Reviews

4.5 This one will be hard to forget. Effortless but charged writing, full of wonderful and heartbreaking imagery. I felt like I was transported to the hot streets of 70s Taiwan and stranded in the dirty alleyways of shops and restaurants, where shadows and loneliness reign supreme. I think Pai's biggest strength is the exploration of human relations (especially familial) and how much they shape us and how much they destroy us.

lordshilock's review against another edition

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5.0

Before starting Crystal Boys I'd read that Henry Miller had called Pai Hsien-yung 'a master of portraiture', and now I know what he meant. I found beauty in every page of this book and I know that its characters will stay with me for a long time.

gayliott's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

d1n1z's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.75

spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition

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3.0

Banni par son père, après avoir été surpris en flagrant délit de conduite impudique en compagnie du surveillant, Aqing rejoint la fratrie des garçons de cristal. Royaume qui ne connait que la nuit, abrité derrière un écran d'arbres à pain, ce parc au bassin planté de nénufars rouges, offre un refuge à la société de l'ombre qui fait commerce de chair. Aux côtés de Petit Jade, hanté par le fantôme d'un père inconnu, de Souriceau, kleptomane espiègle et vu de Wu Min, tendre amant meurtri, débute l'odyssée vespérale d'Aqing. Anges célestes ou anges déchus ? Bai Xianyong extrait la beauté du vice. Chorégraphe de l'envers du désir, il débusque l'innocence là où suinte la misère et rachète, au cœur de la fournaise, ses fils en exil au jardin de la fraternité. Une langue chinoise qui fait sienne de la modernité, sans pour autant renier le vieille tradition, restituée dans sa globalité parla traduction magistrale d'André Lévy.

novashi's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

i_need_organization_skills's review

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dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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