zara2404's review

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

3.5

phoebe912's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

daladala's review against another edition

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4.0

Tarkkanäköisiä ihmismielen kuvauksia sota-ajan Shanghaista. Novellikokoelma, joka tekee vaikutuksen tunnekirjojen voimakkuudella.

magpie888's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

4.25

cgpc's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

ruyanda's review

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dark reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

literarydumpling's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition

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3.0

I expected something completely different from this book. It's neither gripping nor filled with "lust": these are slice of slife short stories without much of a narrative with an unusual setting for a Western reader. I felt a got a sense of ww2 Shanghai, and the writing was elegant (if a little bit too adjective-filled) but I found the stories quite confusing; after a few pages my mind would always start to wander and I had to force myself to pay attention. It's really interesting to me that this kind of writing was really selling well, because it seems like the antithesis of what "should" be commercially successful. I'm not racing to read more of Eileen Chang, but it was a nice reminder to read more authors from countries I usually neglect reading from.

rukistarsailor's review

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bridnich's review

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

3.25