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A review by bvdelft
De droom van de rode kamer by Cao Xueqin
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Imagine a mix between Desperate Housewives, Downton Abbey, set in 18th century China with a bit of mystic Taoism.
I read the Dutch translation of the 120 chapter version of the book. The translation read extremely well, with a well-balanced amount of translator notes helping to understand and contextualise the many references to Chinese history, word jokes and literature.
The "main" story, about the Stone and the Red Room, is mostly in the first 5 chapters and the last 25 or so. In-between there is a lot of episodic-like stories, with infighting between the various families, siblings and their servant staff. It helps to connect to characters, learn about historical China etc, but for a very long time it feels like the story progresses little until around chapter 95, where it really picks up pace whenthe Jia family truly starts falling apart , as foreshadowed throughout the rest of the book. There is a lot of layering in the book, which is hard to catch on a first read, or without reading it in Chinese, I suspect.
There seems to be a lot of the author flexing their poetic muscle through most of the book, with poetry, song, riddles etc. While the translation seems fine, I suspect these parts can only truly be appreciated in original Chinese (seeing how there is often use of homonyms, or Chinese characters looking like other characters). Still, the book, while long, is an easy read. Some parts feel like a matter of endurance on the reader's part, for example whenthe characters walk through the Garden naming various parts, twice . This feeling of some chapters being "stuffing" is endorsed by the very end of the book, where the reader is basically called a fool for spending their time reading about just absurdities .
All in all, I did enjoy the book, if only to learn about China in that time period. I'd really suggest to read the book leisurely, and not worry about remembering all the names and relationships right away. Especially if your edition like mine has a list of characters and family trees included.
I read the Dutch translation of the 120 chapter version of the book. The translation read extremely well, with a well-balanced amount of translator notes helping to understand and contextualise the many references to Chinese history, word jokes and literature.
The "main" story, about the Stone and the Red Room, is mostly in the first 5 chapters and the last 25 or so. In-between there is a lot of episodic-like stories, with infighting between the various families, siblings and their servant staff. It helps to connect to characters, learn about historical China etc, but for a very long time it feels like the story progresses little until around chapter 95, where it really picks up pace when
There seems to be a lot of the author flexing their poetic muscle through most of the book, with poetry, song, riddles etc. While the translation seems fine, I suspect these parts can only truly be appreciated in original Chinese (seeing how there is often use of homonyms, or Chinese characters looking like other characters). Still, the book, while long, is an easy read. Some parts feel like a matter of endurance on the reader's part, for example when
All in all, I did enjoy the book, if only to learn about China in that time period. I'd really suggest to read the book leisurely, and not worry about remembering all the names and relationships right away. Especially if your edition like mine has a list of characters and family trees included.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Murder