Minor: Cancer
mdwsn27's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
carminhomarrana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
erintempleton's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
3.25
this book also reminds me of Silence by Shusaku Endo (1966) and The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013). The former because of its overwhelmingly depressing narrative, and the latter for its portrayal of a strong-willed woman trampled by a male-dominated society. if your expectation is to see a group of women trash the patriarchy, this is absolutely not the book for you.
the first thing i'll say about this book is that it was pretty gross. there were several times while reading it that made me feel physically sick to my stomach for one reason or another (see: foot binding, extreme misogyny, medical content, emotional abuse, 14 year old concubines, etc.), so it was not an overall enjoyable read for me personally. the narrative just kept doubling down on the harsh realities of being a woman during this time, so much so that i found myself drowning in their collective fear and hopelessness quite a lot; the balance of light and dark was overwhelmingly dark. i can appreciate the realism and the research behind all these things, but i did not have a good time ingesting them.
the second thing i'll say is that i didn't love the delivery of the info dump sessions. it was kind of unique to couch them in lessons and oral teachings, but it felt so stiff every time someone would ask yunxian to recite Confucian ideals or medical information. like sneaking vegetables into a child's food except they're so big that you can pick them out. i learned a lot, but i didn't feel like i was reading a story at times.
i think i'm still processing what i was meant to take away from this book, especially after the post script note explaining what happens to yunxian's family later on. i get that her medical practice was her legacy, rather than her family, but that just makes all of her sacrifices for the latter feel so hollow and meaningless. she suffered for her entire life and never fought the system that made her suffer, and the system does not reward her for that suffering in the least. it feels a lot like the story of moses coming down the mountain post-exile with the ten commandments to find the israelites worshipping an idol of another god. what was it all for, then?
(also wikipedia says that tan yunxian had two sons, and they both died young, so why didn't we get THAT in this story?)
on a positive note, i was very surprised at the through-line of yunxian and meiling's relationship; that served as a balm for the rest of the novel, and i was surprised at how direct Lisa See was in comparing them to traditional spouses. they had a beautiful connection, and it rightfully took up a lot of space in the novel. added a whole star to my rating.
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cancer and Vomit
kappafrog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
At the core of this book is the way communities of women in Ming China could band together to support each other, and that made for a very good read. I'd also note that the relationship between Meiling and Yanxian came across as pretty sapphic, with Yanxian frequently struck by Meiling's beauty. I thought it was realistic that they didn't pursue a relationship, but I felt like the romantic aspect between them was an important part of the book.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Murder
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Alcohol, and War
fleurdeavis's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Medical trauma
nellebelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Infertility, Sexism, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Gore, Miscarriage, and Grief
Minor: Abortion and Alcohol
briana7's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
cryptofauna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
however!! it was super interesting and very different to what i usually read which had its pros and cons. i really loved how historically accurate it felt (i don’t know if it was 100% accurate of course) but you can tell how well researched it is. the footbinding was really icky to me but that’s just sort of a me problem bc it comes with the territory.
i struggled with her sort of place in society?? in most books with these vibes you sort of expect that she’s going to rebel and like face her privilege and make all these big changes but she really doesn’t? i assume that’s because of it being a historical novel that’s really leaning into the historical part (esp bc she was based on a real person) but it felt sort of frustrating for a bunch of people around her (meiling especially) to call her out on being like privileged and lowkey spoiled and for her to be like oh sorry. and then move on?? like she barely resists the patriarchy and ends up just sort of joining the system that sucked for her to be in just being a little nicer in it (being lady tan slash head of household.)
it was interesting especially more at the end (random mystery i guess) but i had to work hard to get there and it didn’t feel worth it. definitely an interesting story and i loved learning about this era in chinese culture but it wasn’t a huge winner for me personally.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism