A review by emjay24
The Red Chamber by Pauline A. Chen

4.0

The Red Chamber is historical fiction, set in 18th Century Beijing. It is a retelling of the classic Dream of the Red Chamber, which I haven't read. Apparently it has a lot more characters and the ending had been lost. When Daiyu's mother dies of consumption, her father listens to the mom's dying wish and sends her to meet her mother's family, who are rich. They have a compound of cousins and wives and the grandmother and the uncle, and we follow along with some of them. At the same time, there is political unrest in the backdrop. I read the first few pages and was unsure. I was expecting something possibly dry or difficult, but as soon as I read a little bit more, the characters and time captured me in. This was a very good story, and it was also hard to remember that it was only set in the 1700's because it seemed more modern. The ending is Chen's original ending, which I liked, but did wish it had gone on more. Great book!