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kariniwonderland's review
3.0
I love a good time travel story and this one was very refreshing. The plot is a bit slow. And I must admit that I didn’t like the main character Mina that much. But it was a vey interesting story and I loved learning about Japanese history en mythology.
I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.
mjporterauthor's review
I was lucky enough to read an early version of Tangled Spirits, and I flew through it in two days. It's a fantastic and really intriguing story.
I liked the whole story - the idea of a 21st-century woman's mind in a 10th-century woman's body, seeing everything through new eyes, putting both current interpretations on etiquette and prevailing thoughts, as well as the 10th-century justification for it all. It was just tongue in cheek, and court politics enough, to ensure the reader always wants to know what's going to happen.
Masako and Mina are both intriguing characters. As the story is told through Mina we know more about her thoughts and more about Masako's actions. I could understand both of their viewpoints well enough, even if like Masako, I found it a bit frustrating that Mina wouldn't share more of her knowledge of the future. I enjoyed that as time went on, they acted more and more like one another.
A really enjoyable read and one I highly recommend.
I liked the whole story - the idea of a 21st-century woman's mind in a 10th-century woman's body, seeing everything through new eyes, putting both current interpretations on etiquette and prevailing thoughts, as well as the 10th-century justification for it all. It was just tongue in cheek, and court politics enough, to ensure the reader always wants to know what's going to happen.
Masako and Mina are both intriguing characters. As the story is told through Mina we know more about her thoughts and more about Masako's actions. I could understand both of their viewpoints well enough, even if like Masako, I found it a bit frustrating that Mina wouldn't share more of her knowledge of the future. I enjoyed that as time went on, they acted more and more like one another.
A really enjoyable read and one I highly recommend.
lillist's review
4.0
As a fan of Sei Shonagon's "Pillow Book" I was really happy for the chance to receive an ARC of Tangled Spirits by Kate Shanahan. The story revolves around Mina, a student of Japanese Literature from the year 2019, whose spirit is accidentally whisked into the body of Masako, the daughter of a minor member of court during the Heian era who is dreaming of becoming a Miko in a Shinto shrine. Together they have to travel to the court of the Heian emperor in order to have the court astronomer Seimei help them to separate their spirits and send Mina back to 2019 before their spirits get tangled permanently. But of cource, Seimei expects something in exchange from the spirit from the future, and so Mina and Masako get swept up in court intrigue, political plotting and the world of spirits.
Kate Shanahan is clearly a huge fan of the Heian era and the book feels well researched and enthusiastic. There is a strong focus on the paranormal side of things: in Heian Japan, all sorts of Obake and other spirits are basically real and actually part of some important events in the plot. Personally, I would have preferred more focus on everyday court life and rituals and less spiritual stuff, but that is a matter of taste. I loved that real events were part of the plot and that Sei Shonagon plays a prominent role.
Unfortunately, the main character of Mina did not really work for me. Somehow, she managed to be an unpleasant combination of bland, selfish, self-conscious and arrogant. I never had a grasp of what sort of personality she might have, and I did not really like her. Her behaviour often did not add up - she would do/think one thing and then in the next moment criticize just that very thought/action. She as a very problematic relationship with men that is never really explored: she inexplicably violently attracted to powerful and cruel men against her better judgement. Why? When a young man does not make a move on her on the first occasion he gets, she wonders if he is gay. WTH? Generally, she is really messy but there is no real growth for her during the course of the book.
Masako worked better for me, I could relate to her wishes and ambitions a lot more. Also, many of the secondary characters were drawn quite well. Still, I would call the characterizations the main weak spot of "Tangled Spirits", as they often lacked some coherence.
Other than that this was a fascinating look into Heian Japan and a great starter if you are curious about this time of great refinement and amazing cultural achievements. Also, if you haven't picked up the Pillow Book - you absolutely should. It is amazing and I think it would appeal to just about everyone!
I have received an advance review copy via BookSirens and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you very much!
Kate Shanahan is clearly a huge fan of the Heian era and the book feels well researched and enthusiastic. There is a strong focus on the paranormal side of things: in Heian Japan, all sorts of Obake and other spirits are basically real and actually part of some important events in the plot. Personally, I would have preferred more focus on everyday court life and rituals and less spiritual stuff, but that is a matter of taste. I loved that real events were part of the plot and that Sei Shonagon plays a prominent role.
Unfortunately, the main character of Mina did not really work for me. Somehow, she managed to be an unpleasant combination of bland, selfish, self-conscious and arrogant. I never had a grasp of what sort of personality she might have, and I did not really like her. Her behaviour often did not add up - she would do/think one thing and then in the next moment criticize just that very thought/action. She as a very problematic relationship with men that is never really explored: she inexplicably violently attracted to powerful and cruel men against her better judgement. Why? When a young man does not make a move on her on the first occasion he gets, she wonders if he is gay. WTH? Generally, she is really messy but there is no real growth for her during the course of the book.
Masako worked better for me, I could relate to her wishes and ambitions a lot more. Also, many of the secondary characters were drawn quite well. Still, I would call the characterizations the main weak spot of "Tangled Spirits", as they often lacked some coherence.
Other than that this was a fascinating look into Heian Japan and a great starter if you are curious about this time of great refinement and amazing cultural achievements. Also, if you haven't picked up the Pillow Book - you absolutely should. It is amazing and I think it would appeal to just about everyone!
I have received an advance review copy via BookSirens and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you very much!
mikarala's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
1.5
This book was uh...not good. Really not good.
I stuck with this novel and finished it because I thought the idea of a modern American girl's spirit possessing an 11th century Japanese priestess/oracle/medium sounded really entertaining, even if that premise and the writing style really reminded me of some incredibly mediocre fanfiction I've read. I was willing to look past that if the story was good, because as a white North American girl who's always been a little weirdly interested in East Asian culture, I kind of thought this was the book for me.
Unfortunately, the execution just sucked. My rating for this book just got worse and worse as I kept reading. I think the main reason is that the plot felt extremely...lost, for lack of a better word. The main idea is that Mina, our 21st century American girl, wants to get back to her own body and time. You'd think that would be a pretty straight-forward goal for the story to focus on, right? Wrong. So much of this book is just a series of loosely connected events taking place in the Japanese Imperial Court at the turn of the 11th century. Instead of exploring the fun spiritual wackiness that's a part of the story, the story mainly centers around dull court machinations. (And not like, interesting court machinations. There's not enough depth to them for that.)
There are also just random plot threads and characters that kind of randomly pop up and seem like they'll be important, only to fade from the narrative. For example, at one point the Emperor asks Masako/Mina to interpret his dream, she says she needs a day, and then it's just...not mentioned again? What on earth.
When this novel really lost me, though, was the fact that Mina described Sei Shonagon, author of The Pillow Book and her personal idol, as "shallow and conceited", like it was funny but true? But Mina had previously gone on and on about how meaningful she found Sei's observations and the impact they'd supposedly had on her life, so the fact that Sei the character is described as a bit obsessed with aesthetics shouldn't change how deep and insightful Mina finds Sei's poems and observations and stuff. Unless Mina is admitting she's also shallow, I guess.
Finally, I just don't believe in the "bond" between Mina and Masako. They spent pretty much the whole novel barely cooperating together, and at the end had this big heart-to-heart about how much they had learned from their experience inhabiting the same body. Bull. Shit.
I stuck with this novel and finished it because I thought the idea of a modern American girl's spirit possessing an 11th century Japanese priestess/oracle/medium sounded really entertaining, even if that premise and the writing style really reminded me of some incredibly mediocre fanfiction I've read. I was willing to look past that if the story was good, because as a white North American girl who's always been a little weirdly interested in East Asian culture, I kind of thought this was the book for me.
Unfortunately, the execution just sucked. My rating for this book just got worse and worse as I kept reading. I think the main reason is that the plot felt extremely...lost, for lack of a better word. The main idea is that Mina, our 21st century American girl, wants to get back to her own body and time. You'd think that would be a pretty straight-forward goal for the story to focus on, right? Wrong. So much of this book is just a series of loosely connected events taking place in the Japanese Imperial Court at the turn of the 11th century. Instead of exploring the fun spiritual wackiness that's a part of the story, the story mainly centers around dull court machinations. (And not like, interesting court machinations. There's not enough depth to them for that.)
There are also just random plot threads and characters that kind of randomly pop up and seem like they'll be important, only to fade from the narrative. For example, at one point the Emperor asks Masako/Mina to interpret his dream, she says she needs a day, and then it's just...not mentioned again? What on earth.
When this novel really lost me, though, was the fact that Mina described Sei Shonagon, author of The Pillow Book and her personal idol, as "shallow and conceited", like it was funny but true? But Mina had previously gone on and on about how meaningful she found Sei's observations and the impact they'd supposedly had on her life, so the fact that Sei the character is described as a bit obsessed with aesthetics shouldn't change how deep and insightful Mina finds Sei's poems and observations and stuff. Unless Mina is admitting she's also shallow, I guess.
Finally, I just don't believe in the "bond" between Mina and Masako. They spent pretty much the whole novel barely cooperating together, and at the end had this big heart-to-heart about how much they had learned from their experience inhabiting the same body. Bull. Shit.
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