Scan barcode
hazeyjane_2's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was very reminiscent of R.K. Narayan. It was exceptionally well written and translated, with a well illustrated main character, but just not quite my cup of tea. Recommended to people who enjoy character studies and slice of life stories set at the turn of the 20th century.
obscuredbyclouds's review against another edition
3.0
This is a book about a man, Zhenbao, in Shanghai in the 1940s and all the women he's met, slept with and loved. Some passages are brilliant, I loved the style and her way with words is enviable but story-wise this was lacking something. When he falls in love with a married women and they decide to give their relationship a shot, I really started liking the plot too. But then he decides it would be shameful for his mother, leaves her and marries a woman he does not like one bit. While maybe realistic, it left me disappointed.
That said: I was so impressed by Chang's writing style that I definitely want to read more of her. This is the "bad" thing about these Penguin Mini Classics. So many great authors to discover, so little time.
That said: I was so impressed by Chang's writing style that I definitely want to read more of her. This is the "bad" thing about these Penguin Mini Classics. So many great authors to discover, so little time.
indigoarden's review
4.0
What an odd ‘ending!’ If I can even call it that?? I’m left with a quizzical look on my face, my brows thoughtfully furrowed. The ending feels like an ellipsis instead of a period. All that build up, that battering storm and heavy rain! but what’s left is a small stagnant puddle - still - muddled with dirt that’s settled at the bottom.
Nevertheless, I would honestly read anything Eileen Chang has written. Her mail, a contract, her grocery list, a post-it note. Her writing truly evokes!
Nevertheless, I would honestly read anything Eileen Chang has written. Her mail, a contract, her grocery list, a post-it note. Her writing truly evokes!
niamh22's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lkateo's review
5.0
A neat little novella that evocatively uses its late-modernist, Western-influenced-yet-still-Chinese, 1940s Shanghai setting to elaborate on the opening passage:
"There were two women in Zhenbao's life: one he called his white rose, the other his red rose. One was a spotless wife, the other a passionate mistress. Isn't that just how the average man describes a chaste widow's devotion to her husband's memory - as spotless, and passionate too?
Maybe every man had two such women - at least two. Marry a red rose and eventually she'll be a mosquito-blood streak smeared on the wall, while the white one is 'moonlight in front of my bed'. Marry a white rose and before long she'll be a grain of sticky rice that's gotten stuck to your clothes; the red one, by then, is a scarlet beauty mark just over your heart."
Chang's novella is, among other things, a subtle examination of how gender dynamics shape relationships. Zhenbao's women are divided into polar extremes reminiscent of the 'Damned Whores and God's Police' of Anne Summers' book of that name. I liked how Chang cleverly tantalises the reader with a closer, more rounded examination of the female characters, only to have Zhenbao re-enter the scene and pull the character profile back into the male subjectivity where the characters are once again viewed through his judgement.
"There were two women in Zhenbao's life: one he called his white rose, the other his red rose. One was a spotless wife, the other a passionate mistress. Isn't that just how the average man describes a chaste widow's devotion to her husband's memory - as spotless, and passionate too?
Maybe every man had two such women - at least two. Marry a red rose and eventually she'll be a mosquito-blood streak smeared on the wall, while the white one is 'moonlight in front of my bed'. Marry a white rose and before long she'll be a grain of sticky rice that's gotten stuck to your clothes; the red one, by then, is a scarlet beauty mark just over your heart."
Chang's novella is, among other things, a subtle examination of how gender dynamics shape relationships. Zhenbao's women are divided into polar extremes reminiscent of the 'Damned Whores and God's Police' of Anne Summers' book of that name. I liked how Chang cleverly tantalises the reader with a closer, more rounded examination of the female characters, only to have Zhenbao re-enter the scene and pull the character profile back into the male subjectivity where the characters are once again viewed through his judgement.