Reviews

I read this because I'm living in Taiwan, and I should read some Chinese history/classic literature.

I did not like this. It was a soap opera. A lot of it was whining. People killing themselves because they were falsely accused of something(and hadn't even had the penalty applied yet). It was melodramatic-people committing suicide by basically getting sad.

This book might be a major reason being unhealthy and therefor weak is considered physically attractive in manga/anime. Though I'm not sure about its influence on Japanese literature.

federica_'s review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Non ho amato quest’edizione sia per il fatto che gli ultimi 40 capitoli sono riassunti, sia per la trascrizione dei nomi dei personaggi (non è il pinyin classico e mi ha creato confusione).
La storia di per sé è molto piacevole e, nonostante la mole importante di pagine, è stranamente scorrevole.

corradobelgiovine's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

chorvereads's review against another edition

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3.0

What a tragedy! This took me over a couple of days to read but I am not going to lie and say that this book was an easy read. I almost gave up in the middle but battled through just like Pao-yu but without the deus ex machina. It's very plot driven more than character driven. I mostly remember the events more than a particular character and let me tell you, there were A LOT of characters. The story itself, is like an afternoon telenovela. Take a bunch of characters all related to each other, a.k.a. a huge extended family with servants and put them all together in an enclosed space. What do you get? Drama, drama, and drama. It has everything from family politics, arranged marriages, young rebels, etc. There were moments for me when it was, heartwarming, truly exciting, and just plain sad. It was basically a whirlwind. There's the usual confusion of who's related to who but with as you delve in more with the story you understand more that there are more important characters than others. So you learn to focus on who pushes the story to move.
Overall, it was quite an experience. I do understand why this is a fiction classic as it may have opened the door to more plot-driven novels. It may seem like a close sameness to The Tale of Genji because of how it's like a fairytale. There's a chosen one, Pao-yu and believe it or not, he comes with a fairy-god mother. He definitely, like Genji, has special favours from 'the most high.' On the other hand, it's different because family drama is more highlighted here than in Genji's court. The Dream of the Red Chamber is not my 'cup of tea' but it does prove that life's complexities really makes a good story.

blackoutcity44's review against another edition

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4.0

I believe this is a shortened version of what the volumes of the penguin classics version is. I see a lot of people being upset that the names are hard to follow but that’s just part of the book. It’s a long extending story that has every character with their own family history as well as extensions. The way things are connected is a spiderweb.

It talks about bigger themes of fate and life while focusing on small everyday occurrences. Also the fact that it was written 300 years ago gives a good insight into how things were perceived back then and the social relationships between everyone. I think this book definitely is better in Chinese, the language does not translate over well. Eventually that’s the goal

karenreads1000s's review against another edition

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5.0

An epic multi-generational Chinese family saga. About half-way through I finally started to understand the naming conventions. The Chinese cultural and class concepts portrayed were dramatic. That this novel was written in the 1700s makes it all the more fascinating. At only 40 chapters, this seems an abbreviated translation. The Introduction mentions the author left 80 chapters of his novel in finished form before his death. The 40 come from a Kao Ou version and some were criticized as being written by him.

kumipaul's review

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3.0

Such a big project for this reader who has so little experience with Chinese literature and culture. Overall I enjoyed it, but I fear that I missed so much along the way. The attention to family names, the social niceties, the social hierarchy among the elites of this period, the rules for how men and women relate to each other, and the generosity. On the other side is the blunt meanness, and the retribution.
I think I understand why this novel is so important to Chinese literature, and I am glad I read it.

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