paul_cornelius's review against another edition
4.0
One surprise development in The Haunted Monastery did shock me. I didn't see it coming. Alas, I risk spoiling the story should I say much more. Otherwise, the crime and investigation develops like most other Judge Dee stories. It's usually clear to the reader who the main villain is far before Dee himself realizes the identity of the killer/fraudster/thief/liar. The interest, however, is in watching Dee operate. And in observing the development of his character. In this story, there is a major development. In earlier books, I've seen Dee give way from being a dispassionate, calculating, and unrelenting arm of the law to a man easily frustrated and upset at his own limitations. He continues along those lines in Haunted Monastery. Here, in fact, he reaches a point of no return. I don't think it spoils anything to say that Judge Dee commits premeditated murder. And Van Gulik only tries half-heartedly to defend him from it. This type development is what makes these Judge Dee mysteries so interesting. Van Gulik even supplies a philosophic discussion surrounding the issue, introducing his own distrust of Taoism (which pairs with his earlier proclamations against Buddhism in other Judge Dee tales) and his rather rigid defense of Confucianism. This is a novel in which Van Gulik tells us as much about himself as he does about Dee.
jenneb_readingjournal's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book I've read by Robert van Gulik and I enjoyed this book so much I plan to read more in the series. Judge Dee is based on historical figure Di Renjie, Duke Wenhui of Liang.
What I appreciated about this book was how life in the Tang Dynasty was vividly written. I learned a great deal about Confucianism, Taoism, and how the law worked in that time period. The mystery (or mysteries, since there were three deaths that ended up being interconnected) kept me guessing until the end. Judge Dee used his powers of observation and dispensed justice. I also liked the author's illustrations throughout the book.
What I appreciated about this book was how life in the Tang Dynasty was vividly written. I learned a great deal about Confucianism, Taoism, and how the law worked in that time period. The mystery (or mysteries, since there were three deaths that ended up being interconnected) kept me guessing until the end. Judge Dee used his powers of observation and dispensed justice. I also liked the author's illustrations throughout the book.
ricksilva's review against another edition
4.0
Tang-dynasty administrator Judge Dee is traveling with his entourage, including his three wives, when a severe storm forces him to take refuge in an old Taoist monastery. It was a place he'd been planning to investigate, as he'd heard reports that three young women had died there in the last year. But upon his arrival a horrifying and possibly supernatural vision, adds sudden urgency to his investigation.
At the monastery, Judge Dee finds a troupe of actors who have arrived to perform mystery plays, with an act that includes a live bear. But as it gets later into the night, Dee finds that nearly everyone is hiding secrets and hidden agendas.
This was a fun story, particularly for the interplay between the increasingly frustrated Dee and his loyal and roguish assistant Tao Gan.
I read Van Gulik's Judge Dee At Work as a child, and remember enjoying it then. This book was definitely not for children, as things escalated into a particularly nasty torture/bondage scene, not to mention various other deaths and dismemberments.
I liked Dee a lot. He is clearly brilliant, and becomes less and less patient with those around him and with his own failings to put the clues together as he battles the onset of a bad cold and sleep deprivation, plus a bit of addling from a blow to the head. By the end of the long night Dee has exactly zero fucks left to give, and the villain, when finally revealed, ends of paying the price.
In spite of some of the more gruesome bits, the story has a decent amount of humor, a bit of romance, and a healthy polyamorous relationship between Dee and his wives. Dee even gives his stamp of approval to a woman who admits having an interest in pursuing a lesbian relationship (essentially telling her "as long as it's between consenting adults, it's none of my business"), although the circumstances of the story end up moving that subplot in a different direction.
Van Gulik does a good job with the period details, although his understanding of Chinese religion definitely feels like it's written through a Western lens.
At the monastery, Judge Dee finds a troupe of actors who have arrived to perform mystery plays, with an act that includes a live bear. But as it gets later into the night, Dee finds that nearly everyone is hiding secrets and hidden agendas.
This was a fun story, particularly for the interplay between the increasingly frustrated Dee and his loyal and roguish assistant Tao Gan.
I read Van Gulik's Judge Dee At Work as a child, and remember enjoying it then. This book was definitely not for children, as things escalated into a particularly nasty torture/bondage scene, not to mention various other deaths and dismemberments.
I liked Dee a lot. He is clearly brilliant, and becomes less and less patient with those around him and with his own failings to put the clues together as he battles the onset of a bad cold and sleep deprivation, plus a bit of addling from a blow to the head. By the end of the long night Dee has exactly zero fucks left to give, and the villain, when finally revealed, ends of paying the price.
In spite of some of the more gruesome bits, the story has a decent amount of humor, a bit of romance, and a healthy polyamorous relationship between Dee and his wives. Dee even gives his stamp of approval to a woman who admits having an interest in pursuing a lesbian relationship (essentially telling her "as long as it's between consenting adults, it's none of my business"), although the circumstances of the story end up moving that subplot in a different direction.
Van Gulik does a good job with the period details, although his understanding of Chinese religion definitely feels like it's written through a Western lens.
familiar_diversions's review against another edition
3.0
Judge Dee is traveling with his three wives when the weather takes a sudden turn for the worse, forcing him to seek shelter at a Taoist monastery. When a gust of wind blows open the window in his room, Dee witnesses a possible crime: a man in a helmet attacking a naked one-armed woman. However, when he asks to see the part of the monastery where the crime occurred, not only is there no trace of the man and woman, there's also no window. The only window it could have been was bricked up long ago.
The weather has given Judge Dee the beginnings of a terrible cold, so he wonders whether the scene he saw was an hallucination, or possibly even ghosts. However, as he meets the Abbot and the other visitors at the monastery, he strongly suspects that his vision might be connected to the three relatively recent deaths that occurred at this same monastery, all involving young women.
I had previously read van Gulik's translation of Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee and enjoyed it much more than I had expected to, so I was curious to see what his original Judge Dee mysteries would be like. This is the first one I've tried. Although it wasn't bad, I was left feeling a bit disappointed. One of the best things about Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee was van Gulik's analysis of its legal aspects, and I had hoped that this original mystery would work in some similarly fascinating details. Unfortunately, that wasn't really the case, and van Gulik's postscript was brief.
One thing I did find interesting, and that I wish van Gulik had thought worth talking about in his postscript, was Judge Dee's reaction to a female character who was questioning her sexuality and asked Dee for advice. He was much more open-minded than I'd have expected, telling her to take her time and make whatever decision felt best to her. Although I doubted he'd have approved of her being in a lesbian relationship, since he didn't approve of nuns due to his belief that women were meant to marry and bear children, he made it clear that the decisions of consenting adults who didn't have minors or dependents to worry about weren't his or the law's concern. (FYI,
The mystery was so-so, and somewhat tamer than I expected based on what I'd remembered of Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee. No torture or beatings at all - I suppose van Gulik felt he should scale that sort of thing that back in his original mysteries. There was one instance of "justice accomplished via gruesome murder," though, and the monastery had a Gallery of Horrors, statues depicting the various ways sinners could expect to be punished.
It seemed like most of this mystery just sort of fell into place as Judge Dee ran up and down stairs from one room to another, trying not to look as sick as he felt (until he magically stopped feeling sick). There were a few details I liked, and Miss Ting was a nice character, but overall this wasn't particularly memorable. I do still want to read van Gulik's other Judge Dee mysteries, though.
Extras:
Several black-and-white illustrations by the author, done in an imitation of 6th-century Chinese blockprints, a list of the characters (which I just noticed van Gulik grouped together according to the mysteries they were involved in, even though all the mysterious goings on in this book were pretty well blended together), a map of the monastery, and a brief postscript by the author.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
The weather has given Judge Dee the beginnings of a terrible cold, so he wonders whether the scene he saw was an hallucination, or possibly even ghosts. However, as he meets the Abbot and the other visitors at the monastery, he strongly suspects that his vision might be connected to the three relatively recent deaths that occurred at this same monastery, all involving young women.
I had previously read van Gulik's translation of Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee and enjoyed it much more than I had expected to, so I was curious to see what his original Judge Dee mysteries would be like. This is the first one I've tried. Although it wasn't bad, I was left feeling a bit disappointed. One of the best things about Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee was van Gulik's analysis of its legal aspects, and I had hoped that this original mystery would work in some similarly fascinating details. Unfortunately, that wasn't really the case, and van Gulik's postscript was brief.
One thing I did find interesting, and that I wish van Gulik had thought worth talking about in his postscript, was Judge Dee's reaction to a female character who was questioning her sexuality and asked Dee for advice. He was much more open-minded than I'd have expected, telling her to take her time and make whatever decision felt best to her. Although I doubted he'd have approved of her being in a lesbian relationship, since he didn't approve of nuns due to his belief that women were meant to marry and bear children, he made it clear that the decisions of consenting adults who didn't have minors or dependents to worry about weren't his or the law's concern. (FYI,
Spoiler
don't read this part of my review and go into this expecting a lesbian relationship. Things are not what they seem.)The mystery was so-so, and somewhat tamer than I expected based on what I'd remembered of Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee. No torture or beatings at all - I suppose van Gulik felt he should scale that sort of thing that back in his original mysteries. There was one instance of "justice accomplished via gruesome murder," though, and the monastery had a Gallery of Horrors, statues depicting the various ways sinners could expect to be punished.
It seemed like most of this mystery just sort of fell into place as Judge Dee ran up and down stairs from one room to another, trying not to look as sick as he felt (until he magically stopped feeling sick). There were a few details I liked, and Miss Ting was a nice character, but overall this wasn't particularly memorable. I do still want to read van Gulik's other Judge Dee mysteries, though.
Extras:
Several black-and-white illustrations by the author, done in an imitation of 6th-century Chinese blockprints, a list of the characters (which I just noticed van Gulik grouped together according to the mysteries they were involved in, even though all the mysterious goings on in this book were pretty well blended together), a map of the monastery, and a brief postscript by the author.
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
ekevka's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and Trafficking
Moderate: Transphobia
naverhtrad's review
5.0
In the mountains above Hanyuan, Judge Dee has been caught together with Tao Gan and his three wives in the middle of a thunderstorm. They must take refuge at the Daoist monastery Chaoyunguan, where during the Northern Wei dynasty a peasant revolt was violently quelled, and where more recently three young girls have died mysterious and unexplained deaths. In addition, Judge Dee begins seeing ghostly apparitions and hearing strange whispers in the monastery halls. In spite of these hauntings and in spite of suffering a miserable head-cold, Judge Dee begins investigating these three deaths and soon finds himself hot on the trail of an utterly ruthless, amoral killer.
Van Gulik rather played up Di Renjie's antipathy toward Daoism in this novel, though that's partly explained by his ill temper at being caught sick in a rainstorm. Even so, some of the philosophical differences between Daoism and Confucianism are explored, and the book touches on one of the common complaints against Daoism during times of its unpopularity. Van Gulik does a superb job with this novel, though, in restricting it to a closed setting and removing many of Judge Dee's usual tricks - such as going incognito and assigning his assistants to follow and observe suspects. He does a wonderful job of mounting tension as the Judge finds himself having to outwit the killer, before he manages to kill another unfortunate young woman.
And even though the setting is in a monastery, van Gulik's beloved criminal underworld and the seamier side of the Chinese Old Society still manage to make themselves felt. Vagrant Daoist monks and procurers are among the splendidly-colourful cast. Interestingly enough, the 'low-class' acting troupe led by Guan Lai are treated with a very high level of respect by Judge Dee, and deservedly so: the actress Ding Xiang turns out to be a remarkably able and quick-witted temporary assistant for the Judge. In addition, the Judge rather reluctantly enlists the help of the heavy-drinking young poet Zong Li, who is wooing with his doggerel a young novitiate nun named Bai Meigui, to investigate the three murders.
The former abbot of the monastery, Yuguan, had recently peacefully reposed after having delivered a profound and subtle sermon on Daoist doctrine, but Zong Li still suspects foul play on the part of his then-prior, the current abbot Zhenzhi. One of the actresses, surnamed Ouyang, has an unexplained connexion with Bai Meigui. And one of her fellow-actors, Mo Mo, has a nasty habit of disappearing and reappearing at whim. Judge Dee has to solve a number of these riddles involving secret passages and locks, paintings with hidden meanings and a 'gallery of horrors' whose horrors turn out to be all-too-real.
Robert van Gulik sticks a bit loosely in this case to his gong'an formula involving multiple cases to be solved simultaneously, and the minor characters in this one on the whole end up much more happily than they do in his other books. (At one point Judge Dee even remarks that he should retire from being a magistrate and set up shop as a professional matchmaker.) At the same time, a bit of van Gulik's later cynicism about the inner workings of the Old Society at its highest levels begins to creep in, and Judge Dee's faith in earthly justice gets a pretty bad shake. I appreciate in this particular novel that van Gulik gives his usual formula an interesting twist and delivers a highly-enjoyable, fast-paced murder mystery.
Van Gulik rather played up Di Renjie's antipathy toward Daoism in this novel, though that's partly explained by his ill temper at being caught sick in a rainstorm. Even so, some of the philosophical differences between Daoism and Confucianism are explored, and the book touches on one of the common complaints against Daoism during times of its unpopularity. Van Gulik does a superb job with this novel, though, in restricting it to a closed setting and removing many of Judge Dee's usual tricks - such as going incognito and assigning his assistants to follow and observe suspects. He does a wonderful job of mounting tension as the Judge finds himself having to outwit the killer, before he manages to kill another unfortunate young woman.
And even though the setting is in a monastery, van Gulik's beloved criminal underworld and the seamier side of the Chinese Old Society still manage to make themselves felt. Vagrant Daoist monks and procurers are among the splendidly-colourful cast. Interestingly enough, the 'low-class' acting troupe led by Guan Lai are treated with a very high level of respect by Judge Dee, and deservedly so: the actress Ding Xiang turns out to be a remarkably able and quick-witted temporary assistant for the Judge. In addition, the Judge rather reluctantly enlists the help of the heavy-drinking young poet Zong Li, who is wooing with his doggerel a young novitiate nun named Bai Meigui, to investigate the three murders.
The former abbot of the monastery, Yuguan, had recently peacefully reposed after having delivered a profound and subtle sermon on Daoist doctrine, but Zong Li still suspects foul play on the part of his then-prior, the current abbot Zhenzhi. One of the actresses, surnamed Ouyang, has an unexplained connexion with Bai Meigui. And one of her fellow-actors, Mo Mo, has a nasty habit of disappearing and reappearing at whim. Judge Dee has to solve a number of these riddles involving secret passages and locks, paintings with hidden meanings and a 'gallery of horrors' whose horrors turn out to be all-too-real.
Robert van Gulik sticks a bit loosely in this case to his gong'an formula involving multiple cases to be solved simultaneously, and the minor characters in this one on the whole end up much more happily than they do in his other books. (At one point Judge Dee even remarks that he should retire from being a magistrate and set up shop as a professional matchmaker.) At the same time, a bit of van Gulik's later cynicism about the inner workings of the Old Society at its highest levels begins to creep in, and Judge Dee's faith in earthly justice gets a pretty bad shake. I appreciate in this particular novel that van Gulik gives his usual formula an interesting twist and delivers a highly-enjoyable, fast-paced murder mystery.
carol26388's review
3.0
Fresh off the case of [b:The Chinese Gold Murders|1038898|The Chinese Gold Murders|Robert van Gulik|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1407707924s/1038898.jpg|1025259], I was rather looking forward to another of Judge Dee's adventures. Judge Dee and his retinue are returning from their travels when they are confronted with a terrible storm that will surely dump their carts off the mountainside if they try and shelter in place. The best spot to spend the night is the nearby Morning Cloud Monastery, already on the Judge's mental list for an upcoming visit for the deaths of three young women. Unfortunately, it's cold and rainy, and the Judge had caught a cold. There's nothing quite like reading descriptions of someone's crankiness, I must say; I found myself growing as grumpy as the Judge with his pounding headache.
"The judge tugged angrily at his beard. The ghostly voice had disturbed him more than he cared to admit. Then he took hold of himself. Probably some monks were talking about him in another room or passage near there. Often the echo played queer tricks in such old building. He stood listening for a while, but did not hear anything. The whispers had ceased."
Though published in 1961, Van Gulik tried to balance a tale that would appeal to modern mystery tastes with that of more traditional Chinese mystery stories. Traditional stories often relied on supernatural elements, were frequently highly judgemental towards both Taoism and Buddhism and usually gave away the villain at the start. Though Van Gulik avoids going so far as to share the identity of the villain, he does enjoy creating the feel of pre-communist 7th century China.
As the Judge and his retinue arrive at the monastery, the Judge glimpses a man throttling a one-armed, naked woman, but before he really understand what he is seeing, the shutters crash close and he is unable to see more. As he tries to find the room where the possible crime is committed, the monastery is celebrating its two hundred and third birthday, and the monks are enjoying the work of a performing artist troupe and their bear. Also among the guests are an older established woman who is bringing a charge to the monastery to become a nun. In a move familiar to Shakespeare fans, one of the performers mocks the senior abbot, implying his personal gain from the untimely 'ascension' of his predecessor. It doesn't become a comedy of errors, sadly, so much as a peevish man trying to find a solution to a missing woman, a strange vision and the death of the prior abbot.
This all sounds rather interesting, of course, but various puzzles are solved less by cleverness than blind luck and perseverance.While I did enjoy parts of the tour through China past, I think the gestalt didn't balance out nearly as well as it did in The Gold Murders. It was hard for the writing to overcome the prejudices of the Judge, and of his frustration with the weather and the layout of the monastery. Luckily for the reader, Van Gulik provided both building and floor maps along with cast of characters. What was particularly interesting about the Judge in this one is that while he definitely had a religious intolerance, he was particularly tolerant with unwed relationships and lesbian relationships. Despite all that, I found myself falling asleep unfortunately often for a mystery, so take that for what you will.
The edition I read (combined with the Chinese Maze Murders) also had a number of plates drawn by Van Gulik "in the style of 16th century Chinese illustrated blockprints," in Ming dynasty style, but since block printing is a rather simplistic style, it didn't feel like they brought any depth to the story.
Two-and-a-half-stars, rounding up
"The judge tugged angrily at his beard. The ghostly voice had disturbed him more than he cared to admit. Then he took hold of himself. Probably some monks were talking about him in another room or passage near there. Often the echo played queer tricks in such old building. He stood listening for a while, but did not hear anything. The whispers had ceased."
Though published in 1961, Van Gulik tried to balance a tale that would appeal to modern mystery tastes with that of more traditional Chinese mystery stories. Traditional stories often relied on supernatural elements, were frequently highly judgemental towards both Taoism and Buddhism and usually gave away the villain at the start. Though Van Gulik avoids going so far as to share the identity of the villain, he does enjoy creating the feel of pre-communist 7th century China.
As the Judge and his retinue arrive at the monastery, the Judge glimpses a man throttling a one-armed, naked woman, but before he really understand what he is seeing, the shutters crash close and he is unable to see more. As he tries to find the room where the possible crime is committed, the monastery is celebrating its two hundred and third birthday, and the monks are enjoying the work of a performing artist troupe and their bear. Also among the guests are an older established woman who is bringing a charge to the monastery to become a nun. In a move familiar to Shakespeare fans, one of the performers mocks the senior abbot, implying his personal gain from the untimely 'ascension' of his predecessor. It doesn't become a comedy of errors, sadly, so much as a peevish man trying to find a solution to a missing woman, a strange vision and the death of the prior abbot.
This all sounds rather interesting, of course, but various puzzles are solved less by cleverness than blind luck and perseverance.While I did enjoy parts of the tour through China past, I think the gestalt didn't balance out nearly as well as it did in The Gold Murders. It was hard for the writing to overcome the prejudices of the Judge, and of his frustration with the weather and the layout of the monastery. Luckily for the reader, Van Gulik provided both building and floor maps along with cast of characters. What was particularly interesting about the Judge in this one is that while he definitely had a religious intolerance, he was particularly tolerant with unwed relationships and lesbian relationships. Despite all that, I found myself falling asleep unfortunately often for a mystery, so take that for what you will.
The edition I read (combined with the Chinese Maze Murders) also had a number of plates drawn by Van Gulik "in the style of 16th century Chinese illustrated blockprints," in Ming dynasty style, but since block printing is a rather simplistic style, it didn't feel like they brought any depth to the story.
Two-and-a-half-stars, rounding up
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