Reviews

The Dream of the Red Chamber (Selection) by Cao Xueqin

hades9stages's review

3.0

TRUTH BECOMES FICTION WHEN FICTION IS TRUE. REAL BECOMES NOT-REAL WHERE THE UNREAL IS REAL.

TRUE LEARNING IMPLIES A CLEAR INSIGHT INTO HUMAN ACTIVITIES. GENUINE CULTURE INVOLVES THE SKILFUL MANIPULATION OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS.

sylviaplth's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

jake_'s review

adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

3.75

On a second, much slower read, I enjoyed this extract more, seeing it as a sort of folkloric, magical realist work of classic fiction (with a lot of interspersed poetry). Nevertheless as a contextless extract it doesn't work particularly well.

I would be interested in trying at least the first volume of the novel at some point in the future.

bex_knighthunterbooks's review

challenging lighthearted slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

A strange collection that doesn't gel well but does show the breadth of the greater work. I enjoyed the framing of being abducted by Fae in the first part, but the poetry/song lyrics lost my attention. The second part was schoolboy drama which wasn't especially interesting to me but might have worked well in a larger story where we know the characters better. Overall, it was fine and convenient to get a taste of this classic but I don't feel the need to read the rest.

sdiaz's review

4.0

A delightful romp through the lives of the teenage members of a wealthy and powerful family in the 18th century. As I read it, it reminded me of [b:The Canterbury Tales|2696|The Canterbury Tales|Geoffrey Chaucer|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1261208589s/2696.jpg|986234] with multiple stories, each with its own style and characters, coming from a common point. Though it was hard to fully sympathize with any of the protagonists (Precious Jade being a bit too pampered and sensitive) you do get to root for the family as a whole. Of course I am sure that my lack of cultural understanding made it harder to capture every nuance, for example I never fully grasped the concept of the concubine/mistress/affairs/homosexuality and how that was seen by the other characters and society at the time. Overall worth the read (note: I believe I read a shorter version with only the initial 40 chapters).