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kxiong5's review
5.0
I do miss the Buddhist monk and the Taoist pulling all these monk-ex-machinas from the start, but the economic strain is showing! So is the class conflict! So is just the daily life of this story??? So is just...normal relationship development between the girls, damnit, I just want to like Daiyu and it ONLY starts happening when we get to see more from her than her just being petty about Baoyu >:( but that’s just my salt.
I honestly can’t believe I like this novel so much?? The hell?? I thought this was gonna be good but not THIS good???and it’s stayed this good and just kept transforming/doing cool new things I didn’t expect it to do??? I didn’t know I’d like courtly intrigue at all—maybe just Bc I like Baoyu more than I like Genji gdhfjsks no offense Genji but you get so much less assumed interiority than Baoyu just because you’re such a fucking mess and Bc Baoyu is only 13 while you are a grown-ass man and treated and act like it.
I honestly can’t believe I like this novel so much?? The hell?? I thought this was gonna be good but not THIS good???and it’s stayed this good and just kept transforming/doing cool new things I didn’t expect it to do??? I didn’t know I’d like courtly intrigue at all—maybe just Bc I like Baoyu more than I like Genji gdhfjsks no offense Genji but you get so much less assumed interiority than Baoyu just because you’re such a fucking mess and Bc Baoyu is only 13 while you are a grown-ass man and treated and act like it.
jlwilson's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
mariocomputer's review
4.0
Better than volume 1, which I also quite liked. These have both been very interesting portrayals of aristocratic life in Qing China. So decadent and rigidly hierarchical, and transgressions are met with such ferocity and violence. Feudalism and aristocracy be crazy, yo. At the same time as reading this, I've been listening to a history of the French revolution podcast, and yeah, I totally get why peasants revolt and try to overthrow the system.
At the same time, I just really enjoy reading about Chinese history and culture. I love the level of detail Cao brings, painting word-pictures of the everyday goings-on of the Jia estate. Learning about history is an ongoing, never-ending process. There are always more gaps to fill in. This book certainly helps with that.
At the same time, I just really enjoy reading about Chinese history and culture. I love the level of detail Cao brings, painting word-pictures of the everyday goings-on of the Jia estate. Learning about history is an ongoing, never-ending process. There are always more gaps to fill in. This book certainly helps with that.
spacestationtrustfund's review
3.0
readwoolf's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
smarkies's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0